Wild king salmon swims my way at Seafood Gourmet in Maywood

Wild King Salmon with a Strawberry-Lime Salsa and Couscous, above and below, at Seafood Gourmet in Maywood, where dinner reservations are a must.

A fat slab of wild-caught king salmon on ice was displayed in the market's refrigerated case. Each king, the biggest salmon, can weigh 50 pounds or more.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

At Seafood Gourmet in Maywood, a popular fish market-restaurant, you can often find your dinner chilling on plenty of ice in a case you pass on the way to the 38-seat dining room.

And so it was on Thursday night, but I foolishly went there without a reservation to celebrate a special occasion with my son.

We were told the wait was an hour, but luckily, a man was just finishing his meal at a table with two stools in the market, and offered it to us.

I sat with my back to a tank of live lobsters ($14.99 a pound).

I ordered Wild King Salmon with Couscous ($28.99), and my son chose a pan-fried whole Red Snapper with rice and fresh spinach sauteed with garlic ($24.99).

I also asked for a side dish of spinach with garlic, and the generous portion was only $4.95. Seltzer and soda with refills were $1.80 each.

A cup of Manhattan Clam Chowder came with my meal. My son had a bowl of Lobster Bisque.

Salmon and strawberries?

I wasn't sure about the strawberry salsa listed with a special of wild king salmon, and thought it might be too sweet, so the waitress offered to serve it on the side.

Two cups of salsa were on the plate -- one pureed and one roughly chopped with scallions and cucumber -- and they worked beautifully to complement the richness of the fatty salmon.

I'm sorry to say I don't know the name of the chef who is responsible for the imaginatively prepared fish I've enjoyed at Seafood Gourmet in the past few years. 

The fish market opened in 1988, and the restaurant was added about a decade ago.

A large portion of fresh spinach with garlic.

Catches of the Day were listed on a board on the wall above our small, round table.

Seafood Gourmet is a BYO.

Fresh seafood salads for sale in the market.

Details

Seafood Gourmet, 103 W. Pleasant Ave.; 201-843-8558. Open for lunch and dinner. Closed Sundays. Free street parking, BYO. With only 38 seats, reservations are recommended for dinner.

Web site: Your dinner is waiting on ice