Chef Craig Deihl: Special Fish Specialist

If you are interested in trying local fish less commonly found on menus around town, may we suggest Cypress. The founding chef there, Craig Deihl is known for elegantly balanced daily specials of species his customers may not have tried. And, he’s not afraid of the obstacles—he doesn’t balk at the labor it takes to gut a 1 1/2 pound vermilion or a small 1 pound Almaco jack.

We found him breaking down an 800-pound steer in the top kitchen of Cypress, but he was happy to switch topics from beef to talk about his seafood preparations. “Certain
things like grouper are easy fish to cook, these other species of fish revolve around needing a more inventive way to of cooking.” We had a deliciously handled tile fish which was soft, buttery and sweet. “Tile fish doesn’t have a lot of fat content, so it can be served with fresh fatty things–—like creamy potatoes.” Smaller fish (like the jack or vermilion) Craig often serves with skin on, “it doesn’t need to need to cook long to sear out the skin really well and get it nice and crispy. Then we just barely flip it over and it’s done.” An insider’s recommendatio:, if you are there when black bass is the special, that’s Chef Deihl’s favorite “it’s just so sweet,” he says. ~ Capers White

Pan-roasted tile fish with English pea and potato risotto, grilled spring Vidalia bulbs, and green onion puree was Chef Diehl’s special the night we arrived.