sr1329 wrote:Fish is pure failure in the midwest unless it's lake fish. I don't see any oceans around here. You know none of that fish was overnighted.
sr1329 wrote:He manages to screw up good midwestern grass fed beef by smashing it and overcooking it, I can only imagine how he rapes 3 day old fish.
jesteinf wrote:sr1329 wrote:He manages to screw up good midwestern grass fed beef by smashing it and overcooking it, I can only imagine how he rapes 3 day old fish.
This is some solid hyperbole. Welcome!
sr1329 wrote:jesteinf wrote:sr1329 wrote:He manages to screw up good midwestern grass fed beef by smashing it and overcooking it, I can only imagine how he rapes 3 day old fish.
This is some solid hyperbole. Welcome!
Thanks for the "warm" welcome. But they wouldn't accommodate my doneness request but did say that there would be pink in the middle. Then it came, cooked through and smashed like they serve at Steak and Shake. I'll post a picture if you want to see. They don't have to really do a good job when they have all that press and a community of DePaul students and corn belt transplants that will eat anything nearby.
sr1329 wrote:jesteinf wrote:sr1329 wrote:He manages to screw up good midwestern grass fed beef by smashing it and overcooking it, I can only imagine how he rapes 3 day old fish.
This is some solid hyperbole. Welcome!
Thanks for the "warm" welcome. But they wouldn't accommodate my doneness request but did say that there would be pink in the middle. Then it came, cooked through and smashed like they serve at Steak and Shake. I'll post a picture if you want to see. They don't have to really do a good job when they have all that press and a community of DePaul students and corn belt transplants that will eat anything nearby.
jesteinf wrote:sr1329 wrote:Thanks for the "warm" welcome. But they wouldn't accommodate my doneness request but did say that there would be pink in the middle. Then it came, cooked through and smashed like they serve at Steak and Shake. I'll post a picture if you want to see. They don't have to really do a good job when they have all that press and a community of DePaul students and corn belt transplants that will eat anything nearby.
I'd much prefer a picture to visions of fish rape.
ronnie_suburban wrote:I was surprised by how much I enjoyed what I ate at Fishbar. Oyster Po' Boy was really tasty. The oysters were tender, silky and perfectly fried. The sandwich also contained remoulade and spicy slaw. They were both great in their own right and went very well with the oysters. The only issue here was that in order to keep the oysters from getting soggy, they were thoughtfully served atop the remoulade and slaw. Unfortunately, this made the po' boy nearly impossible to pick up and eat by hand. We did fine with a fork and knife, though. Clam chowder and bisque (containing lobster and corn) were both multi-dimensional and delicious. Raw clams were outstanding, too. They were plump, briny and brought a satisfying aftertaste. The only issue for me was a some grit, which showed up in the raw clams, the fried oysters and the clams in the chowder. I think these ingredients need to be treated much more carefully.
As for the Chicago location having a major effect on the quality of the seafood, I'm not buying it. There are plenty of places -- even on both coasts -- where seafood is shipped in overnight from where it's fished. These shipments arrive daily in Chicago at the exact same time they arrive at restaurants in California and New York.
=R=
sr1329 wrote:ronnie_suburban wrote:I was surprised by how much I enjoyed what I ate at Fishbar. Oyster Po' Boy was really tasty. The oysters were tender, silky and perfectly fried. The sandwich also contained remoulade and spicy slaw. They were both great in their own right and went very well with the oysters. The only issue here was that in order to keep the oysters from getting soggy, they were thoughtfully served atop the remoulade and slaw. Unfortunately, this made the po' boy nearly impossible to pick up and eat by hand. We did fine with a fork and knife, though. Clam chowder and bisque (containing lobster and corn) were both multi-dimensional and delicious. Raw clams were outstanding, too. They were plump, briny and brought a satisfying aftertaste. The only issue for me was a some grit, which showed up in the raw clams, the fried oysters and the clams in the chowder. I think these ingredients need to be treated much more carefully.
As for the Chicago location having a major effect on the quality of the seafood, I'm not buying it. There are plenty of places -- even on both coasts -- where seafood is shipped in overnight from where it's fished. These shipments arrive daily in Chicago at the exact same time they arrive at restaurants in California and New York.
