I had a great experience attending a recent Tinned Fish Tasting at Public Smokehouse. I checked in…read morewith the young woman tending the register and she gave me the lay of the land as well as a souvenir tasting fork of my choice. There were a few designs to choose from: a lobster, an oyster, and a fish, from what I can recall. She also introduced me to our gracious host for the evening, Nolan, who was running the show.
Nolan is a big ball of energy and a joy to be around. He set the vibes to light, fun and whimsical and I really appreciated that. Everyone moved around the room freely, visiting all of the tasting stations that were set up with whimsical, hand-drawn decorations on the paper tablecloths (much like that seen on the Pinterest commercial). There were 6 different ones, all with multiple options at each station. I tried sardines, razor clams, pickled ramps, an entire array of Fishwife tinned items, mustards, seafood dip that is made in-house, oysters, the list goes on.
They also introduced me to an Indiana-based soda company call Bollygood, with Indian-inspired flavors. I love, love, love the Lime Basil Cumin flavor. I wasn't too sure about that combo, but it was delicious and super-refreshing. It smelled like a taco...but didn't taste like one! The Lemon Mango Turmeric was really good too.
I also enjoyed the demonstrations lead by Chef Amber. She also has a light that was a pleasure to witness. I could just tell that she really loves what she does. While she does not work there, she still gets to come back for the fun stuff (her words). She has been a huge influence on the whole tinned fish movement at the smokehouse and develops recipes and curates these events alongside Nolan and the team. I loved both recipes that were shared with us and her enthusiasm to show us how we can elevate the tinned fish beyond the can.
We mingled. We made friends. I spent a pretty penny on several of the delicious items that I was introduced to. I look forward to attending more events here in the future.
