New Product Wednesdays: Is This Fish Delish? Trader Joe's Gluten Free Battered Halibut

Happy New Product Wednesday, LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

If you are a regular reader, you probably know that on Wednesdays I feature a review of a new product or a product that is new to me.

In honor of the South Tampa Trader Joe's which opened last month, I have been featuring reviews of some of their latest products.  For this New Product Wednesday, I am featuring an item from their freezer section:  Trader Joe's Gluten Free Battered Halibut.

I love, love, love fish and chips.  Deep fried fish and potatoes- what's not to love?  Throw some malt vinegar and fresh ground sea salt on there and I am in heaven!

I have been trying to eat light, but when I am craving something really naughty I like to bake a piece of battered or panko breaded fish to feel like I am having a "fast food" type experience without the fast food calorie count.  Listen, when you are dieting, you have to do whatever trick helps you!  

Two pieces of the Trader Joe's battered halibut are 170 calories.  The batter is light and crispy.  However I found the fish to be rather thin and therefore not a lot of flavor in comparison to the batter.  I would rate it as "Just OK."

In comparison, if you're looking for a good frozen fish, I prefer the Trident Seafoods Panko Breaded Tilapia in the freezer section at Costco.  One piece is 180 calories, but is is much thicker, savory and overall feels like you're eating something much more caloric.  Even though I can have two pieces of the Trader Joe's battered halibut for roughly the same calories as one piece of the Trident Seafoods breaded tilapia, my taste buds and stomach much prefer the tilapia.

So if you're looking for a good frozen fish to satisfy a fish and chips craving, I'd recommend you bypass Trader Joe's and if you are a Costco member, go their frozen food aisle instead.

Can you go home again? The Hot Fish Shop - Rochester, Minnesota

I was born in a small city in Southern Minnesota, USA.  My paternal grandmother was a first generation American - her parents emigrated from Poland.  She lived her entire life in the house she was born in.  The now 120+ year old home still belongs to a cousin.  I could not imagine spending my entire life in one house - from cradle to grave.  I suppose there is something romantic to the notion, but I appreciate that I have lived in five states in the US, as well as lived for short periods of time in Taiwan, Switzerland, Australia and Malaysia.  I do miss the neighborhood aspect of my Grandmother's home (read about the not so charming neighbors in another one of my blog posts entitled: Cadavers, Adultery, The Butterfly Effect and Why I Have Been Missing In Action.)  I miss the local ladies who would can food straight from their garden.  I miss my chain-smoking, gruff but lovable Grandmother and I miss my Velveeta-cheese eating and TV wrestling match watching Grandfather.

When I was little, a fancy night out with my relatives would be dinner at The Hot Fish Shop restaurant in Winona, Minnesota.  The owners were Polish and I remember being very happy to get a large button that said "Proud to be Polish" and the red and white "Solidarity" buttons too.  I have never been to Poland (yet) and at the time had no clue who Lech Walesa was, but I felt connected to a cause bigger when I saw such buttons.  

My two cousins and I all have first names that start with L.  I am the youngest, so I guess I am L Number 3.  As a child, L Number 1 - the oldest, was the blond, sassy, very outspoken grandchild.  She adored shrimp - so much so that she wore a white fluffy bathrobe with a big pink shrimp on the back of it.  When we go to The Hot Fish Shop, she would of course order the batter-fried shrimp.  I did not care for the shrimp and didn't start liking it until college when I tasted shrimp properly cooked and not rubbery.  My cousin L Number 2 and I - both dark-haired, would order the batter-fried torsk at the Hot Fish Shop.  I didn't know then and honestly didn't know until I did some research for this blog post (yeah, I actually do research for this blog, can you believe it??) that "torsk" is just a Norwegian word for cod.  All this time I believed my childhood was filled with fluffy, flaky, mystical fish.  Nope, just cod.

