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Dover Sole

post #1 of 74
3/20/10 at 5:11pm
Thread Starter 
Inspired by the "Can the US compete" thread ... I thought I would post an ode to the fish that I find to be the most delicate, consistently tasty protein, and something that I basically MUST order if it's on the menu and I'm at a restaurant I don't often go to or for the first time. I'm not sure if it's the pomp and pageantry of the table-side preparation, the scarcity, or just the sweet, buttery flavor. So I'll posit: 1> Where was the best dover sole you have had? (mine was at a now defunct Itailan restaurant in Baltimore) 2> Is it your favorite (white) fish? If not, what do you like better? (It is mine, but I also really enjoy good black cod and halibut. I'm not sure if Snapper qualifies as a "white" fish.)
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post #2 of 74
3/20/10 at 5:24pm
Red mullet is my favorite, though I do love Dover Sole as well. I can't say the best I've had, but it isn't particularly scarce outside the US, and it doesn't need to be served tableside. Really, sole Duglere, with good tomatoes for Greg, is one of my favorite things. Still, red mullet is the shit. If you don't consider red mullet to be white, I like turbot more than Dover.
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post #3 of 74
3/20/10 at 5:24pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by iammatt View Post
Red mullet is my favorite, though I do love Dover Sole as well. I can't say the best I've had, but it isn't particularly scarce outside the US, and it doesn't need to be served tableside. Really, sole Duglere, with good tomatoes for Greg, is one of my favorite things. Still, red mullet is the shit.
Is red mullet the fish that is often called black cod?
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post #4 of 74
3/20/10 at 5:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChicagoRon View Post
Is red mullet the fish that is often called black cod?
No, it is the fish that is often called rouget barbet (France) or triglia (Italy.) I never see it in CA, though perhaps them import a little into NY. It does not keep long at all, so mainly you see it in France and Italy.
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post #5 of 74
3/20/10 at 5:46pm
I like their migrating eyes.
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post #6 of 74
3/20/10 at 6:10pm
you can get real Dover sole on the West Coast, it's just imported (same is it is on the East Coast). My favorite American white fish is pompano, but it's been so many years since i've had it, that it might just be better in memory. Of the West Coast white fish, I really like petrale and white sea bass. there's also a fish here called rex sole or sand dab (slightly different fish, same flavor and texture) that are really terrific (and usually really cheap ... $8 a pound or so).
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post #7 of 74
3/20/10 at 10:39pm
Catfish

Aside from that, Lake Erie perch was good ten years ago before Lake Erie became the tacit toilet of Cleveland. I remember actually fishing for it off the piers. Now the piers are closed and dead sheephead and empty soda bottles wash up on the shore.
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post #8 of 74
3/21/10 at 3:46am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by why View Post
Catfish Aside from that, Lake Erie perch was good ten years ago before Lake Erie became the tacit toilet of Cleveland. I remember actually fishing for it off the piers. Now the piers are closed and dead sheephead and empty soda bottles wash up on the shore.
Good call, actually. Minnesota and Wisconsin Walleye is a solid white fish. I'm blanking on whether that's perch or pike, suddenly. Must be the alcohol.
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post #9 of 74
3/21/10 at 4:09am
Will usually order Walleye Pike if it is on the menu and Lake Perch is my favorite thing on the menu at the Ralph Lauren restaurant in Chicago.
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post #10 of 74
3/21/10 at 4:17am
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post #11 of 74
3/21/10 at 4:23am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Despos View Post
Will usually order Walleye Pike if it is on the menu and Lake Perch is my favorite thing on the menu at the Ralph Lauren restaurant in Chicago.
Ironically, they actually serve dover sole, IIRC
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post #12 of 74
3/21/10 at 4:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChicagoRon View Post
Ironically, they actually serve dover sole, IIRC

Think you are correct, have not tried it.

Can you recommend a place to buy fresh fish in Chicago? Whole foods doesn't cut it for me.
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post #13 of 74
3/21/10 at 4:38am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Despos View Post
Think you are correct, have not tried it. Can you recommend a place to buy fresh fish in Chicago? Whole foods doesn't cut it for me.
2, in fact. Stein and Issacsson in the market district (on Fulton) is cheap, but very "wholesale" .... not for everyone. They have great variety, good quality, good prices... but you walk into a warehouse with a lot of ice and dead animals lying on it. Dirk's on Clyborn and Webster ( just south) is expensive, but blows whole foods away. They staff is knowledgeable, their fish is sustainable (mostly, and they'll tell you if not), and the facility is sparkling. They are open most holidays.
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post #14 of 74
3/22/10 at 2:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChicagoRon View Post
2, in fact.

Stein and Issacsson in the market district (on Fulton) is cheap, but very "wholesale" .... not for everyone. They have great variety, good quality, good prices... but you walk into a warehouse with a lot of ice and dead animals lying on it.

Dirk's on Clyborn and Webster ( just south) is expensive, but blows whole foods away. They staff is knowledgeable, their fish is sustainable (mostly, and they'll tell you if not), and the facility is sparkling. They are open most holidays.

Agree on both counts Ron. Good recs.
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post #15 of 74
3/22/10 at 2:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by foodguy View Post
you can get real Dover sole on the West Coast, it's just imported (same is it is on the East Coast). My favorite American white fish is pompano, but it's been so many years since i've had it, that it might just be better in memory. Of the West Coast white fish, I really like petrale and white sea bass. there's also a fish here called rex sole or sand dab (slightly different fish, same flavor and texture) that are really terrific (and usually really cheap ... $8 a pound or so).

Ah White Sea Bass...also known as "ghosts" as they are there one day and gone the next. Where do you buy it at? I haven't seen it anywhere. The only time I've ever had it is when I caught it myself.

I also love sand dabs. The only thing I don't like about them is about half the ones that I've caught had one or two of those sea lice parasites that would come out of its gills. Very tasty fish though.

I cooked some assorted rockfish tonight that I had caught and frozen. Very delicate fish.

I also really enjoy sheepshead and sand bass, but of them all, I'm not sure that sculpin can be beat. Just got to be careful with those guys. I've been stung a few times and it is a rather painful experience.
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