I first had sanddabs at Scoma’s about 16 years ago. My grandmother had come to visit and demanded that we go to Scoma’s, an old-school seafood restaurant in San Francisco that she loved.
She asked how I liked the sanddabs. I told her they were great, they tasted just like sunnies.
“No they don’t!” she replied.
“Yeah, Gram, they really do, here, try a bite.”
“Well,” she said for emphasis, “I certainly know what they taste like and they don’t taste like sunnies.”
Luckily I was old enough to know to just let it drop. Because they do. They do taste like sunnies. And I love sunnies and every single memory I have of them. They make me think of holding an ultra-long bamboo pole while my great-grandfather navigated the old wooden fishing boat painted white to his favorite fishing spots – the same spots, I should add, that my father takes my son to every summer. They make me think of warm weekends at the family cabin with tons of uncles and aunts and friends around when my brother and I were the only kids there and if we didn’t cause a fuss no one remembered to put us to bed and we heard (and witnessed) great stories. They make me think of guitars playing and the family singing and crisp bites of pan-fried white-fleshed fish that tasted of the lake we fished them out of and how I smiled as the crumbs fell on the pine needle-covered forest floor.
I bought sanddabs last week. I simple dotted them with butter and sprinkled them with salt and broiled them until cooked through, about 4 minutes or so pretty close to the heat. We had them with bread and salad and it was a simple, perfect dinner and we talked about school and summer as the well-cleaned bones piled on a plate in the center of the table.
I’m honored to have been asked to read at the Eat Real Lit Fest in Oakland. I’ll be there tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon reading sometime between 4 and 5. They’ve asked us to tell a story rather than just read. I’m thinking I might tell a story about sunnies. Come by and say hi, it would be great to have some friendly faces in the crowd.
rachel | 27-Aug-10 at 9:32 am | Permalink
Thanks to wikipedia, I now know the sand dab (fab name) is a genus of flatfish in the large-tooth flounder family. I don’t think we have any around here but I like knowing anyway. I like my fish dotted with butter, sprinkled with salt and grilled, so it sounds like a pretty perfect supper to me too. Wish I was near enough to come and hear you tell food tales – hope it goes well.
abby | 10-Sep-10 at 12:20 am | Permalink
these remind me of a british fish called slip sole, which i cook in a similarly simple way – i might use your bread n salad serving idea next time i have them.
Molly Watson | 10-Sep-10 at 6:58 am | Permalink
You British have better names for everything. Slip sole! It’s fun to say!