A constant dilemma for us has been trying to determine which seafood is ocean friendly.  One of the few resources available to help us determine which seafood is sustainable is the New England Aquarium.  When the aquarium asked us to be one of a select few restaurants to team up with them in their “Blue Plate Special” initiative, which runs until the end of March, we quickly agreed to do it.   Using sustainable seafood is one of the things we strive to do.   Participating in this promotion is not a big change for us.  We chose a Main Course, added the aquariums Blue Plate Special logo to it, informed our staff about he initiative, that’s about it.  Hopefully this program will get our customers and those of the other participating restaurants to think about their seafood choices.

Our  current Blue Plate Special is – Sweet Soy Glazed Arctic Char Fillet with Dashi Wilted Bok Choy, Sushi Rice and Apple-Pickled Ginger Salad.  We chose arctic char because it is raised in land-based farms in Iceland.  Being land based their environment is very controlled, there is no chance of fish escaping and there is no harm being done to the surrounding natural aquatic systems.  We think of  Arctic Char as a great alternative to farmed salmon.  Of course when wild Alaskan salmon is in season you can count on it being on our menu.

At the end of the promotion we will be donating a portion of the proceeds from the Blue Plate Special menu item to the aquarium so that they can continue to help keep our oceans blue and fish populations sustainable.