=R=
Not at those prices in the middle of the continent. That stuff's been sitting around a while or been frozen. Most of the seafood even in NYC or SF has been frozen. Many of those places can't afford to buy seafood that is fresh. That is the dilemma with seafood in general. I suppose one could argue that in that case it doesn't matter since the vast majority of seafood served is frozen, but this is supposed to be a foodie's forum. Some of us can tell. I would say that in general Boston is better than NYC in terms of seafood in that you have a chance at getting something that is fresh. There is no hope in Chicago leave alone some unknown place that can have UPS/FEDEX overnight their seafood. My basic point that the midwest isn't the place to open a seafood based restaurant at low prices except to cater to the undiscerning palate. There is no sea here and discerning cultures like the Chinese believe that the fish better be put on the skillet alive for a reason. You better understand that everything in this "fish bar" is frozen before it is served to you. That isn't so in some boston and NYC places.
ronnie_suburban wrote:I was surprised by how much I enjoyed what I ate at Fishbar. Oyster Po' Boy was really tasty. The oysters were tender, silky and perfectly fried. The sandwich also contained remoulade and spicy slaw. They were both great in their own right and went very well with the oysters. The only issue here was that in order to keep the oysters from getting soggy, they were thoughtfully served atop the remoulade and slaw. Unfortunately, this made the po' boy nearly impossible to pick up and eat by hand.
chgoeditor wrote:I'm not a huge fan of raw shellfish, but I'm a sucker for fried oysters. The po'boy sounds great...if I give Fish Bar another try, I'll definitely put these on my "must eat" list.
sr1329 wrote:There is no sea here and discerning cultures like the Chinese believe that the fish better be put on the skillet alive for a reason.
I really, really enjoyed the po'boy. It only had three large oysters, but they were great. Unlike Ronnie, I didn't have a problem eating it as a sandwich. My problem was calling this a po'boy. The bread is quite unlike any po'boy I've ever had. So, yeah, it's great, but it's not a traditional po'boy.chgoeditor wrote:ronnie_suburban wrote:I was surprised by how much I enjoyed what I ate at Fishbar. Oyster Po' Boy was really tasty. The oysters were tender, silky and perfectly fried. The sandwich also contained remoulade and spicy slaw. They were both great in their own right and went very well with the oysters. The only issue here was that in order to keep the oysters from getting soggy, they were thoughtfully served atop the remoulade and slaw. Unfortunately, this made the po' boy nearly impossible to pick up and eat by hand.
I'm not a huge fan of raw shellfish, but I'm a sucker for fried oysters. The po'boy sounds great...if I give Fish Bar another try, I'll definitely put these on my "must eat" list.
ronnie_suburban wrote:chgoeditor wrote:I'm not a huge fan of raw shellfish, but I'm a sucker for fried oysters. The po'boy sounds great...if I give Fish Bar another try, I'll definitely put these on my "must eat" list.
I really enjoy raw shellfish but last summer I ended up with cholera because of a bad oyster I ate at a local restaurant.
ronnie_suburban wrote:I'm simply knocking the tired, old, erroneous notion that seafood is innately and absolutely superior on the coasts than it is in the Midwest. It's flown into some of the best restaurants in the U.S. daily and the Fed-Ex truck almost always shows up before 10:30, regardless of where the restaurant is located.
=R=
ronnie_suburban wrote:No one's saying (at least I'm not) that the seafood at Fish Bar is at this superior level. I'm simply knocking the tired, old, erroneous notion that seafood is innately and absolutely superior on the coasts than it is in the Midwest. It's flown into some of the best restaurants in the U.S. daily and the Fed-Ex truck almost always shows up before 10:30, regardless of where the restaurant is located.
=R=
Katie wrote:Me too, so tired of that. No idea where Fish Bar gets its fish, but so many Chicago-area chefs are getting fish and seafood flown in from all over, the whole "no fresh fish away from the coasts" argument is getting pretty old and tired.
thomasec wrote:Also, I have to mention the fact that half of my friends who are Chicago natives simply refuse to eat seafood, so I don't think there's quite as much demand here.
thomasec wrote:Katie wrote:Me too, so tired of that. No idea where Fish Bar gets its fish, but so many Chicago-area chefs are getting fish and seafood flown in from all over, the whole "no fresh fish away from the coasts" argument is getting pretty old and tired.
Well, I think another aspect is that restaurants on the coasts probably have a better relationship with suppliers due to their proximity to the ports. I would imagine that chefs in New York and Boston probably get first pick, and then whatever is left-over goes outside the city.
