Best Seafood 2010

Blue Water Cafe (Gold) edges out Silver winner C, in large part because of the judges’ response to our Chef of the Year’s “Unsung Heroes” menu. Chef Frank Pabst “knows all of the ocean’s bounty,” said one judge, “from mollusks and mackerel to the roes and urchins of the deep. And he turns it into plates that are as surprising as they are satisfying.” “His use of local seafood in Mediterranean-inspired dishes brings a unique quality to everything that hits the pass,” said another. The judges also appreciated the “finely executed sustainable seafood” of (now departed) Quang Dang at C, and the “care and imagination” that goes into Tojo’s takes on seafood (Bronze).