Go fish for meat substitutes

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In a few days, it will be five months since I have eaten meat -- poultry, pork, beef and lamb -- but only the availability of great seafood has seen me through.


In the past two weeks, I had fresh, wild-caught fish in restaurants, as part of takeout and at home. 

Esca, Fig & Olive and Anthos restaurants in Manhattan serve wonderful fish, and Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood usually has a fish selection or two among its restaurant-quality Meals To Go ($6.99). Finally, Costco sells extraordinary seafood at low prices year-round.

At Esca , I had a wonderful  lunch of halibut cheeks and a pair of beautiful yellow-fin tuna medallions with rare centers. Though Fig & Olive didn't serve bread, I really enjoyed a caramelized fillet of snowy cod served in a bowl over vegetables and broth. Anthos won me over with salmon tartare, raw fluke and an incredibly thick and moist skate wing.


At Jerry's, I picked up a dinner with grouper in fresh herbs, which came with breaded artichokes, cauliflower, vegetable dumplings and potatoes. 

This morning, I had the last of six portions of the wild sockeye salmon fillet I bought at Costco and baked until it was medium ($8.99 a pound). I ate most of the fish in sandwiches for breakfast or over salad for a light summer dinner, stuffing salmon and dressed greens into warm halves of pocket bread.

Hope you like the new design I've applied to the blog. It's called Simple.

(Photo: Sockeye salmon.)