FRESH: Copper Sockeye, Striper, Crab Meat, Oysters & more

YES, THAT WAS FLYING FISH ON TOP CHEF

Pic unrelated.

The famous b-roll montage from the Restaurant Wars episode of Bravo’s Top Chef now features Flying Fish Company. FYI.

Speaking of, we would like to specially recognize our good friend, the great chef (you might even call him a top chef), Gregory Gourdet. Pictured at right is his new book, a 400-page banger that came out this month, featuring loads and loads of healthy and delicious recipes. 10/10 do recommend, and congrats to GG30000.

The biggest news originating from Flying Fish’s own kitchen is actually out on the apron of the property: YO, THE BEER GARDEN IS OPEN! It’s so new that we don’t even have the pro photos of it to share yet; you’re just gonna have to take our word for it and come check it out. It’s situated on the 30th Street Bikeway, a complement to the existing dining patio and a sibling to the seating on the Burnside side, pictured above.

And now? Here go the fish.

BETTER BUTTER THAT BUTTERFLY, BUDDY

Copper River Sockeye Salmon season is officially swingin’, babies. We got our first shipment on Thursday, and we should be loaded up at least for a couple weeks. But you can’t snooze on this if you want a taste of this phenomenal fish. There’s a reason Alaska’s Copper River is prized for its sockeye runs – several reasons, really, including heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and b-12 vitamins, super protein for your muscles, and most noticeably, rich flavor for your palate. Pictured above is meal of butterflied steaks. If you have an old school gridiron, we can’t recommend this recipe enough.

ALSO: We’ve been thick with ocean-caught wild Chinook Salmon recently, and you know what? Zoe Ching came by and made one of her killer stop-motion timelapse videos that goes from whole fish to ready-to-eat crudo in 34 seconds. Check it out HERE.

ALSO ALSO: Over the last two weeks in this newsletter, we’ve talked about the responsible, accountable, sustainable shrimping operations at Delpacifico Seafoods, our source for shrimp. As we are here in the fish section, we’d like to talk about the responsible, accountable practices of Pacifico Aquaculture (no relation). Pacifico has four stars (the highest rating) from Best Aquaculture Practices for their operation to raise Striped Bass in the open ocean off the coast of the Baja California.

• Sockeye Salmon – wild, Copper River (Alaska
• Chinook/King Salmon – wild, Pacific Ocean (Oregon)
• Ora King Salmon* – sustainable farm-raised, New Zealand
• Steelhead – sustainable farm-raised, Washington
• Halibut – wild, Pacific Ocean (Alaska) – fillets, steaks, cheeks
• Lingcod – wild, Pacific Ocean (Oregon)
• Rockfish – wild, Pacific Ocean (Oregon)
• Striped Bass – sustainable farm-raised, Pacific Ocean (Mexico)
• Swordfish – wild, Pacific Ocean (Hawaii)
• Escolar* – wild, Pacific Ocean (Hawaii)
• Opah* – wild, Pacific Ocean (Hawaii)
• Kampachi – sustainable farm-raised, Hawaii
• Ahi/Bigeye Tuna* – wild, Pacific Ocean (Hawaii)

FLYING FISH: A MOISTER OYSTER

Do try this at home.

You know how if you hold a seashell up to your ear it sounds like the ocean? Well, if you hold an oyster shell up to your ear, it sounds like the bay. Similar, but different. Stop by the Flying Fish Oyster Bar, where we have lots of oyster shells to serve you. They arrive with oyster meat, but after you’ve consumed that, you can hold the shell up to your ear and hear the bay. Bring your own Q-Tips® for runoff oyster water in your ear. (Dude that’s gross, why would you write that in an email that goes out to customers?)

As of this writing, Saturday morning May the 22nd, we have 17 varieties for you to hold up to your ear. For that, and for no other reason, we will reshare the Beavis & Butt-Head gif that we shared last week. [loud extended slurping sound]

17 FRESH OYSTER VARIETIES (give or take) AS OF SATURDAY MAY 22ND

• Baywater Sweet – Washington
• Blue Pool – Washington
• Chelsea Gem – Washington
• East Cape – Prince Edward Island
• Hama Hama – Washington
• Hoshi – Washington
• Ichabod Flat – Massachusetts
• Kokus – Washington
• Kusshi – Washington
• Los Rucos – Washington
• Mere Point – Maine
• Ruby – Washington
• Shigoku – Washington
• Sumo Kumo – Washington
• Tidepoint – Washington
• Totten Inlet – Washington
• Whaleback – Maine

FLYING FISH HOUSE SMOKED FISH: IT’S A THING

SOUL IN THE  WHOLE

OUR RESTAURANT MENU

ALSO: Cocktails, sake, wine, and beer for dining onsite. Inquire within.

PLEASE NOTE: This email was accurate at the time of its weekly writing. Some products come and go quicker than others, so for best results on the freshness, follow us on the social medias: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And tag us in your Instagram pics @flyingfishpdx – we love seeing your food pics!

Cheers,

Lyf Gildersleeve and the Flying Fish Team: Alana, Boo-boo, Chris, Danny, Elowynn, Erik, Isabelle, Jack, Jae, Jesse, Jordan, Kevin, Luis, Mad Dog, Mike, Neebs, Ross, Ryan P, Ryan S, Sam, Sarah, Sawyer, Tara, Trever, Wyatt, and Brad

INSTAGRAM JAM OF THE WEEK

Talk about product placement. Thanks for the sweet photo, @theporkinglot!

Craig and Sandy Gildersleeve opened Flying Fish Company in Sandpoint, Idaho in 1979 – the year before their son Lyf was born.

Now president of Flying Fish Company, Lyf has spent his entire life around fish, including an aquaculture education at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University.

Flying Fish has three locations: Sandpoint, Idaho; Durango, Colorado; and Portland, Oregon. The Portland location opened in 2009 as a food cart at the D Street pod on Division Street. In 2011, we opened the fish shack on Hawthorne Boulevard. In 2016, we moved into a stand at Providore Fine Foods on Sandy Boulevard. In February 2020, we opened our standalone location on East Burnside with a restaurant and a patio.

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Thank you for supporting our family-owned business. 

—Lyf, Natalie, Juniper, and Miles Gildersleeve (and Hazel the Dog)

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PHOTO BY NATALIE GILDERSLEEVE PHOTOGRAPHY: Ocean man. Take me by the hand, lead me to the land… that you understand.