All Ashore for National Seafood Month

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

Ah, the virtues of seafood. Where do we even begin in listing off the myriad flavor sensations and health benefits given to us by the sea? The possibilities for enjoying the ocean’s bounty are endless as we celebrate National Seafood Month every October. Local fish mongers and national distributors abound in supplying San Diego restaurants and grocers with a wide array of sustainable choices. We’ve fished out some our favorites to get you started on seafood-eating expedition not only for this month, but for year round as well.

Pete’s Seafood and Sandwich

3382 30th St., North Park 619-255-8940; bostonpetes.com mousse also offers smoked seafood medleys, Pacific oysters, porcini-dusted brazino and a whole lot more on their land-and-sea menu.

Boston native Peter DeCoste brings to San Diego a taste of New England with his authentic lobster rolls made with claw meat imported from Maine. He sources the rolls from a backEast bakery, grills them with butter, and allows only a tad of mayo to cloak the chunked meat. This well-established casual eatery slings other back-East favorites such as fried shrimp, fish and chips using fresh Atlantic cod, and coveted Ipswich clams.

Ironside Fish & Oyster

1654 India St., Little Italy 619-269-3033; ironsidefishandoyster.com dish is accented with piquillo peppers and petite peas. From the “fish of the day” section, you can potentially encounter species such as Norwegian salmon, Pacific mahi mahi, and rainbow trout from Idaho. Blue Water Grill also has a location in Carlsbad at 417 Carlsbad Village Drive.

No roundup of places to score good seafood in San Diego would be fair without the inclusion of Ironside Fish & Oyster, a hip and fiercely popular destination where $1 oysters during happy hour is only part of the draw. The nautical theme restaurant is also known for its seafood platters featuring enough crab legs, grilled shrimp, ceviche and assorted oysters to share among four people. Hearty clam chowder and buttery lobster rolls are also among our go-to items.

Pamplemousse Grille

514 Via De La Valle, #100, Solana Beach 858-792-9090; pgrille.com

All the flavor supporters of escargot are present in chef Jeffrey Strauss’ “lobster cargot,” which honors the exact same recipe used by chef Miguel Biaz from the former Truluck’s in La Jolla. Offered only as a special for now, the recipe replaces escargot with lobster, but keeps all the buttery, garlicky elements of the dish, which is the perfect come-on to crostini for mopping up the sumptuous sauce. The long-running upscale Pample-

100s Seafood Grill Buffet

2828 Camino del Rio South, Mission Valley 619-314-6398; 100sbuffet.com

Scads of fresh seafood mingle with grilled meats at this giant buffet reminiscent of those in Las Vegas. Looking for snow crab? The place has you covered. Same goes for mussels, tuna, large shrimp, salmon, crawfish and more. On Thursdays, the dinner buffet features all-you-can eat lobster, which naturally comes with its fair share of competitiveness among eager customers. But whenever you visit, be ready to indulge more than you would at a sit-down restaurant.

Blue Water Grill

1701 Strand Way, Coronado 619-435-0155; bluewatergrill.com

If you’re on the hunt for commendable oysters Rockefeller, you’ve come to right place. We’re also fans of the Valencia-style paella brimming with shrimp, clams, mussels, chorizo and chicken. The

Shrimp Heads

2832 El Cajon Blvd., North Park 619-738-8184; shrimpheadssd.com

Restaurateur Shirley Ng brings her love of Cajun seafood to these North Park digs, which greets with a casual, friendly atmosphere and a variety of “boils” featuring lobster tails, clams, crawfish, whole dungeness crab and more. Assorted fried seafood baskets can also be found. No matter what you order, the essence of Cajun cooking comes to the fore.

Water Grill

615 J St., Gaslamp Quarter 619-717-6992; watergrill.com/sandiego

Consider Water Grill in downtown San Diego among the Cadillac of seafood restaurants. It’s where seafood towers and a large variety of oysters feed into the upscale elan of the place, which was launched some years ago by King’s Seafood Company. Open for lunch and dinner, expect to find everything from wild Spanish octopus and smoked hamachi nachos to red sea urchin, New Zealand pink bream and Maryland softshell crabs.

Sustainably caught seafood by local fishermen rule the day at Mitch’s, a San Diego waterfront restaurant established by three families 15 years ago. Lunch or dinner here potentially starts with dungeness crab cocktail before progressing to a shrimp Caesar salad, fried calamari, grilled fish of the day and an order of streamed clams in white wine broth. Those with a taste for breaded and fried should look no further than the shrimp basket and fish-and-chips.

South of Nick’s Del Mar

3387 Del Mar Road, Carmel Valley 858-465-7145; nicksrestaurants.com

Situated at a far end of One Paseo, the restaurant’s casual-industrial vibe sets the stage for Mexican-inspired fare that features a small but focused “pescado” menu for seafood lovers. Particularly noteworthy are the “scallops divorciadas” accented with mole and poblano-cream sauces. You’ll also find chile rellenos stuffed with both lobster and shrimp; lobster enchiladas; and shrimp taquitos.

Fisher’s

555 W. Beech St., Little Italy 619-915-4823; fishers-sandiego.com

Since making its splashy American debut earlier this year, the Mexican-based Fisher’s has been expanding globally with seafood sourced from the various locales it operates. Here in San Diego, the menu offers a vast array of seafood that includes prized octopus shipped from the Yucat- an coast, fresh northern salmon served carpaccio style, and other oceanic delights such as snails, oysters and tuna steaks.

Mitch’s Seafood

1403 Scott St., Point Loma 619-222-8787; mitchsseafood.com

Bay Park Fish Company

4121 Ashton St., Bay Park

619-276-3474; bayparkfishcompany.com

Customers swoon over the restaurant’s colorful variety of seafood dishes that range from casual to classic. The BLTA (bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado) becomes a winner with its inclusion of swordfish steak. The grilled local halibut and salmon beurre blanc entrees are also big draws is this welcoming nautical-themed hot spot that was founded by two fishing buddies in 2005. In regards to fish tacos, don’t overlook the ones here with fish that is panko-crusted, blackened or grilled.