Grilled Fresh Fish

[vengroff]

Now that summer is finally here, I'd love to find a good place for simple grilled fish, Greek style. I'm thinking of the kind of place where you pick from a selection of fresh whole fish on ice. You pay by weight and then they fillet it, or not depending of the species and size, and grill it for you. The grilled fish is then served with a drizzle of EVOO and not much more. Sardines to start, then maybe a snapper or a sea bass or some rougets. Pair it with a light easy-drinking Greek white, and you're transported to Corfu for an hour or two.

Can you recommend any places in the DC area where I can have this kind of experience?

[Mark Sommelier]

Black Olive in Baltimore. Its just what you described.

[Becca]

You could also try Al Tirimisu on P St. off Dupont circle -- maybe a bit pricey, but great.

[Mark Sommelier]

You could also try Al Tirimisu on P St. off Dupont circle -- maybe a bit pricey, but great.

Al Tiramisu is a fun place. For those who don't know, that was the original Galileo space. I wouldn't go there for simple Greek style grilled fish, though. Maybe next door at Pesce.

[sara]

If you feel like taking a drive, Dmitri's in Philly serves exactly what you're looking for, at incredibly reasonable prices.

[Al_Dente]

If you feel like taking a drive, Dmitri's in Philly serves exactly what you're looking for, at incredibly reasonable prices.

If you don't mind going a little further afield, there is a town on the south central coast of Turkey called Cirali that will grill up the live fish you select out of a big old rowboat filled with seawater. It's the restaurant right on the beach in between the Lycian ruins and the foot of the mountain with the flames shooting out of the ground.

Ah, one of my fondest travel memories (the tall blond dutch chick I shared dinner with didn't hurt either)....

[maryland crab]

Don't think that you can pick the individual fish, but we have had excellent grilled whole fish at Mykonos in Rockville. The prices were reasonable and the lamb was first rate also.

[vengroff]

Thanks for your suggestions. I will definitely try to make it up I-95 to Black Olive and Dmitri's. I might even try to get to that place in Turkey, but only if you can guarantee your Dutch friend will still be there.

In the end, we decided to do something closer to home. We found a tiny 48 square foot ultra-exclusive place called Taverna Vengroff. It's so close to home, in fact, that it's my back porch.

Dinner for three began with an assortment of Mezze. These included baba ganouche, hummus, grilled Cypriot halloumi, and assorted Greek olives.

From there, we moved on to a main course of grilled black sea bass, with asparagus and grilled tomatos. Here's our meal on the grill.

This was the first time I've grilled a whole fish without a basket. Instead, I put the fish on a pre-heated and well oiled grill. It worked out pretty well. Sticking was minimal, and I was able to seperate the crispy skin from the grill with a standard fish spatula. The rectangular mini-grids are key for the asparagus. They let you move it all around at once, and prevent it from falling through the wider gaps in the main grill.

And here is our meal at the table. It was straight from the grill with just a drizzle of EVOO.

And it didn't last long. We served it with an inexpensive dry white from Crete that we picked up at Schneiders.

[ollie]

That looks so delicious! How long did you cook the fish and did you put anything on it prior to grilling?

[vengroff]

That looks so delicious! How long did you cook the fish and did you put anything on it prior to grilling?

Thanks, ollie. I try to go by look and feel more than time, but I'd say it went about 5-7 minutes on each side over medium-hot coals. You can tell it's ready to flip by putting your finger in the body cavity. As soon as it is warm, the bottom side is cooked and it's ready to turn over. This particular fish was just over two pounds and maybe two inches thick at the thickest point. As far as prep, the fishmonger scaled and gutted it and removed the gills. I also asked him to clip off the fins and pack it up with some extra crushed ice. All I did after that was pat it dry, cut four vertical slits on each side and rub it inside and out with olive oil and a little lemon juice.

Next time I'm going to try to find a local source for fresh sardines. I'll stuff them with thin slices of softened garlic and then grill for just a minute or two over hot coals.

