Josh Gerwin Surfaces at Desert Fish

Josh Gerwin Rises again

Chef Josh Gerwin

Latest visit: January 29, 2012

Josh Gerwin, the award-winning chef at the late and lamented Casa Vieja in Corrales, is now chef at Desert Fish, arguably the best seafood restaurant in The Duke City.

Jane and I returned to Desert Fish last night for our fourth visit. I noticed some new items on the menu and ordered both. Part way through our meal, Joe, out delightful server, asked how I liked my dishes. I told him that they were fabulous, and asked when they went on the menu. He told me that they had a new chef, and those two dishes were two of his new inventions. I asked who the chef was, and he said that he was formerly at Casa Viejs in Corrales. Josh Gerwin.

Casa Vieja closed several months ago due to structural problems in that lovely and historic building.

Well, you Gerwin fans can now delight in his artistry at Desert Fish. Here are the two    additions to the new menu:

Shrimp Tamales with Tomatillo Mole

Shrimp Tamales.
Sure, we have all had shrimp tamales before. But none of us have ever had anything quite so good as Josh’s version. Soft masa with bits of shrimp in it stuffed with more larger pieces of shrimp cooked to perfection inside banana leaves and served with a tomatillo mole, this dish is spectacular. Unbelievably good taste and texture. This ain’t your Abuelita’s tamale; it is better. But don’t tell he that.

Grilled Chilean Sea Bass

Grilled Sea Bass.
Another spectacular dish.  Served with green beans, fingerling potatos, lightly grilled tomatos, and a gently spicy thin sauce, this dish will make you a fan of this fish. Perfectly cooked with a slightly crispy sear on the bottom, it was moist, flaky, and tender on the inside. Tasted as good or better that any other similar sea bass treatment I have had anywhere. The fingetlings were perfect: not soft and mushy, not dry and hard, but just right. Goldilocks would have loved them, too.

More…

Carrot Cake

Mixed Fry

Mixed Fry

Jane had the Mixed Fry, an older menu item. Alaskan cod, wild-caught domestic shrimp (beer battered and fried). Green Chile hush Puppies, seared scallop, and fried oysters. The scallop and oysters were fantastic. For dessert, I had carrot cake. I am a carrot cake freak. That is what I had on my first visit, and it was then brought in from ABC Bakery. Yesterday’s version is house made by one of the kitchen staff (from Los Lunas), and is among the very best carrot cakes I have had anyplace.

Welcome back, Josh. I am looking forward to many more of your fine dishes at one of my favorite restaurants.

BTW, the hours have changed. DF is no longer serving lunch during the week. Brunch onweekends.