RoCK, you shouldn't order flying fish.

And how was the fish at Portalli's?

That dish looks kinda nasty.

My BF had the whole branzino at Portalli's, too. It was pretty good. Fresh and simply prepared. The green beans they served it with were a tad overcooked but tasty.

A study in white.

I'm not big on the eating of whole fish, although it really does look tasty as Fl Rob points out.

That whole fish bones thing is what ruins a whole fish experience for a lot of people!

My friends who were Catholic in the 60's (as opposed to the "new" Vatican II stuff) tell me that before Lent there used to be a special blessing of peoples throats to protect them from fish bones.

I think I fell for my husband on an early dinner date, when he waved away the waiter and proceeded to fillet his whole fish
himself (and didn't make a hash of it). Very impressive!

I'll never forget going to lunch at Haussner's to celebrate Secretary's Day when I unknowingly ordered the unfilleted fish. I was 17 years old, it was my first job and I was totally embarrassed when I realized that I couldn't eat it. I had a great time anyway eating everything else though. I also came home with Haussner postcards and two menus, which I have no idea how that came about but I'm glad it did.

Thus, catch and release.

Most fish are pretty easy to filet when cooked, although I've run into some with anatomies that complicated things.

It's much easier to filet a cooked fish than a raw one. A spoon can be a good tool for the job. Once you've removed the top filet, remove the bones from the bottom filet rather than flipping the fish over (sever the back bone from the head first).

That's true, Hal, but those teeny little almost translucent bones still have a way of sneaking into the fillets from time to time.

Once we got white fish salad from a now out of business delicatessen that was so full of bones we ended up returning it. It's bad enough to get a bone or two when you are eating it off of the fish and somewhat prepared, but when you have it schmeared on a bagel and have just eaten a big ole bite, not good at all!

PCB -- I think it's the rice. It looks like they've eaten the vegetable and are coming for the fish.

when I was 19, I was in thailand, in the US Navy. I went to a nice restaurant where you pick out what you want from the front of the place that was caught that day sitting on ice. I picked some kind of fish and asked that they prepare it anyway they thought I would like it with a hint that I like fresh lime on fish. the server brough me out the whole fish, broiled to perfection stuffed with a few fresh lime slices and in a white wine. I never had a whole fish served to me, I just thought they would cut it up in the kitchen but I gotta say, that was one great meal. that was 24 years ago and if I ever get back to pattaya beach I have a mental map of exactly where that place is.

jl, I think you may be right.

Joyce, the blessing of the throats was the Feast of St. Blase, and if I recall correctly, was February 3rd.

captcha=on lordly

jeez, does it read minds too?

I liked the bronzino. It was moist with a slightly sweet flavor. That said, It is not going to become something I always order. Maybe something I'd get every few years or so.

RoCK, my very first bronzino tasting was last year at Luna Piena in Manhattan. It was salt-incased and baked. The waiter extracted it from the salt crust and filleted it at table side. It was quite good.

Yo yo yo. Bronzino rules! I use it every other day. I find that it burns less than Brasso. GTL guidos – gym, tan, laundry! Fist pump, yo!!!

Deep down most Americans wish they could be stupid and Italian.

Hal, I was at a restaurant in DC about a yr ago, and also had a salt-incased bronzino. However, I don't think my experience was as good as yours. The waiter was really struggling with filleting it, which did not make for a pretty sight.

Oh my, cuckolds calling!