Fishies, anyone?

Is there such a thing as fake Monk fish?

I am wondering.

Went to a French restaurant for dinner tonight for the Monk fish on their special menu, and was quite disappointed. Don't get me wrong though, food and service were both quite good, and I'll go there again. However, I went there specifically for the Monk fish, and I didn't think it is Monk fish that was being served. It's more like a hybrid between an Orange Roughy and some Cod of some sort.

*15 minutes later...*

Okay, I dug up some info on Monk fish and found out that it's the tail meat that's delicious (and probably what I've been eating), so it's totally possible that the dish I had tonight was indeed Monk fish, but just not the tail part. Oh-well, should've known that it won't come so cheap. Anyways, I still had a great dinner, so what the heck!

One thing that I just found out though, is that both Monk fish and Orange Roughy are on the Seafood Watch list as fishes to avoid. Monk fish because of sustainability issues and Orange Roughy because of concerns about mercury contamination. Oh-no for the Monk fish and Oh-well for the Orange Roughy.

Oh-no because I love eating Monk fish, but would probably be avoiding it until it becomes more available. Quite a loss for me as it is by far my favorite fish.

Oh-well because I don't think the amount of Orange Roughy that I eat will cause much harm to me, so it won't be affecting my eating habits at all.

Oh-darn! Just checked the Seafood Watch list again, and turns out that Swordfish and Tuna are both on the "contaminant" list. Tuna I know, but Swordfish? Another one of my favorites! OK, that's it, I'd rather be contaminated than to stop eating my favorite fishies.

I'm going to bed tonight dreaming of my favorite fish dishes at my favorite restaurants.

Bon Appetit,

AM