MeMc Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 I've never had shad roe and would like to go to a couple of places that serve it. What makes it so great (or not)? What are your favorite restaurants that serve it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenticket Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Good question - and one I've been wondering about myself, since I've never tried it either! I do know that Le Refuge (100 block of N. Washington St. in Old Town) usually has it listed on their specials board at this time of year. I've also seen it in the seafood case at the new Whole Foods - but I wouldn't have any idea how to prepare it.... Hope some 'experts' will chime in and inform the uninformed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giant shrimp Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 I've never had shad roe and would like to go to a couple of places that serve it. What makes it so great (or not)? What are your favorite restaurants that serve it? they were serving it on sunday night at hank's oyster bar, cooked with bacon and balsamic vinegar. it was simple and good, despite a bitter spot or two, about as close to meat flavor as you can haul up from the fish world, not exactly creamy but leaning towards liver. i like it, my mother likes it, my wife won't even try it. i wouldn't want to eat it raw. on the side, the mac and cheese was more about butter and dry, and have they changed the recipe? the service at hank's could not have been nicer, even when delivering the bad news about the dessert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crackers Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 I had the shad roe at Bistro Bis about a month ago and found it to be exactly what I wanted and expected. chef tell was not there that evening, but he had assured me in advance that it would be available as a special. Sure enough, it was offered as a half-plank appetizer or full-plank entree. The half plank, accompanied by the Marche de Toulon provençale salad assortment, was plenty for me. It was crisped on the outside and still soft on the inside. Yes, an acquired taste, but no more than liver or sushi. For me it's a ritual first harbinger of spring - even before the forsythia and daffodils bloom, those shad are telling me to hang in there - spring will come...spring will come.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Tanigawa Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Restaurant Eve has shad roe on special, either as an appetizer or entree ($30) portion. First time I've had it so I had no preconceptions on taste or texture, but it did not resemble the other descriptions on this thread (mushy, liver). I would describe the texture as firm with a creamy mouthfeel. I think it might have been fried (?) which gave the shad roe a dry, not quite crispy, surface texture. Definitely seafood but not fishy, I would agree with giant shrimp's description of it being close to meaty. I'd recommend it and will try to have it again before its season ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Harran Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 I had the shad roe at Bistro Bis about a month ago and found it to be exactly what I wanted and expected. chef tell was not there that evening, but he had assured me in advance that it would be available as a special. Sure enough, it was offered as a half-plank appetizer or full-plank entree. The half plank, accompanied by the Marche de Toulon provençale salad assortment, was plenty for me. It was crisped on the outside and still soft on the inside. Yes, an acquired taste, but no more than liver or sushi. For me it's a ritual first harbinger of spring - even before the forsythia and daffodils bloom, those shad are telling me to hang in there - spring will come...spring will come.... We have shad roe back on for a few days. I/we appreciate all the positive comments on the shad roe prep we're serving now. I can't wait for spring and the new menu that I/we have in store for you. Stand by, Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lydia R Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 the texture is indeed pretty close to liver, but combined with some good smoky bacon it can be delicious. Thanks for this description. I had a shad & shad roe combination at Suicide Bridge Restaurant (Eastern Shore - on the Choptank River) this Saturday night. The crispy bacon was just the right note against the almost sausage-like quality of the roe. It's on their specials menu and was a bargain at about $16 with two sides and a salad. My +1 got major points for trusting that we could find the restaurant given the rural darkness and missing street signs (no GPS). He was rewarded with rockfish that was perfectly broiled. We drove back the next morning, just to make sure we could find it again and to see the surrounding countryside. Thanks to Joe H, Crackers & JohnB for recommending the restaurant last October -- I hadn't forgotten. Please note the Suicide Bridge is still on winter hours (only open Thursday - Sunday). ETA: links and better narrative structure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROE Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 I've never had shad roe and would like to go to a couple of places that serve it. What makes it so great (or not)? What are your favorite restaurants that serve it? I had a great version yesterday at Johnnies Half Shell, wrapped in a thick slice bacon over smokey polenta and a small side of mesclun (appetizer special) I do like the texture, a little grainy and soft, plus the note of a liver taste in there somewhere. Also had the NO File' Gumbo - dark and earthy broth with spices that scented the air around it, I could almost hear a jazz band in the distance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Anwar Sadat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Cheese Lady Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Anyone seen shad roe in any local restaurants? Our go-to for shad roe, Restaurant Eve, doesn't have it yet I'd love some recommendations. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Cheese Lady Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I've never had shad roe and would like to go to a couple of places that serve it. What makes it so great (or not)? What are your favorite restaurants that serve it? Frankly, Melissa, it's a husband thing. I won't touch shad roe with a ten foot tenticle. It's essentially the egg sac from a shad. So, picture a thin, veiny membrane filled with about a million tiny fish eggs. If that isn't enough to get your juices flowing, when you cut into the sac, the millions of cooked eggs kind of pour out in clumps. Maybe it's the fact that I'm a mother, but it just disturbs me on some basic level. Plus, it tastes of other things I don't particularly love (liver and briney fish combined in one big mosh pit of flavor). For preparation, it's often sauteed in bacon fat and/or wrapped in bacon. The only saving grace at that point is in fact the bacon (in my opinion). Again, my husband can't get enough of the stuff and seeks it out every spring. Restaurant Eve does a wonderful job with this dish, so I'm told. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DameEdna Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 You could go to the shadplanking in Wakefield, VA, April 21. The shad roe is plays a minor role to the fish fillets, which, in turn are not as important as the political speechifying. Fish, hushpuppies, and a speech by George F. Allen, what could be better? I don't hunger for this, but to each his own. I'm sure some of our locals will be there to experience the quality of both the cooking and the speech writing. click Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMango Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Anyone seen shad roe in any local restaurants? Our go-to for shad roe, Restaurant Eve, doesn't have it yet I'd love some recommendations. Thanks! Would be kind of a hike for you two, but the first notice I received for shad roe arrived last week from Chef Ed at One Block West in Winchester, VA. His newsletter text is below. When done well (screamingly fresh, minimal other ingredients to muck it up), shad roe is one of my absolute favorite foods. Growing up in Virginia Beach, we enjoyed it every year straight off the boat. Here's a recipe from back in 2008 that has since become one of my favorite preparation methods. Have not yet seen shad roe in other restaurants or even at local fishmonger's. But once I do, will post again. Text from Chef Ed of One Block West: Spring is coming! I'm happy to let you know that the first shad roe of the year arrives on Tuesday March 2nd. Please call (540-662-1455) or reply to this email to reserve yours. Quantities are very limited this early in the season. Ed Matthews, Title One Block West Restaurant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I saw a few sets of shad roe at Whole Foods in Arlington last week for $12.99 per set. Over the weekend, it was marked down to $10.99 per set, but it didn't look so good. [Note that there are two shad roe threads: this one, dealing with restaurants serving the seasonal delicacy, and this one, dealing with where to buy it, how to cook it, etc.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leleboo Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 (edited) [and this one, dealing with where to buy it, how to cook it, etc.] Actually, to maintain consistency: Where to buy How to cook (I need to organize that index better, methinks...) Done. Edited March 9, 2010 by leleboo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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