Since early April, we have gotten many inquiries about our very popular Macadamia Nut Crusted Halibut. Halibut is available- you may have seen it at the grocery store or on the menu at other restaurants.

At Wildfire, we only use fresh Alaskan Halibut. Each year for the past several years, fishermen have been allowed to catch a smaller and smaller quota of Alaskan Halibut. According to Bonnie Axleson from Seafood Merchants, conservation of species is the issue. There’s lots of fish, but they are not getting the opportunity to grow. The limited catching quotas are intended to give more of them the chance to grow to their full potential. According to alaskaseafood.org, the catch quota has been reduced overall by 32% between 2003 – 2010, and that trend of yearly reductions continues into the 2011 season. High winds and rain in the region have also affected the catch. A different seafood supplier that I spoke to recently said that because of the reduced availability of fresh halibut, even frozen halibut inventory has been depleted.

I have some great news! We have been testing new recipes for a special fish and have come up with one that is sure to win many halibut fans over. We have been serving this new fish, Jumbo Flounder from Rhode Island, at our Glenview, Lincolnshire and Schaumburg locations. Our preparation is pistachio crusted and roasted in our wood burning oven, garnished with roasted French Beans and served with a mustard dill sauce. Customer feedback has been great. We will be adding this special to our other locations soon. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed!

From the wood burning oven~