Salmon Saturday: Salmon & Asparagus on Orzo

Salmon Saturday: Because there are so many great ways to make Salmon and someone has to start writing them down.

This Salmon Saturday is brought to you by Calzone’s Italian Restaurant on the North Beach in San Francisco.  While having a visit with my cousins in San Francisco, they thought dinner at Calzone’s might be nice.  I was looking for Italian food the night before running the San Francisco Marathon.   The menu had pretty broad appeal, but as always, I looked for the salmon dishes first.

When I saw the salmon and asparagus on the pasta menu, had in my mind’s eye that it would be served with angel hair pasta.   Mixing the dish with orzo was a very pleasant surprise.

salmon & asparagus green onions & lemon parsley butter

This find was the highlight of my salmon-seeking month.  The dish was light and filled with flavor.  There was just enough hint of olive oil for flavor without it being greasy.      The parmesan cheese the waiter added touched up of flavor nicely.  The serving size was just right, unless one is carbo-loading for a marathon the next day.

Avocado and crab pizza

My cousin tried the dungeness crab avocado, onions & fontina. He was willing to part with and half a slice and when I sampled it, I understood why. The mixture of the crab taste with the avocado had an amazing flavor that was strong but no overpowering.
My lovely wife tried the margherita pizza, made with san marzano tomatoes, panna, garlic fresh basil & fresh mozzarella.   Again, very tasty and an excellent choice.

Calzone’s is a nice place to go sit and enjoy a meal.  It’s cozy, the service is good and the prices reasonable.

The tables lining the street which gave it a nice European flare, but let’s be completely clear on one point: DO NOT TAKE YOUR FRIENDS VISITING FROM ITALY TO THIS RESTAURANT AND EXPECT THEM TO THINK IT’S JUST LIKE HOME.  They will like the food, and it’s an very good American interpretation of Italian food.

I wouldn’t drive across San Francisco to eat here, but I would certainly go again if I were around the North Beach.

Salmon Saturday: Smokey Applewood Salmon Filet

Salmon Saturday: Because there are so many great ways to make Salmon and someone has to start writing them down.

This Salmon Saturday is brought to you by St. James’ Gate in Prince Edward Island, Canada.     The fish is prepared by smoking and then baking.     The dish is normally served with their incredible straight-cut fries and salad.   I asked them to replace the fries with more vegetables.

This lovely piece of fish was presented on a cedar plank.  I did a little checking and here is a link to the reported benefits of cooking salmon on wood. I am thinking about buying a grilling plank for my fish, and when I did a little research, it seems that it can be used for other foods as well.

We had about a dozen in our party and everyone enjoyed their dinner.  We had a private room all to ourselves downstairs.  The staff was attentive and there was no feeling that they wanted us to rush.  It made for a wonderful relaxed evening.