If there was a theme to this year’s Off The Hook Seafood Festival, it was raw tuna and grilled oysters! At least three restaurants were serving some variant of raw tuna, be it in hand roll, taco, poke, or tostada form. And two participants were grilling up some beautiful oysters (with another serving them raw). This is out of a field of around 15-16 restaurants. Not that I’m complaining! I love raw fish and oysters in any form!
Top bites for me were Mare’s baby octopus, Herringbone’s yellowtail w/caviar, and yes, the two grilled oyster dishes. Oh, and who doesn’t love ice cream on a hot day at the beach?
(For more pics, check out #offalohook2016 on Instagram.)
In its second year, Off The Hook was I believe a little smaller than last year, as far as the number of participants went. When I arrived 15 minutes before opening, there was only a dozen or so people waiting in line, but actually the event filled up quite quickly. The bands were tight: Black Crystal Wolf Kids performed great covers of recent and not-so-recent hits, Brightside had a great Afro-pop meets reggae sound that was perfect for the beach! As with their inaugural event, I do wish VIP had early access (even half an hour) and of course the line-up could be augmented a bit for a little more variety, but it’s definitely a fun way to spend an afternoon!
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