New seafood houses build identity on high-quality offerings

Nation's Restaurant News, Feb 23, 1998 by Carolyn Walkup

Classic seafood houses are making waves from coast to coast.

A school of new fish houses is swimming into the mainstream, offering more variety but fewer frills. Operators are letting the freshness of the product speak for itself, rather than masking natural fish flavor with heavy sauces or other distracting accompaniments.

Among the newest classic fish houses in this category are Milos in New York; Stillwater Bar & Grill at The Lodge at Pebble Beach, Calif.; and Bluepoint Oyster Bar in Chicago. Several more are in the works or are just opening. All share a somewhat retro mood, combined with cutting-edge modernity in getting the fish to the table while it's fresh.

Milos, a high-end Greek seafood restaurant modeled after its predecessor in Montreal, owned by Costas Spiliadis, has garnered rave reviews since it opened last summer at a cost of $4 million. Most fish is served whole and simply grilled over charcoal. Extra virgin olive oil and organic lemon juice are the preferred accompaniments.

That ancient way of eating fish is "in the tradition of the Aegean," said Yanni Simonides, Milos' spokesman. Grilling is done over charcoal rather than over hickory or other wood so that the natural taste of the fish is not altered.

Customers may select the specific fish they want from a display case, where its price is determined by its weight. "They pick their fish, it's weighed and 15 minutes later it's on the table," Simonides explained.

Fresh fish that he described as "sushi quality" is flown in from all over the world. Even shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico or Morocco is received fresh, he said.

"There is no money spared to have the freshest. This costs an enormous amount. That's why we are rather expensive," Simonides admitted.

The average dinner check is in the $65 range. Milos is positioned to compete with high-end French and Northern Italian restaurants in New York instead of with most other Greek concepts, which tend to be more moderately priced.

Pegasus, a midrange Greek restaurant in Chicago's Greektown restaurant row, is seeing an increase in sales of whole fish as well as of broiled octopus. "It used to be difficult for us to sell the whole fish," said Yannis Melidis, a partner.

Like Milos, Pegasus concentrates on grilling over charcoal and accenting with olive oil and lemon juice. Another popular accompaniment is egg lemon sauce with dill and fennel.

Bluepoint Oyster Bar in Chicago, owned by Restaurant Development Group, is modeled after East Coast oyster bars of the 1940s. Decor is Art Deco, featuring dark wood paneling and ceiling fans.

Owners Roger Greenfield and Ted Kasemir hired Jerry Pisacreta, formerly of New York's Oyster Bar and Restaurant at Grand Central, as executive chef. Pisacreta described the concept as "a classic East Coast seafood house with a twist."

In addition to the raw bar and simply prepared catches of the day, usually numbering about a dozen, and lobster and crab, Bluepoint offers a sushi bar and a "prime seafood" section that incorporates more sauces and other accompaniments. Examples are Maryland jumbo lump crab cake with Creole remoulade; scallion-crusted escolar with soy-chili glaze; and seared Arctic char with raspberry-thyme vinaigrette.

On the West Coast, The Lodge at Pebble Beach just changed its former Cypress Room to Stillwater Bar and Grill. The new concept has been broadened from that of a traditional hotel dining room that served a varied menu to a strong seafood identity, said David Oliver, Lodge general manager.

Since making the change to the more casual bar and grill, complete with a 9-foot raw bar, sales are considerably higher than they've been in years during the slow winter season, Oliver said. He largely credits the bar and grill's greater appeal to local residents for the increase.

"We wanted to have the best seafood house on the Monterey Peninsula," he said. With the help of new chef Todd Fisher, the culinary team researched new seafood sources, especially those located in the Pacific Northwest. "We put the menu together first and then developed the restaurant around that," Oliver explained.

Decor elements make it obvious that this is a seafood restaurant. "I think it's important to make a statement," Oliver said.

Combining a high-end fish house with an adjacent casual bar and grill is the latest plan for the Harman-Nicholas Group based in Chicago, which operates Nick's Fishmarket in Chicago and similar seafood restaurants. Remodeling plans for the 20-year-old restaurant there include expansion to dual concepts.

Long known for serving species not commonly found elsewhere, in addition to the standard varieties, Nick's continues to send its own delivery trucks to O'Hare International Airport to pick up fish orders as soon as they arrive.

"It's nice to know that the ice and the gel packs are still frozen solid even though the fish from Hawaii has been on the plane for eight hours," said Steve Karpf, regional president. Dinner checks at Nick's average $50, and the food cost is 35 percent.