Lemon and Fish, Why Not?

You might wonder why we don't routinely serve lemon with our fish dishes. First, a little bit of history. Fish has always been a staple of seafaring and ocean going peoples. Before refrigeration was ubiquitous, that fish wasn't always stored in a way that would keep it fresh and palatable. In fact, that was impossible. Lemon was the answer. It's acid helped to neutralize the effects of bacteria on the fish. It's sour taste and strong aroma also enhanced the flavor, particularly of that not so pleasant week old fish from the medieval market. But that was then and this now. Not only do we have excellent refrigeration everywhere, but even fishing vessels that are far from shore have giant refrigerated holds and flash freezers. Freezing techniques are better than ever and frozen at sea often makes it hard to tell the difference between the fresh catch and frozen one. So back to lemon; when we want it in our recipe we add it. When we want you to have it on your plate, we provide it, and if you want it because you're in the habit, just ask, but remember our fish is delivered by Louie Andrade, a top notch fish purveyor who takes the catch from the docks to us. It's just so fresh we don't assume that you're going to want lemon on our fish.