I loved The Hot Fish Shop.  It first opened Christmas night in 1931.  The Kowalewski Family ran the restaurant.  It was a Winona, Minnesota institution.  Families had been dining there for generations and I was happy to be part of one of those families.  The restaurant was dark with wood paneling and in my small town youth was all I knew of a family-style supper club.  For a poor kid who didn't get to go out to dinner much, it was a grand saloon.  

My Uncle would let us kids order Shirley Temples (read about my love of Shirley Temples here) and we felt very fancy indeed.  Pickled beets would be served as an appetizer (which honestly every restaurant should just give you pickled beets the minute you walk through the door - it is a moral imperative.  It is also why I love Lenny's Restaurant in Clearwater, Florida.  If you go there for breakfast you get a danish basket per person and for lunch, pickled beets.  My dream is to have a neighbor who gives me jars and jars of canned pickled beets.  But I digress ... ahhh beets ...)

In addition to their fabulous beets, The Hot Fish Shop's tartar sauce was one of its top draws.  The Hot Fish Shop had a small seafood market attached where you could buy the best smoked fish and jars of the tartar sauce to take home.  Years later, I would buy my Mom fresh and smoked fish from the The Hot Fish Shop Market - and one time I even bought her frog legs, just to see what she would do with them.  (She cooked them and ate them!  Eeeew!)  

When my little sister Squidge was seven years old, my aforementioned oldest cousin L Number 1 was getting married to a man who turned out to be husband number 1.  We returned to Winona, Minnesota for the wedding festivities.  Before driving back to Minneapolis after the wedding weekend, I contemplated whether we should take an hour and have lunch at The Hot Fish Shop before going home.  I was in a rush to get back to the city, but Squidge had never dined at The Hot Fish Shop and those pickled beets were calling.

I had my usual - fluffy and crisp batter-fried torsk, French fries, coleslaw, heaping spoonful of homemade tartar sauce and of course those Hot Fish Shop pickled beets.  Except this time, Squidge was the one getting the Shirley Temple.

I was glad that I had stopped to have lunch at The Hot Fish Shop because less than two years later in 1999, after almost seventy years in business The Hot Fish Shop closed - with the current owner citing extensive overhead as the reason for the closure in the Winona Daily News.  That lunch was my last meal at The Hot Fish Shop.  Every time I am in Winona, I am still saddened that it is no longer there.  I miss both the food as well as the memories of dinners with my Grandparents.  

(Side Note:  I am glad that Bloedow's Bakery - a bakery in business since 1924 - where I would visit with my Grandmother and get the best doughnuts with chocolate glaze - is still open and running in Winona, Minnesota.  Raised in the city, this was the first time I ever saw unsliced bread being sold.  I remember being in awe that the bread wasn't sliced!  I was a very sheltered kid, evidently! In 2012, Bloedow's Bakery was named best doughnut shop in Minnesota - obviously all of Minnesota agrees with my opinion.  If you are ever in Winona, Minnesota, get yourself over to Bloedow's Bakery first thing in the morning - your stomach will be ever so happy that you did.)

One night, I was searching the internet and I stumbled upon the Winona Daily News article that The Hot Fish Shop was re-opening - by the grandson-in-law of The Hot Fish Shop's owner but that this time the restaurant would be in Rochester, Minnesota instead of Winona.  Would it be like The Hot Fish Shop of my youth?  I knew that the next time I was in Minnesota, I would have to check it out.

In October of this year, I went to visit my sister Squidge- in her first "adult" apartment after graduating college.  I told her about The Hot Fish Shop opening in Rochester, Minnesota and she agreed to accompany me for dinner to check it out.  I must state for the record that Squidge doesn't really remember The Hot Fish Shop and her one lunch there when she was seven years old, but I still felt like we were going back in time and bonding over the family's generational link with the restaurant.

The new Hot Fish Shop in Rochester, Minnesota; does not look like the old Hot Fish Shop (see a postcard of the old Hot Fish Shop here).  The new Hot Fish Shop is in a strip mall across the parking lot from a very fancy looking movie theater.  

There may or may not be a Squidge in this picture

But the logo on the menu was 100% old school Hot Fish Shop.  I hate to admit this but I got a little giddy just seeing the wacky old logo.  I half-expected my deceased Grandmother to sit down next to me.

The decor was also not like the old supper club-style Hot Fish Shop, but if the food was like it was - who cares about decor?

I was happy to see the Kowalewski Family Flag flying in the restaurant.

There were also pictures and news articles from the original Hot Fish Shop.  I liked being able to feel the history in the new restaurant.

The menu no longer said "torsk" - but it did have the less exotic sounding cod.  :)

My sister and I both ordered the batter-fried cod with baked potatoes.  In honor of my cousin L Number 1, I also ordered a side of batter-fried shrimp.  And of course, we started with pickled beets.  

My sister and I must have dug into the pickled beets so fast that I didn't get a picture of them, but they are also for sale (as well as the tartar sauce and fish batter) at the restaurant.

The beets were as good as I remembered.  Crisp, tart and delicious.  This was a good first start.  The batter-fried cod arrived next.  

Batter-fried cod (aka torsk), a shrimp, baked potato, cole slaw and Squidge's finger.

My dinner without Squidge's finger - pickled beets in the background

Squidge showcasing the coleslaw

The Hot Fish Shop coleslaw

The coleslaw and tartar sauce were exactly like I remembered it.  (By the way, the best coleslaw I have ever eaten is from Mabel's Lobster Claw in Kennebunkport, Maine.)  The Hot Fish Shop tartar sauce is still amazing - and I wish they sold it in Tampa Bay.  The baked potato was fluffy and lovely.  The batter-fried cod was crisp with a tempura-style batter.  Unfortunately, it was really greasy.  It needed to be drained on paper toweling for a minute before being served.  But had the fish been properly drained it would have been very similar to the same crisp, pillowy, fluffy, flaky fish of my youth.  I remember the planks of fish being much larger when I was little, but I was also a lot smaller when I was little - so that might have been a matter of perspective versus fish size.

The shrimp was also how I remembered it - in other words, after all these years I still didn't care for The Hot Fish Shop's shrimp.  But that's OK, there were plenty of things I did enjoy there.

I don't remember ever eating dessert at the original Hot Fish Shop.  But my sister and I saw a large slab of tiramisu in the glass case that was calling our name.

When you think Southern Minnesota family-style seafood restaurant, you probably don't think "tiramisu" but wow, I have to say this was some of the best tiramisu I have ever had.  It was creamy with just the right punch of espresso and rum flavors.  In trying to go home again, I not only found the tartar sauce of my childhood but a creamy, rich dessert that I was not expecting to find.  I would recommend going to the new Hot Fish Shop just for their tiramisu (but stay for the fish, tartar sauce and pickled beets!)  

I miss my Grandparents and I miss The Hot Fish Shop of my youth, but I was glad to be able to have dinner with my beautiful sister Squidge and reminisce about childhood memories at the new Hot Fish Shop over some batter-fried fish and pickled beets.  If you're in the Rochester, Minnesota area, check it out and make sure you have some tiramisu too!

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Chef Mario Batali vs. "Biggest Loser" Trainer Bob Harper - Eataly - New York City

Restaurant:  Mario Batali's Eataly - Italian Gourmet Food Center
Location:  New York City, NY
Date: September 2010

This post is dedicated in honor of the premiere of NBC's "The Biggest Loser: Couples" (Season 11) on Tuesday, January 4th, 2011.

I try to visit New York City several times each year for shopping, Broadway and the greatest sport of all - eating.  While my love of open spaces and clean air precludes me from living in Manhattan, I do love to visit.  On my last trip to NYC, I was ecstatic that Mario Batali's temple to Italian food: Eataly had recently opened.  My UK friend, John, was visiting NYC for the first time and I told him we absolutely had to go to Eataly for lunch. 

I was gobstopped at the shiny white food hall.  The variety of amazingly scrumptious delights - pastas, meats, seafood, bakery, gelato ... oh Mario Batali, how I love you so! 

Wandering around Eataly, I stumbled upon the most amazing sight of all.  Ravioli?  No.  Aged Italian cheese?  No.  Italian beer?  No.  NBC's "The Biggest Loser" trainer Bob Harper was there at Eataly - in all his svelte, vegan, taut, toned fabulousness.  Now I could wax on forever on how seeing Bob Harper at Eataly was a tremendous cosmic joke.  It was like someone served me a 14 layer cake and then vomited on it while I was trying to get the first bite!  Or more accurately, like an Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor blocking the entrance to a bar.  Come on man, I wanna get my binge on! 

I was so looking forward to diving into some hedonistic carb-loaded delight for lunch at Eataly and there was Bob Harper, dressed all in black, blocking my road to calorie nirvana.  Damn you, Harper! 

I lived for a couple years in Los Angeles and became quite used to seeing celebrities on a daily basis, it became almost blase.  "Ohhh Michael Douglas and Kobe Bryant AGAIN ... sigh."  However seeing "The Biggest Loser"'s Bob Harper threw me into a slackjawed seizure disorder.  UK John looked at me as if he was trying to figure out whether he needed to shove something into my mouth to keep me from swallowing my own tongue.  I believe I said "Blah - grr-- argh- globulous -- ballucious -- BOB HARPER!" between salivia-expelling gasps. 

UK John had no idea who Bob Harper was, but God bless him - UK John went over to Bob (who by this time was standing behind us next to the cheese stand-- DAMN YOU BOB HARPER, QUIT BLOCKING THOSE GLORIOUS BLOCKS OF FAT AND LOVE!).  UK John tapped Bob Harper on the arm and asked if he would be so kind as to be in a picture with UK John's apparently epileptic friend.  Bob graciously agreed and wrapped his arm around my waist for the picture.  (BOB HARPER, DON'T SQUEEZE MY LOVE HANDLES!) 

Bob Harper is even skinnier than he looks on TV.  A monumentous advertisement for a vegan lifestyle, exercise and healthy living.  You would think that being in "The Biggest Loser" trainer's presence, I would have looked around Mario Batali's Eataly with new health-conscious eyes, walked away from all the food and headed out for a 20 mile run.  But no....  Sadly, sadly, no.  After taking a picture with Bob Harper, I gaped at him with bulging eyes as I tried to suck in my stomach and stage whispered "I LOVE YOU!"  Yes, I did.  Sigh.

Am I a twelve year old girl?  Do I subscribe to Tiger Beat?  Why was I acting like such a fool?  Bob looked at me with pity and walked away.  I felt slightly ... OK more than slightly ... stupid.  But my feeling of stupidity was temporary and fleeting.  My picture with Bob is forever!  I should print a life-size copy of the picture and put it on my fridge and my elliptical. 

I'd like to say that the power of Bob Harper was stronger than the allure of orange croc-clad wearing Mario Batali's cuisine.  I'd like to, but I'd be lying and 2011 is all about honesty.  :)  After taking a picture with Bob Harper, UK John and I were ready to have a celebratory lunch!  Eataly has small mini restaurants within the food hall.  Each mini restaurant has a theme - a meat restaurant, a seafood restaurant, pizza, vegetables ... and each one had a waiting list.  Each section looked better than the next, however we chose our cuisine by the one that had the shortest wait list - the seafood restaurant. 

I'd like to say that after being in Bob Harper's skinny ass presence I ordered a 3 ounce portion of steamed fish and a glass of tap water.  I'd like to say that, truly.  After being near one of the world's top trainers, I ordered the ... FRITTO MISTO.  Yes, deep fried seafood and an Italian beer in a pale ale style.  UK John ordered the swordfish, a specialty soda and we shared a side of roasted fingerling potatoes.  Maybe if I had met Jillian Michaels I would have been too petrified to make such a caloric choice.  That's right, I'm blaming Bob Harper for why I ordered deep fried seafood.  OK, no I am not.  :) 

Yes, I met the world's top trainer and then ate deep fried food.

The lunch was absolutely worth the wait for a table.  The fritto misto was light and savory (regardless of the fat and calorie count).  The seafood - fish, shrimp and calamari - were all perfectly cooked.  The Italian beer brought out the flavor of the seafood and cut the fat from my tongue.  UK John's swordfish was the real culinary treat of the lunch - thick and covered with a seasoned breadcrumb - it was hearty and a flavor revelation.  While I still love "The Biggest Loser" trainer Bob Harper in my own pathetic fan way, the star of the day was Mario Batali and his wonderful Eataly.  I'll gladly do a few (hundred!) miles on the elliptical for another bite of Mario Batali's food.

Extraordinary Swordfish!

I look forward to more trips to Eataly in the future.  However if the next time I go there, I see Jillian Michaels in front of the pizza restaurant section I may have to run out screaming.  Run out with a "to go" bag!  :-)  I'll be watching Season 11 of "The Biggest Loser" while on my elliptical, Bob- I promise! 

Don't tell Bob I ate Fritto Misto!

Unfortunately in the battle of Chef Mario Batali vs. "The Biggest Loser" Trainer Bob Harper, my stomach chose Mario!  It would have been a smarter choice if my fleshy abs chose Bob ... maybe next time! 

Munch Bar - Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, NV

Restaurant:  Munch Bar
Location:  Caesar's Palace - Las Vegas, NV
Date Visited: December 2010


Las Vegas is a hedonistic delight and a foodie's dream.  This is the city where you can partake in the "Buffet of Buffets" - admittance to SEVEN - yes SEVEN all you can eat buffets in one day.  As if more than one all you can eat buffet was not enough.  Did humans start to grow seven stomachs?  In the hotels, there tends to be several classes of dining establishments: food court, casual dining, formal dining and whoa hold on to your wallet dining.  I like to pretend I am a gourmand, but I usually go to the "formal dining" or celebrity chef category. 


On a break between pricier meals (and let's face it, a break for my stomach as well), I decided to have lunch at Munch Bar at Caesar's Palace.  I had eaten at Munch Bar before. I had read a review of Munch Bar and the reviewer was going on and on about how delicious their Lobster Roll was.  Now I cannot say "no" to a good Lobster Roll, so I was giddy to try it.  Only to discover that it was a seasonal special and it was no longer on the menu!  So, I "settled" for a scrumptious shrimp po boy with crisp light French fries and a big glass mug of pear cider.


This time, my sister accompanied me for lunch.  She had a steak salad with feta that was a large size salad and very hearty.  She liked the tang of the dressing against the heavier salad components.  I had the fish tacos.  I was very happy that the fish was not deep-fried.  The fish was lightly seasoned and the plate contained all the accoutrements for a corn tortilla fish taco.  I could have used a few extra tortillas as they are the very small ones, but otherwise all was well.  The French fries were not as good as I remembered.  They were overly greasy, but I took that as a sign from the culinary gods (or a sign from my expanding waistline) that I should only eat a few. 


The Munch Bar faces the casino and also the Pussycat Dolls merchandise stand.  If you're eating dinner at Munch Bar, you will have a view of Pussycat Dolls-style go go girls dancing next to gaming tables.  Not exactly the view I want with my dinner, but it may add to the ambience if that's your sort of thing!


Munch Bar has a variety of fun desserts.  But if nothing appeals to you, walk out the casino doors and get an ice cream sundae or a frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity 3 which is in front of Caesar's.  I'll save my review of Serendipity 3 for another posting.


I enjoy Munch Bar - it's a happy medium between more expensive food options and the food court in Las Vegas.

Duval's in Sarasota, FL

Update Nov. 2011: Duval's has opened a new restaurant called Duval's New World Cafe with a similar menu to the former Duval's.  Duval's on Tamiami is now closed.  Read all about Duval's New World Cafe at their website here. 