[SteveW]

What's grilled Cypriot halloumi?? I think I know how it looks from your picture, but that's about it.

Steve

[vengroff]

Halloumi is a mild salty sheep or goat milk cheese from Cyprus. Some halloumis resembles feta, others are more like mozzerella. It is usually shipped in blocks floating in brine, sometimes with mint or other herbs added. Good halloumi has a waxy texture and can be grilled to form a nice crunchy crust before the interior melts too much. This is the traditional way to serve it. It can also be rinsed and then marinated before grilling to add whatever flavor is desired.

[theakston]

Next time I'm going to try to find a local source for fresh sardines. 

I love grilled sardines. Try the Portuguese deli in Arlington. They have fish flown in from Portugal (every Thursday I think, for the weekend). Excellent source for salt cod too. It's at the corner of Washington and Pershing

(diagonally opposite where Whitey's bar was).

[theakston]

That fish looks great. Where did you get the fish. Slavins?

[dave88]

you can still catch striped bass in the middle potomac (at fletchers boat house off canal road).

better bet is to go to the bay bridge, take the sandy point exit and take out your 12' surf rod, or ask a friend with a boat to take you fishing, and go to the pilings just off the main channel on the eastern side of the bay bridge. use cut bait or live fish. dont forget to set the crab traps on your way out, or have your kid trotline some.

thats how to get fresh fish.

[vengroff]

That fish looks great. Where did you get the fish. Slavins?

Whole Foods at 14th and P St. NW. I as I walked past the fish counter it poked its head up out of the ice and said, "grill me!" I had no choice in the matter.

[Mark Sommelier]

Whole Foods at 14th and P St. NW.  I as I walked past the fish counter it poked its head up out of the ice and said, "grill me!"  I had no choice in the matter.

I love that store!! I have completely stopped going to Dean & Deluca because of it. Much better fish and meat counters. Better service, too!

[theakston]

Thanks for the tip. The wholefoods in Arlington seems to have stopped doing whole fish (they had removed the ice-case)

[vengroff]

The selection of whole fish is pretty limited, so don't get your hopes up too high. They almost always have whole farm-raised trout, but they normally only have one or two other species at any given time. The rest is all fillets, although some of them are quite nice. They do get wild Alaskan salmon in season.

I agree the meat counter is nice. Also, just because something is not on display doesn't mean they don't have it. I once asked if they ever carried quail, and one of the butchers went in the back and brought out some frozen ones for me.

D&D is still the place for cheese and chocolate, though.

[dave88]

my point has been missed

[vengroff]

you can still catch striped bass in the middle potomac (at fletchers boat house off canal road). 

better bet is to go to the bay bridge, take the sandy point exit and take out your 12' surf rod, or ask a friend with a boat to take you fishing, and go to the pilings just off the main channel on the eastern side of the bay bridge.  use cut bait or live fish.  dont forget to set the crab traps on your way out, or have your kid trotline some.

thats how to get fresh fish.

my point has been missed

I would love to eat freshly caught fish like what you described. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like a practical thing for a city dweller like me to do on a regular basis. Maybe I'm wrong. If you can show me a way to reliably catch my own fresh fish for less than $6/lb, including the cost of my time, I'm extremely interested.

I guess I'm also at a disadvantage because none of my friends have boats, and I don't have a kid.

[Varmint]

I guess I'm also at a disadvantage because none of my friends have boats, and I don't have a kid.

You could borrow one of mine (children, not boats).

[vengroff]

Nobody mentioned Grillfish. I had never heard of this place until I stumbled across their web site yesterday. According to the site it started in Miami and then expanded to Boston and DC. It looks to me like there is some risk it could be the Chili's of seafood. But they do claim to specialize in grilled fresh fish.

Anyone been? Any comments? Worth a try?

[John W.]

I went in December and was not given one reason to go back.

My recollection is that it is the Chili's of seafood disguised as a place not trying to be the chili's of seafood. Had no idea it was a chain.

Why not Pesce? Can't rememer if they have a grill but they do a great job.