WASHINGTON — 16 Feb 2012 — A hideous, mucus-coated Asian fish feared for its species-killing potential in rivers along the East Coast finally has found powerful advocates: upscale diners in Manhattan restaurants.
Meet the snakehead. Native to Southeast Asia, the so-called frankenfish is a spiny-toothed predator that feasts on weaker fish, can survive out of water for up to five hours and lives in areas that would strike lesser gills deathly still. It's also fast invading the waterways of the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River, gobbling up native species and threatening the livelihood of local fishers and tourist groups. The solution? Eat it first.
Or that's the plan according to John Rorapaugh, sustainable director for ProFish, a more than 20-year-old fishing operation that serves restaurants from New York City to Virginia Beach.
For the last year and a half, Rorapaugh has made it his mission to condemn snakeheads to dinner plates across the D.C. area. So far, they've been served up by chefs including Scott Drewno of The Source, sustainable seafood advocate Barton Seaver and Chad Wells of Alewife in Baltimore. But his latest client may be his most high-profile to date: Chef Michael Anthony of New York City's legendary Gramercy Tavern.
"It boils down to something really simple," Anthony told HuffPost. "Once we tasted it, we liked it. It has a dense texture, a wonderful clean flavor. There is nothing strange about it. It's a delicious fish."
Read the complete story from The Huffington Post