FRESHNESS: Salmon, Scallops, Cod, Clams, Oysters &c.

SALMON BURGER SZN

Say HELLAHHH to our spring update.

Pictured above, hot off the Flying Fish restaurant grill: Our new House Salmon Burger, all the fixins. It’s part of a spring menu refresh that includes the grilled salmon salad you may have caught on our Instagram this week, plus a tuna niçoise salad arriving Monday.

Every month or so, the Flying Fish brain trust gets together to craft what we put on the menu: Lyf generally on concept, Sous Chef Danny generally on logistics, Head Chef Erik generally on execution. All of us collectively, from our kitchen to your plate. Come on by the patio to dine in with lots of pairing options of beer, wine, bubbly & sake. Or get it to go and pair it with whatever you’ve got in yer fridge at home.

INTERMISSION FROM THE FARM

On Monday April 12th, Flying Fish took a day ON and went on tour. Our staff field trip to tour the oyster farms at Baywater, Hama Hama, and Carbajal was productive, informative, and we’ll go ahead and say it: FUN. Our friends at Wandervans donated two campervans for the occasion – thanks so much.

Here are a few scenes from the field trip. Ask us about oysters – please!

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SRSLY, ASK US ABOUT OUR OYSTERS

One more from the tour: Hama Hama product, ready to ship

The spirit of the Flying Fish Oyster Bar will live on until it’s allowed to operate as such. As always, we keep a rotating stockpile of oysters for dining onsite and/or taking with you to shuck at home. There are regulars like Kumamoto. There are once in a whiles, like Fjord Lux. There are 15 varieties, give or take, on the blackboard right this very second. These ones here:

FRESH OYSTERS AS OF SATURDAY MAY 1ST

• Baywater Indigo – Washington
• Baywater Sweet – Washington
• Blue Pool – Washington
• East Cape – Prince Edward Island
• Fin de la Baie – New Brunswick
• Fjord Lux – Washington
• Hama Hama – Washington
• Kokus – Washington
• Kumamoto – Washington →
• Kusshi – British Columbia
• Los Rucos – Washington
• Peale Passage – Washington
• Tidepoint – Washington
• Totten Inlet – Washington
• Shigoku – Washington

SALMON STUFF

A quick recognition of thanks to Natalie Gildersleeve, pictured above in the middle of producing the pretty pictures that populate these pages. Never mind our bias – check out her work to see how talented she is at finding the beauty in families. And get her together with the styling sensibilities of Matthew Domingo of Wilder Projects? Forget it. Lots of new pretty product pics coming soon.

…including longline caught Chinook Salmon from the Pacific off the Oregon Coast. Did you know? We sell cedar planks by Wildwood Grilling in Lyf’s hometown Sandpoint, Idaho. Wildwood knows its way around a good hunk of salmon, and making a perfect cedar planked meal at home is super easy. Chances are you already have what you need: butter, honey, garlic, lemon, salt, pepper, and optional fresh parsley, chopped – check out the recipe HERE. The Blazers play the Celtics at 4:30 tomorrow afternoon. You can get home from your hike by 3 and still have time to prep everything for a salmon feast at tipoff.

Salmon and such, here we go:

• Bigeye Ahi Tuna* – wild, Pacific Ocean (Hawaii)
• Black Cod/Sablefish – wild, Pacific Ocean (Oregon)
• Chinook/King Salmon – wild, Pacific Ocean (Oregon)
• Escolar* – wild, Pacific Ocean (Hawaii)
• Halibut – wild, Pacific Ocean (Alaska)
• Kampachi* – sustainable farm-raised, Hawaii
• Lingcod – wild, Pacific Ocean (Oregon)
• Ono* – wild, Pacific Ocean (Hawaii)
• Opah* – wild, Pacific Ocean (Hawaii)
• Ora King Salmon* – sustainable farm-raised, New Zealand
• Petrale Sole – wild, Pacific Ocean (Oregon)
• Rockfish – wild, Pacific Ocean (Oregon) →
• Steelhead – sustainable farm-raised, Washington
• Tombo (Albacore Tuna)* – wild, Pacific Ocean (Hawaii)
• True Cod – wild, Pacific Ocean (Alaska)

THE SEAR & THE SIZZLE

The sear, the sizzle, the scallop. Once again: Natalie/Matthew photo.

Scallops over here, scallops over there. Sea scallops from the Atlantic, Bay Scallops from the Pacific. The latter of which is a NEW PRODUCT ALERT. Bay Scallop harvest is a relatively recent phenomenon in Peru; what we recognize as its fishery came into being in the 1980s, and since then it’s been managed and informed by the Marine Institute of Peru. There’s a good overview of it HERE. Like their Atlantic brethren, they are shipped to us all natural – no chemicals or preservatives.

Scallops & scallops, up top on this week’s shellfish freshness:

FRESH SHELLFISH AS OF SATURDAY MAY 1ST

• Atlantic Scallops – wild, Atlantic Ocean (Massachusetts)
• Bay Scallops – sustainable farm-raised, Peru
• Dungeness Crab Meat – wild, Oregon – cooked and picked, ready to eat
• Littleneck Clams – sustainable farm-raised, Massachusetts
• Manila Clams – sustainable farm-raised, Washington
• Mussels – sustainable farm-raised, Washington

SMOKIN’ SCALLOPS

LYF WILL SCREENSHOT THIS MEAT SECTION AND POST IT ON HIS INSTAGRAM STORIES

In the words of Ned Flanders, “A toast to the host who can boast the most roast.” In the words of Totum Farm, purveyors of pasture raised chicken, “may that host be you.” (They probably said that.)

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, Jordan, Kevin, Luis, Mad Dog, Mike, Neebs, Ross, Ryan P, Ryan S, Sam, Sarah, Sawyer, Tara, Wyatt and Brad

INSTAGRAM JAM OF THE WEEK

Srsly @georgiesgardens, you take some hella purty pics of food, including our seafoods. Thank you.

ABOUT FLYING FISH

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: Rooftop Juni.