Non-NonRev

The executive chef of Providence, considered the best restaurant in Los Angeles, explains why he refuses to serve blue fin tuna, and other related subjects:

https://munchies.vice.com/en/article...stop-eating-it

eigenvector

Completely agree on the branzino. I am always disappointed when I see this fish on the menu of a serious restaurant.

MaxBuck

So he argues we ought never to pay less than 15 bucks a pound for seafood. Which in turn means even middle-class people will seldom eat the most healthful source of protein available.

I'm sure the guy is a good cook, and I applaud his commitment to sustainability, but he's an elitist among elitists.

Non-NonRev

I think that his emphasis is an argument for general use of local varities.

Yes, his retail store and his two restaurants sell and use top-grade ingredients up to $40 per pound. But there are choices to be had at lower price points, hence his point about rock cod.

MaxBuck

Around here that's large-mouth bass.

I'll stick with the farm-raised salmon and steelhead and risk Cimarusti's opprobrium.

FC flyer

My kids (no longer kids) own a sustainable seafood Japanese restaurant in Minneapolis. You can serve a lot of beautiful food at affordable prices while still protecting natural resources.

Zooter

I'm not convinced that transport costs make up the biggest part of fish prices. Anyone know for sure?

SiaGarcia

After this blog post, i do not want to eat tuna. I adore seafood, they are delicious for me.

Sweet Willie

Quote: "Unless you are simply lying to yourself or you’ve never tasted it. There is no way you can tell me that there is a farm-raised fish of any variety that’s flavor comes close to its wild counterparts. It doesn’t happen and can’t happen."

AMEN! farm raised salmon doesn't come close in flavor to wild. skate wing is an often overlooked low priced seafood option, so good & very easy to cook.

MaxBuck

I absolutely agree. But it costs about 1/4 as much, so it's a still-tasty, inexpensive, healthful protein choice.

With that said, if I'm splurging I'll go for wild-caught Faroe Island salmon or Arctic char. They're the fois gras of finfish.

Sweet Willie

(bolding mine) still-tasty is in the eye (mouth?) of the beholder.
I personally find farm raised Atlantic salmon to be very mild in flavor and not what I seek taste wise, so I don't buy it. Fortunately with a good fishmonger there are always many different seafoods to purchase and per this thread, sustainable options.

Non-NonRev

Recently on Andrew Zimmern's Travel Channel show they talked about locally caught fish in the Boston area that were being essentially 100% exported because local chefs did not want to bother (apparently the specific fish was difficult to prepare, but yields good results for the few chefs who will use it).

obscure2k

Our close friends in Venice, Italy laugh at the popularity of Branzino. They call it the "trash fish of the lagoon." Agree completely with the Cimarusti interview. One problem is that he is now selling his seafood in a retail store ( in addition to his restaurants) and his prices are higher than comparable seafood stores.

BamaVol

I have had skate wing but it was served in a restaurant. Do you find it locally? I was in the UK when I tried it.

I don't completely agree with the chef about farm raised fish. We get Cobia here that most people assume is locally caught. But Cobia is a solitary fish, and they're not huge like a tuna. No way someone catches it here and makes a living. No way wild caught Cobia makes it to my plate as part of the $20 lunch special. It's delicious, but it's farmed in Central America and probably shipped frozen. I've had "the real thing" because I've caught it myself and I don't taste a big difference. Likewise tilapia in a different way. I'm willing to bet wild tilapia doesn't have any more flavor than the tasteless mush that they serve my mother at the assisted living center dining room. Yes he's right about salmon but don't extrapolate to everything else.

broadwayblue

What's the issue with branzino. Is it endangered?