I have had excellent seafood at places like the Publican, but I think that someone like Paul Kahan has a lot more pull with fish suppliers. You can spend $15 in Boston and get truly fantastic seafood, but I really don't think that's possible here.
Also, I have to mention the fact that half of my friends who are Chicago natives simply refuse to eat seafood, so I don't think there's quite as much demand here.
ronnie_suburban wrote:sr1329 wrote:ronnie_suburban wrote:I was surprised by how much I enjoyed what I ate at Fishbar. Oyster Po' Boy was really tasty. The oysters were tender, silky and perfectly fried. The sandwich also contained remoulade and spicy slaw. They were both great in their own right and went very well with the oysters. The only issue here was that in order to keep the oysters from getting soggy, they were thoughtfully served atop the remoulade and slaw. Unfortunately, this made the po' boy nearly impossible to pick up and eat by hand. We did fine with a fork and knife, though. Clam chowder and bisque (containing lobster and corn) were both multi-dimensional and delicious. Raw clams were outstanding, too. They were plump, briny and brought a satisfying aftertaste. The only issue for me was a some grit, which showed up in the raw clams, the fried oysters and the clams in the chowder. I think these ingredients need to be treated much more carefully.
As for the Chicago location having a major effect on the quality of the seafood, I'm not buying it. There are plenty of places -- even on both coasts -- where seafood is shipped in overnight from where it's fished. These shipments arrive daily in Chicago at the exact same time they arrive at restaurants in California and New York.
=R=
Not at those prices in the middle of the continent. That stuff's been sitting around a while or been frozen. Most of the seafood even in NYC or SF has been frozen. Many of those places can't afford to buy seafood that is fresh. That is the dilemma with seafood in general. I suppose one could argue that in that case it doesn't matter since the vast majority of seafood served is frozen, but this is supposed to be a foodie's forum. Some of us can tell. I would say that in general Boston is better than NYC in terms of seafood in that you have a chance at getting something that is fresh. There is no hope in Chicago leave alone some unknown place that can have UPS/FEDEX overnight their seafood. My basic point that the midwest isn't the place to open a seafood based restaurant at low prices except to cater to the undiscerning palate. There is no sea here and discerning cultures like the Chinese believe that the fish better be put on the skillet alive for a reason. You better understand that everything in this "fish bar" is frozen before it is served to you. That isn't so in some boston and NYC places.
No one's saying (at least I'm not) that the seafood at Fish Bar is at this superior level. I'm simply knocking the tired, old, erroneous notion that seafood is innately and absolutely superior on the coasts than it is in the Midwest. It's flown into some of the best restaurants in the U.S. daily and the Fed-Ex truck almost always shows up before 10:30, regardless of where the restaurant is located.
=R=
chgoeditor wrote:Two faults with the "only coastal towns can have good seafood" argument (which should perhaps be broken off from the Fish Bar thread):
1) Even places on the coasts aren't necessarily serving local seafood.
2) Fish served raw (except tuna, I think) has to be frozen prior to serving to kill parasites. In addition, a lot is flash frozen if it's caught by a boat that's offshore for days at a time. Once it's flash frozen, distance from boat to plate becomes a non-issue.
chgoeditor wrote:thomasec wrote:Also, I have to mention the fact that half of my friends who are Chicago natives simply refuse to eat seafood, so I don't think there's quite as much demand here.
Population of the Chicago metro area: About 10 million. Reduce by 50% due to refusal of population to eat seafood. Total demand for seafood = 5 million seafood eaters.
Population of the Boston metro area: About 5 million. Reduce by 0% due to wholehearted embrace of local seafood industry. Total demand for seafood = 5 million seafood eaters.
thomasec wrote:Katie wrote:Me too, so tired of that. No idea where Fish Bar gets its fish, but so many Chicago-area chefs are getting fish and seafood flown in from all over, the whole "no fresh fish away from the coasts" argument is getting pretty old and tired.
Well, I think another aspect is that restaurants on the coasts probably have a better relationship with suppliers due to their proximity to the ports. I would imagine that chefs in New York and Boston probably get first pick, and then whatever is left-over goes outside the city.
I have had excellent seafood at places like the Publican, but I think that someone like Paul Kahan has a lot more pull with fish suppliers. You can spend $15 in Boston and get truly fantastic seafood, but I really don't think that's possible here.
Also, I have to mention the fact that half of my friends who are Chicago natives simply refuse to eat seafood, so I don't think there's quite as much demand here.