BBQ oysters that are flash-fried, tossed in Crystal Hot Sauce, and served with blue cheese dressing—“a clever riff on Buffalo wings.” Photo: Red Fish Grill
by Ed Lallo/Louisiana Seafood News
“Red Fish Grill is a celebration of Louisiana seafood, which we in south Louisiana love to catch and eat,” said owner Ralph Brennan. Photo: Red Fish Grill
October is national Seafood Month. Where are the best places to enjoy great seafood and which city holds the title?
New Orleans takes its claim very seriously – but so do Boston, Seattle, San Francisco, Charleston, Baltimore as well as a host of other cities that ring coastal waters.
Travel+Leisure magazine has given readers 32 answers where the best seafood in the 50 states can be found – two of them can be found on the streets of New Orleans, The Red Fish Grill and Casamento’s Restaurant.
The Red Fish Grill, owned by famed restaurateur Ralph Brennan, is under the culinary leadership of Chef Austin Kirzner. Brennan, along with Chef Kirzner and his staff were cited by the international publication for operating a restaurant that “pairs colorful, funky décor (oyster-shaped mirrors, bar stools ornamented with alligators, and fish mobiles suspended from the ceiling) with creative interpretations of New Orleans seafood.”
“Red Fish Grill is a celebration of Louisiana seafood, which we in south Louisiana love to catch and eat,” said Brennan. “This award validates the hard work and dedication of our staff at Red Fish Grill.”
Joe Casamento, a hard working immigrant from Ustica, Italy, established Casamento’s Restaurant in 1919. Located on Magazine Street in the East Riverside district of New Orleans, the restaurant, now ran by CJ and Linda Gerdes, is famous for oysters and muscled men shucking oysters.
According to Travel+Leisure the special attraction of the Crescent City establishment is an “oyster loaf, which pairs plump bivalves, dredged in corn flour and fried in lard, with thick slices of buttered pan bread and pickles.”
“Louisiana seafood is what I know and what I have grown up on,” explained Chef Kirzner “To have naturally sweet shrimp or perfectly salty oysters, our Louisiana waters have already done half the job for us in the kitchen.” Photo: Red Fish Grill
Local is the name of the game in today’s culinary world.
Casamento’s and Red Fish Grill joins other restaurants, from upscale to down home, that serve farm-to-table. For Louisiana that means fresh wild caught Louisiana seafood.
For the Red Fish Grill that includes the dish featured in the magazine – BBQ oysters that are flash-fried, tossed in Crystal Hot Sauce, and served with blue cheese dressing—“a clever riff on Buffalo wings.”
“Louisiana seafood is what I know and what I have grown up on,” explained Chef Kirzner “To have naturally sweet shrimp or perfectly salty oysters, our Louisiana waters have already done half the job for us in the kitchen. We keep it simple and let the flavors speak for themselves. Getting this award recognizes our aspirations to deliver the best of what I know Louisiana has to offer.”
Other seafood venues around the country featured in the article include: the upscale New York seafood establishment Le Bernardin, Texas sushi kingpins Uchi + Uchiko in Austin, Chef Vernon Morales’ Anchor & Hope in San Francisco, The Marshall Store located on the shoulder of Highway 1 in Tomales Bay, CA and the laid-back dockside establishment Hogfish Bar & Grill in Stock Island, FL.
Casamento’s “oyster loaf, which pairs plump bivalves, dredged in corn flour and fried in lard, with thick slices of buttered pan bread and pickles.” Photo: Yelp
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