Not too long ago, we reported on the reportage surrounding restaurants knowingly (or perhaps unknowingly?) serving diners cheap types of fish rather than the pricey or rare varieties advertised on the menu. So we perked up at this MenuPages review that crossed our desktop the other day, from an anon reviewer to an anon restaurant:
I ate here with a group recently and was mortified when the Snapper Special turned out to be tilapia. I have always read about how some restaurants swap in a cheaper fish, but I never thought it would happen to me. Unfortunately, the snapper dish that is on the menu for 18.99 is the one they heavily promote on their website. I am a chef and know the difference when I am served a 2.99/lb fish in place of snapper. When I told the server, she said she would check with the kitchen - as if they would admit to doing something like that. It’s unfortunate that they would try to take advantage of their customers. Stick to the pork items here.
We consider ourself to have kind of a refined palate (note: it is impossible to express that concept without using that language, and it is impossible to use that language without sounding like a complete pompous ass), and we’re fairly sure that we wouldn’t be able to taste-ID red snapper if we were forced at gunpoint, so we applaud this reviewer’s sensitive tastebuds, and willingness to share her story with the world. And we’re amazed that the restaurant in question had the gall to pull this off, especially after last summer’s Sun-Times expose on the precise snapper/tilapia swap in question.
[Photo of fresh red snapper via JordanH’s Flickr]
