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EAT THIS: BUFFALO-STYLE FISH COLLAR “WINGS” AT DOS PESCADOS
More Santa Cruz County restaurants are focusing on sourcing “sustainable” and “local” seafood, but what do those words really mean? The shift toward environmental consciousness is a good thing for the ocean and for diners, but these terms are nebulous. It might be comforting to rely on them, but “they can mean whatever the person trying to sell something wants them to mean,” said Ocean2Table owner Ian Cole.
This week, I spoke to local industry experts and chefs about how they define sustainable seafood. They gave suggestions on what to look for on restaurant menus and outlined the challenges to using locally caught fish. Read the story here.
It’s a complex issue, and Trent Lidgey, the chef and co-owner of Mexican seafood restaurant Dos Pescados in Seascape Village, pointed out that sustainability isn’t just about where the fish came from – it’s also about using every part of the animal.
One way he does that at Dos Pescados: the Buffalo wing-style fried fish collars ($12 for three to four “wings”). For this bar snack, Lidgey takes leftover collars from fish like salmon, kanpachi and striped bass, and butterflies them to create a wing-like shape. Then they’re fried to a crisp and doused in a silky buffalo sauce amplified with guajillo chili and roasted onions.
Some of the richest, most tender meat in the whole fish is found in the collar, and here it easily falls from the bone. Surrounded by crackling skin and rich, engine-red sauce with a mild heat, these “wings” are a decadent act that would be difficult for mere chicken to follow.
21 Seascape Village, Aptos; dospescados.com; 831-662-9000.
BEST OF THE WEEK AHEAD
Below, find a curated list of the best food and drink events in Santa Cruz County for the coming week. At the top, I share my picks of unmissable local happenings.
NEWS OF THE WEEK
ICYMI – here are the food news stories from Lookout that you might have missed, plus important news from beyond our borders picked by yours truly.
- The 15 best sandwiches in Santa Cruz County (Lookout)
- Yes on Measure Z, Santa Cruz’s soda tax, stays afloat but still too close to call (Lookout)
- Ultra-popular Bay Area barbecue spot named a best new restaurant in America (SF Gate)
- American wine trade steels itself for possible tariffs (The New York Times)
