Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Crudo, clam chowder, and salmon candy

Euro seafood off I-5

A warming bowl of thick, creamy clam chowder.
A warming bowl of thick, creamy clam chowder.

I'm never sure how many San Diegans have discovered Fifty Seven Degrees. The huge wine bar and art gallery offers tasty wine and beer, and enough space that I've never failed to find an open table for a date or casual meeting. Despite a central location, the place is off the beaten path, squeezed between the airport and the 5 freeway, just west of Mission Hills.

Place

Fishmonger's Market & Seafood Bar

1735 Hancock Street, Suite R, San Diego

Well, there's now a second reason to seek it out. Fishmonger's Market & Seafood Bar opened in the same property this fall, carving out 5,000 square feet of dining room, patio, and market counter space at the south end of the wine bar.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Raw oysters topped with fruit, micro-basil, and caviar

Fans of the fish market/restaurant concept may wonder who had the nerve to open one on the wrong side of the highway from Food Network-famous Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill. That would be another Food Network celebrity: Frank “Frankie the Bull” Terzoli, inaugural winner of the network's cooking competition show, Cutthroat Kitchen.

A wine bar and seafood restaurant, sharing a large space off the freeway.

Terzoli's big personality made him a favorite on season 2 of Top Chef back in 2006, and he's gone on to open restaurants including Bull's Smokin' BBQ in Bay Park.

However, besides being a restaurateur and TV chef, Terzoli has seen virtually every side of the seafood industry, from growing up working on local fishing boats to wholesaling fish on a massive scale for his job with a national importer.

But aside from a glass counter showing off fileted fish and piles of prawns, Fishmonger's operates differently from Blue Water. Rather than follow the San Diego fish market model, where you line up at a counter to order a choice of fish in taco, salad, or sandwich form, Fishmonger's adopts a European approach: white linens, table service, and a menu packed to the gills with fish prepared with a loftier culinary mindset.

Take the crudo bar. You cannot go wrong ordering the basics, particularly a selection of oysters served with cocktail sauce or mignonette. But this bar aims to ramp up the creativity, effectively resulting in Mediterranean style sushi, such as a cuttlefish caprese that features tomato and micro-basil, while swapping a piece of raw fish for mozzarella. Though not as pretty as the strawberry oyster — dressed with mango, garlic oil, and lumpfish caviar — the familiar inspiration makes it less convoluted introduction to the adventurous crudo concept, as well as the slippery sweetness of raw cuttlefish itself.

The menu covers sandwiches and seafood pastas and grilled, pan-seared, and fried filets of fish, plus a smoked Alaskan salmon treat dubbed "Indian candy," that's maple cured and smoked to produce sweet, jerky-like strips — also known as salmon candy, from the indigenous traditions of the Pacific Northwest.

My favorite dishes so far have been the richer, comfort dishes, in particular a decadent lobster macaroni and cheese that was devoured so quickly I didn't have time nab a photo. But if you're looking for an introduction to the Fishmonger's menu on a cold day this winter, I'd start you with a hefty $9 serving of its New England style clam chowder.

A lunch conversation with my mom rarely slows down, but it came to a stop as we both spooned bits of clam and potato from large bowls of creamy broth culled from a roux with onion, celery, and red bell pepper. I can't compare the hearty, warming soup to the east coast chowders that inspired it, but I've tried clam chowders all along the west coast, and never found one thicker.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Conservatives cry, “Turnabout is fair gay!”

Will Three See Eight’s Fate?
A warming bowl of thick, creamy clam chowder.
A warming bowl of thick, creamy clam chowder.

I'm never sure how many San Diegans have discovered Fifty Seven Degrees. The huge wine bar and art gallery offers tasty wine and beer, and enough space that I've never failed to find an open table for a date or casual meeting. Despite a central location, the place is off the beaten path, squeezed between the airport and the 5 freeway, just west of Mission Hills.

Place

Fishmonger's Market & Seafood Bar

1735 Hancock Street, Suite R, San Diego

Well, there's now a second reason to seek it out. Fishmonger's Market & Seafood Bar opened in the same property this fall, carving out 5,000 square feet of dining room, patio, and market counter space at the south end of the wine bar.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Raw oysters topped with fruit, micro-basil, and caviar

Fans of the fish market/restaurant concept may wonder who had the nerve to open one on the wrong side of the highway from Food Network-famous Blue Water Seafood Market & Grill. That would be another Food Network celebrity: Frank “Frankie the Bull” Terzoli, inaugural winner of the network's cooking competition show, Cutthroat Kitchen.

A wine bar and seafood restaurant, sharing a large space off the freeway.

Terzoli's big personality made him a favorite on season 2 of Top Chef back in 2006, and he's gone on to open restaurants including Bull's Smokin' BBQ in Bay Park.

However, besides being a restaurateur and TV chef, Terzoli has seen virtually every side of the seafood industry, from growing up working on local fishing boats to wholesaling fish on a massive scale for his job with a national importer.

But aside from a glass counter showing off fileted fish and piles of prawns, Fishmonger's operates differently from Blue Water. Rather than follow the San Diego fish market model, where you line up at a counter to order a choice of fish in taco, salad, or sandwich form, Fishmonger's adopts a European approach: white linens, table service, and a menu packed to the gills with fish prepared with a loftier culinary mindset.

Take the crudo bar. You cannot go wrong ordering the basics, particularly a selection of oysters served with cocktail sauce or mignonette. But this bar aims to ramp up the creativity, effectively resulting in Mediterranean style sushi, such as a cuttlefish caprese that features tomato and micro-basil, while swapping a piece of raw fish for mozzarella. Though not as pretty as the strawberry oyster — dressed with mango, garlic oil, and lumpfish caviar — the familiar inspiration makes it less convoluted introduction to the adventurous crudo concept, as well as the slippery sweetness of raw cuttlefish itself.

The menu covers sandwiches and seafood pastas and grilled, pan-seared, and fried filets of fish, plus a smoked Alaskan salmon treat dubbed "Indian candy," that's maple cured and smoked to produce sweet, jerky-like strips — also known as salmon candy, from the indigenous traditions of the Pacific Northwest.

My favorite dishes so far have been the richer, comfort dishes, in particular a decadent lobster macaroni and cheese that was devoured so quickly I didn't have time nab a photo. But if you're looking for an introduction to the Fishmonger's menu on a cold day this winter, I'd start you with a hefty $9 serving of its New England style clam chowder.

A lunch conversation with my mom rarely slows down, but it came to a stop as we both spooned bits of clam and potato from large bowls of creamy broth culled from a roux with onion, celery, and red bell pepper. I can't compare the hearty, warming soup to the east coast chowders that inspired it, but I've tried clam chowders all along the west coast, and never found one thicker.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Temperature inversions bring smoggy weather, "ankle biters" still biting

Near-new moon will lead to a dark Halloween
Next Article

Pranksters vandalize Padres billboard in wake of playoff loss

Where’s the bat at?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader