A salmon a day keeps the wrinkles away?

A few years ago, when I began noticing the lines marching across my forehead, I invested in a copy of The Perricone Prescription. Dr. Nicholas Perricone’s book The Wrinkle Cure was a best seller, he was a fixture on PBS and since, as a freelance writer, I didn’t have the money to invest in his skin care line (hawked on QVC), I figured that reading the book would be the next best thing.

I should have invested in a salmon hatchery instead, because I quickly discovered that much of the doctor’s gospel is a paean to the beauty benefits of salmon. Yep, in his “Three-Day Nutritional Face-Lift,” the good doctor recommends a four-to-six ounce chunk of salmon for breakfast, a similarly sliced piece of salmon for lunch and, for dinner — you guessed it — four-to-six ounces of salmon again! I gorged on salmon — morning, noon and night. While I didn’t really notice much of a difference (I flit from fad-to-fad, so it might not have been the fault of the good doctor — or the good fish), this regimen did not turn me off salmon. On the contrary, you can still find me snacking on salmon every chance I get. So, when I received a media invite to an Alaskan Wild Coho Salmon Tasting Dinner at The Oceanaire Seafood Room, I was raring to go.

I also jumped at the chance because I hadn’t been to The Oceanaire but had encountered Executive Chef Sean Bernal when I was doing a story on the seemingly never-ending construction. Bernal had been prowling around the restaurant, champing at the bit to open it. “If it swims, floats or crawls, it’s going to be on my menu,” he told me, and I recall thinking, “That’s a seafood restaurant where I want to be.”

This recent night’s salmon feast proved me right. Although Miami’s Oceanaire is one of 14 in the country, it is not run like a typical chain. “We have about 40 percent fixed items and the other 60 percent is up to me,” says Bernal, a Puerto Rican native who uses the opportunity to show off his love of his culture. He also loves seafood, and working for the restaurant “lets me source fish from all over the world,” he said. When it comes to salmon, the fish comes almost directly (by way of Seattle) from the Alaskan fishermen who catch it. In the past few months, Oceanaire has featured Chinook, Sockeye and Wild Alaskan Coho salmon.

The restaurant showcases the Coho salmon by creating dishes that are then scattered throughout the menu. But true salmon lovers can order a three-course all-salmon dinner similar to the one we downed for $46–$48. These are not the only dishes Bernal and his team have up their sleeves. They’ve created several other salmon specialties as well, including Sake Cured Coho Salmon, Citrus Poached Coho Salmon and Guajillo BBQ Salmon & Spicy Crispy Red Onions, to name just a few.

For our starter, my dining companion and I were served a globe of Coho salmon paté, the cured fish dressed in a basil, shallot and citrus zest dressing, for spooning on toasted points of sourdough bread. Bernal stopped by the table to drop off a “Salmon Quiz” that all of the restaurant’s staff takes, to make sure they know how to explain the different types of salmon (Coho is less fatty than Chinook but still rich-tasting) and how wild salmon differs from farm-bred — wild Coho salmon come by their pink color naturally and have a more distinctive, although still mild, flavor.

For the second course, little squared chunks of perfectly grilled Coho salmon were arranged in kabobs and skewered with twigs of lemon grass, then balanced crisscross on a salad made from watercress, tomatoes and chunks of avocado. “This is a Latin-Asian fusion dish,” said Bernal, noting that the salad fixings are typical of a Latin kitchen, but the ginger-garlic-soy sauce dressing adds an Oriental touch.

“For dinner, I am bringing you what Oceanaire is all about, which is fresh seafood, just seared so you can taste its flavor,” said Bernal. Indeed, the salmon filet was simply and perfectly grilled, so there was just a slivery crust on top and flaky within. It was served with garlicky wilted spinach.

Dessert was not on the menu and Bernal wisely did not want to clutter up the fresh taste of the seafood with anything heavy. But he understood that a three-course meal sans dessert would be lacking, so he brought a selection of tongue-tingling fruit sorbets — cantaloupe, pink grapefruit and mango. Oceanaire may search far and wide for its fish but, for its sorbets, it wisely stays nearby, going no farther than The Frieze Ice Cream Factory on South Beach.

The results? My dining companion was not a salmon lover at the beginning of the evening, but definitely was by the evening’s end. And, as for me, I don’t know if my face was smoother, but it definitely had that salmon-sated glow.

Wild Alaskan Coho Salmon is featured at Oceanaire Seafood Room, 900 S. Miami Ave., through Sept. 17. Call 305-372-8862.

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