Category Archives: Seafood

A Fish Story in Napa

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Ahi tartare with lovely pine nuts.

This is not about the one that got away. It’s about the lunch that hooked me.

Fish Story, which opened late last year in downtown Napa along the Napa River, is all about sustainable seafood. The restaurant is part of the Lark Creek Restaurant Group, which has partnered with the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program. Seafood Watch pocket cards are available for the taking at the hostess stand. The menu is printed daily because it adheres to what’s fresh, available and eco-friendly.

Last month, I was invited to dine as a guest of the restaurant, which evokes the spirit of the ocean in its decor. There are fish tanks, and fish murals that are reminiscent of aquariums. Fish lures dangle from the ceiling. And a raw bar behind glass is on view with crab, oysters and clams all arrayed on ice. It sounds kitschy, but it’s actually appealingly modern with large windows overlooking the river.

Lightly battered and fried calamari.

We started with fried Monterey Bay calamari ($10.50), the rings and tentacles hot, crisp and just a little spicy. A nice touch were the slivers of pepper and thin lemon slices that also had been fried and heaped on top of the calamari. A creamy roasted tomato aioli came alongside for dipping pleasure.

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Terrific Tuna

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A silky lemony sauce coats every strand of these heavenly noodles.

Canned tuna doesn’t normally elicit a whole lot of excitement. Mostly, you grab it mindlessly out of the cupboard because it’s convenient for making a quick salad, sandwich or casserole that you’ve made a hundred times before.

But imagine a canned tuna that actually makes you sit up and take notice not only because it has really deep seafood flavor, but also because it is low in mercury and is caught in a sustainable way.

That’s what Raincoast Trading canned tuna is all about.

Indeed, Greenpeace Canada just released its first sustainability ranking of 14 major canned tuna brands. Only two garnered a passing grade: Wild Planet Foods and Raincoast Trading.

A canned tuna to feel good about eating.

The Vancouver, Canada company is run by a fourth-generation fishing family that catches wild-caught tuna and salmon in the Pacific Northwest. Each batch of tuna is tested for mercury, a heavy metal present in almost all seafood that can be harmful in large doses for pregnant women, nursing mothers and young children. The amount of mercury in Raincoast Trading’s tuna registers well below the allowable levels in the United States and Canada, according to a company spokesperson.

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Chocolate on the Half Shell?

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A white chocolate truffle infused with oysters. I kid you not.

It’s not every box of chocolates that comes bearing a label that reads: Contains milk, soy, pistachios, shellfish.

Uh, say what?

Leave it to Vosges, the cutting-edge chocolatier of Chicago, to come up with a truffle made with cream that’s been infused with Kumamoto oysters.

After all, this is the same chocolate-maker that’s found a way to incorporate bacon, Hungarian paprika, dried Kalamata olives, and Taleggio cheese into confections in the past.

And what could be more perfect for Valentine’s Day than a truffle that is flavored with what’s considered one of the most potent aphrodisiacs around?

Recently, I had a chance to try a sample.

A truffle rolled in dried rose petals.

I’ll use my patented scale of 1 to 10 lip-smackers, with 1 being the “Bleh, save your money” far end of the spectrum; 5 being the “I’m not sure I’d buy it, but if it was just there, I might nibble some” middle-of-the-road response; and 10 being the “My gawd, I could die now and never be happier, because this is the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth” supreme ranking.

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Elegant Crackers and Dip for New Year’s Eve

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So thin and so crisp.

You could almost float away on these crackers as they’re so thin, light and delicate.

34° Crispbread is a wonder — round, fragile wafers that are made from whole wheat flour, salt and natural cheese flavor, then baked until shatteringly crisp. The name comes from the latitude of Sydney, Australia, where company founder Craig Lieberman hails from. The product is inspired by his favorite Australian crispbread.

Now made in Boulder, Colo., the crackers come in six varieties: Whole Grain, Natural, Sesame, Cracked Pepper, Rosemary, and Lemon Zest. They’re sold at Safeway, Whole Foods and Walmart. Nine crackers have a total of 35 calories. A 4.5-ounce box is about $4.99.

I had a chance to sample a couple of boxes recently. I especially liked the Cracked Pepper variety with is subtle hit of spice. The crackers crumble easily so handle them gently. But they can stand up to the likes of charcuterie, cheese and all manner of dips if you spread them on with a knife rather than dunking them.

Sardine rillettes to whip up in 10 minutes.

I served them over the holidays to great acclaim with food writer and blogger superstar Dorie Greenspan’s “Sardine Rillettes.”

The recipe is from her new book, “Around My French Table” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).

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Of Sake and Crab Cakes

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An array of sakes at Ozumo in Oakland. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

The Sake:

Now, this is one club I’d love to be a member of — Ozumo Restaurant in Oakland’s sake “300club.”

The restaurant invites patrons to purchase one of eight different 300ml bottles selected by Director of Sake Jessica Furui each time when visiting the restaurant. Ozumo will then record each purchase. When a customer has tried all eight club selections, they will receive a complimentary 720ml bottle of Ozumo’s “Seitoku” signature junmai ginjo sake.

Moreover, each time a customer orders a bottle of club sake, they will receive a small card containing information about the sake and brewery, plus a map of Japan showing where the brewery is located.

There is no cost to join the club, no food purchase is required and club selections will be changed every six months.

Kampai to that.

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