Enjoying Skate at daPesca

A SAVORY EXPRESSION
 

For as prehistoric as a skate looks in the water, dotted wings billowing, the fish is plated with poetry and a wink at Chris Cannon’s daPesca, the seafood-focused concept at Morristown’s Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen. Curled into a scallop-shape medallion by executive chef Craig Polignano (there’s that wink), the dish is a riff on French beurre nair, which Cannon first savored as a nine-year-old in Europe.

“I’ve remembered it forever,” he says of the memory. “l love the texture. I love the flavor. Skate is one of the most prevalent fish around this area, and it happens to also be fantastic in a classic dish that’s been served for hundreds of years.”

Sautéed to a caramel depth at daPesca, the skate’s tell-tale fan of stripes run in pale ridges along the curve. At first bite, the poetry: The fish is adorned with restraint, keeping focus on the subtly sweet flesh. Yet as one eats, surprises abound. Pops of caper link land and sea, twin forces united by salinity AI dente cauliflower and hazelnut bring texture and curry leaf carries aroma, while sautéed red grapes open the eyes with acidity.

The dish is all poise (plus a glistening pool of brown butter). “It’s elemental,” Cannon says, and a postcard example of why celebrating local makes sense. “As a nation, we are so programmed to buy the same products all of the time," Cannon says. “It’s shoveled down our throats to buy the same thing. A lot of what informs what we’ve done at Jockey Hollow is a statement against mass culture and homogenization.”

This commitment has placed the restaurant among a select group of national leaders in the James Beard Foundation’s Smart Catch program, which emphasizes sustainable, environmentally responsible seafood. To achieve this, the restaurant submits all of its purchase receipts for quarterly review. “They go down to what kind of skate is it and how is it harvested,” Cannon explains. ‘‘They go down to the details: everything you’re doing and how it’s caught. It’s good, because it keeps us on our toes.”

While promoting thoughtful sourcing, the program also echoes Cannon’s vision. “In my 58-year lifetime, I have watched more destruction of artisanal culture than any other time on this planet.” His restaurant is a form of resistance—albeit one where fun and pleasure are emphasized. “Everyone in America is trying to make a restaurant where they can replicate it 400 times,” he says. “A real restaurant is of the place, unique to the place and can never be replicated.”

For proof of that conviction, look no further than daPesca’s menu, where captains and their vessels are listed by name. “There’s a big movement in Jersey to buy local. I think it’s inevitable that people are going to be using skate more.” Order a dish of seasonal seafood here, and you’ll realize that’s a good thing indeed.

DAPESCA
110 South St., Morristown
973.644.3180 jockeyhollowbarandkitchen.com