 Check out my October 2011 post: "Return to Duval's" and my November 2011 review of Duval's New World Cafe for additional information!


Restaurant:  Duval's
Location:  5758 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL  (Now Closed:  check out their new restaurant on Main Street)
Date Visited:  December 2010


A couple years ago I went on what could best be called an awkward date.  He was intelligent and sweet, but also decorated his home in big pictures of a pained Jesus dragging the cross.  Again I say ... awkward!  But the best thing that came out of that date is that he took me to a small restaurant in a strip mall in Sarasota called Deja Vu.  In Tampa, "Deja Vu" is the name of a strip club ... so I was somewhat reticient to go there.  But what Sarasota's "Deja Vu" lacks in strippers, it made up for in delicious food.  We shared the shrimp and crab cake, the best calamari I have had in Florida and bread pudding with a gigantic plop of whipped cream.  But not just any bread pudding - bread pudding made with danishes.  It was so rich; it tasted almost deep-fried.  My taste buds rolled over and let out a collective gurgle of delight.  It was New Orleans-style cuisine heaven.


While I chose not to go out with Mr. Jesus Paintings again, I did go back to Deja Vu again and again and again.  But last July, I drove to Sarasota - visions of flash-fried calamari dancing in my frontal lobe.  And what did my seafood lovin' soul discover?  Deja Vu was closed!  It was like being dumped by a guy out of the blue.  I wanted to press my face against the glass windows and cry out "What did I do?  I'll change!  Come back to me, Deja Vu!"  Confused, sad, let down ... I made my way back to Tampa in tears.  OK, no actually I did some shopping and ate somewhere bland and sad and then went home.  But you get the point.


Given the high drama of my discovering Deja Vu was closed for good, I was ecstatic to find out that Deja Vu has been reborn in November of this year.  It is now Duval's - named after the owners - and the menu is very similar to Deja Vu's menu.


I headed down to Duval's on a Saturday after seeing a matinee of the movie "Black Swan."  Because what else goes better with psychosexual thrillers than calamari?  The movie was intense and delightful and so was my lunch at Duval's.  I was concerned that maybe the food would not be as good as I remembered, but it was spot on.  I started with the shrimp and crab cake with calamari appetizer.  It comes with a cocktail sauce, a heavenly remoulade sauce and an aioli.  The shrimp and crab cake was moist and flavorful.  The calamari was light and tender.  Duval's flash fries their food and claims less oil is left in the food without any greasy taste.  This was definitely a true claim for the calamari - it was not greasy at all. 

Shrimp and Crab Cake and Calamari with 3 sauces

I then had the Napa salad.  At Duval's they will make food however you want it, so the menu advertised that you culd get Napa salad with whatever you wanted on it.  I chose pan-fried tender sea scallops.  Duval's uses a pesto concasse with garlic and olive oil to dress the shredded Napa cabbage.  When I die, I want to be dressed in the pesto concasse as well.  It is robust and very garlicky-tangy.  It truly makes one's mouth sing!  The delicate scallops held their own against the tart salad. 

I forgot to take the picture before I liberally covered
 the salad in pepper and ate half a scallop!
 No one said I'd win food stylist of the year!

And of course for dessert - the afore-mentioned danish-filled bread pudding.  It actually tasted a little lighter than I remembered - not so deep-fried tasting.  However that might just be my caloric denial!

Delicious and decadent!

I was really happy to discover that Duval's quality food is still as good as it was when they were Deja Vu.  If you're in Sarasota, FL - check out their fine New Orleans-style cuisine -- exquisite seafood, Po Boys, hearty soups and terrific salads. 

Update Nov. 2011: Duval's has opened a new restaurant called Duval's New World Cafe with a similar menu to the former Duval's.  Duval's on Tamiami is now closed.  Read all about Duval's New World Cafe at their website here. 


Check out my October 2011 post: "Return to Duval's" and my November 2011 review of Duval's New World Cafe for additional information!