Having been born in New Bedford, I've always loved scallops. Eating them now reminds me of home, and the fried seafood shacks me and my family used to visit so often. Unfortunately a lot of the scallops on menus these days are what are called "wet" scallops. These are scallops that have been allowed to sit in a solution of either salt water or sodium tripolyphosphate in order to increase their weight before they are either frozen or shipped in all that extra liquid. "Dry" scallops on the other hand have been shucked, cleaned, and shipped to us and other quality restaurants without any of the other unnecessary processing.
Next time you're ordering scallops ask your server if the scallops are wet or dry. If they don't have the answer have them check with the kitchen. If the kitchen doesn't know, you should probably be eating somewhere else.
Scallops should taste of the sea and have a sweet and buttery flavor, not be overly salty or rubbery and taste synthetic.
Our commitment here at Allora to use only dry sea scallops has made our Pan Seared Scallops with Fregola, Escarole, and Pesto one of the most popular dishes on our menu, and not compromising our other dishes with processed, frozen, and sub-par ingredients has been key to our continued success.
