Wifey-poo and I were away for the weekend out to the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts. We brought the bikes with us and rode up Mount Greylock! It was awesome. Temps were in the 50's F (10's C) with sunny skies.
Well, on the drive home yesterday we stopped for dinner at one of my favorite places, the Lobster Trap.
For most of my life, I didn't much like seafood. When I was younger, I would enjoy a cup of clam chowder, but that's about it. Anything else from the sea was just not for me.
But somehow these last three to five years, I've been trying (and loving) more and more. Last night I chose the Roasted Cod from their menu.
I almost went for the salmon because I do love a good piece of salmon, but I'd had that last time there. So the cod it was. And it was prepared to perfection.
The portions were perfect, not too much like at most restaurants. The potatoes were smooth as cream and just a taste of garlic. The green beans seemed to have been grilled and were seasoned so nicely. And the fish ... wow ... roasted to perfection. A nice crumble top, flaky white fish meat, moist, and just so tasty.
Is this a dinner you would like? Do you like seafood in general? Have your tastes changed over your life?
The town I live in... is known as the Seafood Capital of Australia anc home to the largest commercial fishing and aquaculture fleet in Australia (and the Southern Hemisphere).
Fresh is best....getting the catches directly off the boats as they unload or from the local processing facilities is the best. The supermarkets are still filled with cheap imports of suspect quality.
Blue Fin Tuna, Kingfish, King George Whiting, Snapper, Prawns, Oysters, Mussels, Crayfish, Abalone and more are all caught and or harvested here.
Sambal stingray is a popular Southeast Asian seafood dish originating from Malaysia and Singapore, featuring charcoal-grilled stingray fins coated in a savory, spicy sambal paste and served on a banana leaf.
Overview and Origin • Cultural Roots: Created by Malay and Kristang (Malaysian-Portuguese) communities, becoming a staple at local hawker centers. • Textural Profile: Stingray offers a unique, buttery, and tender texture with cartilage bones that let the flesh peel apart easily in strips.
@bijouxbroussard That's why I simply had to post about it. It was last night's dinner and I'm still thinking about it today. That's how ya know it was good.
Lately I seem to look for and prefer the seafood options on most menus. But they have to be fresh and prepared right. I think there's more "room for error" when it comes to steak, but seafood has a narrow window of freshness and preparation. When it's hit right, it's awesome. But can easily go wrong. 🤷♀
I would eat that , or the sword fish . To get my son ( who is now a college freshman) to try it…( sword fish)I called it steak fish, which he now loves and still calls it that .
@Harmonium1923 Oh yeah, it's a rough ride for sure. Only nine miles up the auto road, but part of it was at a 12% grade according to my app. It was amazing though. 😊😊😊
@saragoodtimes Lol, that's awesome. I feel that way about birds (chicken, turkey, duck, goose, pheasant, Cornish hens, etc, etc). But I haven't tried enough fish yet to make the same statement. I'm getting there though. 😋
Sounds great, I love all seafood. We had octopus linguine this evening, some "leftovers" my daughter brought home from work. The octopi ate all our lobsters and crabs this summer, so now we are eating the octopus 🐙
@SunshineGirl Okay, I've had octopus that was delicious and I've had octopus that was just so bad. That's one example of a type of seafood that has a very narrow window of "done right-ness."
And, btw, I put lobster in that same category. If it's done right, it can be amazing. There's a place in Rhode Island about an hour from here that makes the most amazing baked stuffed lobster. And, btw, they stuff it with a crab meat stuffing. 😋😋😋
My principle is that I like all the food I see and those mashed potatoes and string beans looks simply delicious.
I tend to avoid eating salmon after I read and saw how those salmon were treated and fed in those salmon farms. It is difficult to get wild salmon here at an affordable price.
@Stephie Oh yes, the potatoes and beans were so good!
And I share your concern about salmon. Here on the east coast of America there are no more wild caught salmon. All Atlantic salmon served here is farm raised.
But Pacific salmon is still primarily wild caught. So when I'm out on the west coast (typically for work) I try to get a nice salmon plate while I'm out there.
@Stephie Oh yes. Unaffordable here as well. That's why I said I have it when I'm out there. There are places here that fly it in fresh daily. But like you said... unaffordable.
@11knaves11 That's exactly how I was up to about 25 years old. Then I started finding stuff I really liked and I've been trying more and more ever since.
@ChipmunkErnie Interesting. I discovered the "goodness" of fish first and now I'm getting more into shellfish as well. Well, except clams ... I've loved clam chowder my whole life. 😂
@emmasfriend When I first wrote this post, I was just going to screenshot my roasted cod from the menu... but then I was like nope, this is all so good I need to include it all! 👍
Never had a problem with sea food. I remember the first time I had swordfish as a child in New Port Beach. Loved it then and would likely have it now if the place was still open. 🤷🏻♂
I've always enjoyed seafood. I'm in Florida right now. The other night my daughter made spaghetti squash shrimp scampi (thats a tongue twister, try it!). It was SO good@ I won't order shrimp anywhere in the midwest any more. Always disappointing
