Fishy business... are you getting what you order?

Si Nguyen

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I ordered fish at a fancy restaurant in Long Beach last month (The L'Opera). The waiter recommended barramundi, grilled. I swore it tasted like tilapia. Now I am sure it was tilapia.
 

Vance Wood

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You can't tell in restaurants any more, when the chefs don't know the difference and could care less if they did. I once ordered a Rib Eye and was served a Sirloin. You would think someone working a Steak House would know the difference. Now---if you want to talk about preparation we can go down a different road that is one of my major sore spots.
 

Bonsai Nut

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Last time I had Ahi Tuna the waiter was so proud of their tuna he took me into their cooler to show me the fish :) Of course, this was in Kauai where tilapia may be harder to get than mahi mahi :) And it WAS a fish market with a restaurant on the side.

The Boston Globe article said that basically there was NO red snapper being sold in Boston. If you ordered Red Snapper ANYWHERE in the city, you were getting something else. Red Snapper is a pretty unmistakable fish before it is prepared. You can't tell me that a chef doesn't know what Red Snapper looks like.

This is an example of when investigative journalism is worth a newspaper subscription. I feel good paying for a newspaper even if I don't read it - just to keep people like this in jobs :)
 

shinmai

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I read a book several years ago about the seafood salesman who “invented“ Chilean sea bass, which is not a bass at all. Originally known as Patagonian tooth fish, it was considered near-worthless by-catch, mostly headed for cat food and fish sticks. Cod was in short supply, so the guy started sourcing it, and went door to door at restaurants, introducing it under its new name. Now cod is making a comeback, and CSB is threatened by overfishing.
 

Adair M

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An amazing investigative piece by the Boston Globe that showed that almost half the time you order fish in a restaurant, you aren't getting what you order (at least in Boston). Check it out... (a direct link to the original article requires you to subscribe to their online paper).
What??? Are you saying the Scrod isn’t real Scrod?
 

sorce

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Yup!

Sorce
 

Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
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Carps is cool. Best thing to do with an invasive species. Eat 'em up.

Over fishing has caused a huge shift in species distribution in the oceans. Size of fish has declined significantly. Currently cod average only a few pounds, in the 1800's cod often came in at over 25 to 50 pounds each.

Mackerel is one fish that is hard to mistake, usually tastes like cat food. Dark and oily flesh. But it is high in Omega 3 fatty acids and is currently relatively cheap.
 
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