Sockeye to Me at AMERICAN FISH

[nggallery id=1165]

When it comes to salmon, the more natural the better. Farm-raised “Atlantic salmon,” besides not tasting as good as wild, also messes with Mother Nature by fouling the environment and, in some cases, producing a genetically-modified species that looks like the fish equivalent of Barry Bonds’ love child with Mark McGwire.

Lucky for salmon lovers, the Pacific Northwest sockeye runs of 2010 were some of the biggest in recorded history, and this year looks to be just as bountiful. Sockeye salmon is the smallest of the major salmon groups, but also the tastiest. Its flesh goes ten shades beyond salmon “pink” to an intense orange red they get from consuming orange-colored krill (tiny shrimp) during their saltwater lives. “Intensity” also describes the salmon-ness bursting through every dish at American Fish’s summer of sockeye succulence. A great chef knows you shouldn’t mess with great products, and Chef Sven Mede knows when to let his fish do the talking. Fifty pounds are flown in from Alaska twice a week, and his dishes provide just enough accents to highlight, without overwhelming, such a fabulous main ingredient.

One bite of Mede’s sockeye sashimi and you will forswear the pale imitators at most sushi bars, just as you will marvel at his “griddled,” crispy-skinned rectangle in a vinaigrette of lime juice, fish sauce, ginger oil, and chili pepper pickling juice as a marvel of spicy restraint. TheĀ  five-course tasting menu ($75/per + $40 for the wine pairing) should come with a consumer warning: Consumption of sockeye salmon can prove hazardous to your enjoyment of other fish.

AMERICAN FISH

In the Aria Resort and Casino

3730 Las Vegas Boulevard South

Las Vegas, NV 89109

702.590.8610

michaelmina.net/americanfish/