Featured Restaurant: Flex Mussels

March 18, 2009

Luckily for owners Bobby and Laura Shapiro, their Prince Edward Island import has been packed since opening day. The instant buzz over their cutesy moniker garnered serious press and sent people flocking to “82nd and Flex”. You can barely move in the bar area where the seats are first-come, first-serve and entertainment is provided by the quick hands of oyster-shucking champion, Robert Daffin. The spacious back dining room features an open kitchen where Chef Micheal Bicocchi executes the seafood-heavy menu. While the Upper East Side is a far cry from Canada, the beauty of P.E.I is portrayed through nailed-up paintings of the sea that adorn every wall. The specialty of the house is obviously mussels, but on this particular Friday evening, the bar menu became noteworthy as they featured a take on the infamous “Fatty Melt” (a hamburger sandwiched between two grilled cheeses, which we at AlwaysHungryNY experiment with on a regular basis).

Specials aside, Flex Mussels is all about elevating this namesake dish beyond the typical red and white preparations, and the Classic (white wine, herbs, and garlic) is pretty anticlimactic considering the alternatives. While an obvious reference to physical muscles, the name’s double entrendre also reflects how the couple has flexed their creative muscle to amass outrageous flavor combinations. P.E.I mussels are offered in 23 different sauces such as the Thai (curry coconut broth, lemongrass, coriander, lime, garlic, ginger), San Daniele (prosciutto, caramelized onions, white wine, garlic), and Maine (lobser, corn, white chowder, parsely) variations. When the lids to each iron pot are first opened, fragrant wafts of steam allow you to smell the flavor before digging in, and the best bites force you to utilize your mussels shells in order to scoop up all the goodness on the bottom. Perfect french fries and crusty bread sop up all the savory juices, and simple desserts like meyer lemon-stuffed donut holes offer a sweet finish to every meal.