Day 100

Loup De Mer: Today's post comes courtesy of a stellar meal at Floataway Cafe. Me and the GF celebrated her b-day dinner there tonight, and we were both excited about trying the restaurant for the first time after hearing many great things about it. After checking out the menu, I knew it was going to be tough to make a choice - there were so many items that sounded good. I knew that anything I ordered would be great, but my attention kept returning to the selections of pan roasted fish. I'd never tried loup de mer, much less any fish whole-roasted on the bone, so I eagerly ordered.

Sorry for the dark picture, the lighting was a bit dim in the dining room. If you order fish in most restaurants, you're probably used to being served the fillet only. This was different - the whole fish had been left intact, head/tail and all, and the body cavity was stuffed with lemon, onion, and herbs. It was also served with a salsa verde and an arugula salad. I'd never attempted to eat any fish served like this, so it was a bit intimidating to figure out the best way to get to the good stuff. I started by peeling the skin back, then digging out the lemon/onion/herbs used to provide flavor. This resulted in revealing some really amazing pieces of tender, white fish. I had to be careful to not accidentally swallow any tiny bones (or eat any strange organs, since the fish hadn't been totally gutted, from what I could tell), but the extra work was worth it. Definitely one of the best pieces of fish I've had in a long time.

If you can get past the whole concept of your food "looking at you," whole-roasted fish is an awesome experience. By the way, "loup de mer" is apparently what seabass is called in the French Mediterranean.