Catskill Maison Bed & Breakfast

Branzino with head cheese

I just had dinner at Celebrity Chef Michael Psilakis’ Fish Tag, and I can attest to the fact that it’s worth the hype!  The food is fresh, whimsical, and expertly prepared.  The wine list is equally playful, affordable and extremely approachable.  Overall this was an incredible experience that I must repeat as soon as possible.  

My parents and I learned about Fish Tag from co-owner Gus Panopoulos who also is a co-owner of Day Boat Cafe, one of our regular haunts in Irvington (Westchester County).  He encouraged us to go and said that chef Psilakis was at the helm, and doing some really creative stuff.  Gus is an amazing owner, he’s incredibly friendly and approachable and really appreciates his customers! We were at Dayboat this past weekend and Gus made a reservation for us for tonight. We have been exposed to Chef Psilakis’ food in the past, we really likedKefi with it’s homestyle and non pretentious Greek food so we were eager to try Fish Tag.

Gus was at Fish Tag tonight and dined with us, which was a real treat.  Chef Psilakis sent out so many dishes for us to sample that I’m in serious food coma right now, but I need to give a synopsis of what I’ve tried and I really hope that I do it justice.

Ok so here it goes in no particular order:

Sea Urchin Crudo in Ocean Water – so fresh and silky and perfectly prepared.  The presentation was lovely and the pink peppercorns gave it just that little kick, an incredibly refreshing dish and I would highly recommend ordering it.

Scallop Crudo – this was the perfect one bite appetizer, it comes as 4 thinly sliced discs of raw scallop, again super fresh, with very small diced pickled beets and bone marrow and pistachio jus, really a flavor burst!  Amazing.

Grilled Sardines – perfectly executed and the flavors melded really well, original maybe not, but if you like sardines a true winner.

Grilled Prawn, Feta and Spicy Chili Bruschetta- BRILLIANT!  OMG this was an INCREDIBLE dish, I would order it  again and again.  The prawns were cooked perfectly (no rubber balls here), the feta was creamy and spicy and salty and tangy all at the same time and there was the crunch of the veggies on the grilled crunchy bread.  Really my head was spinning and a party in my mouth!

Sheeps Milk Dumpling – RIDICULOUS! ok so imagine perfectly pillowy homemade gnocchi with this creamy sea urchin sauce with crab and scallops (perfectly cooked of course) folded through and finished with aji amarillo peppers for just that amount of kick!  I almost died and went to heaven.

Grilled Branzino with head cheese – ok so I was expecting a whole fish and pork head cheese (I’m from the low country and New Orleans)…I think the head cheese was lamb, extremely tasty but not southern, and it wasn’t a whole fish (Mike I forgive you, the upper west side isn’t ready for the head and tail) but this dish would’ve been elevated if the head cheese were stuffed into the whole fish and I was able to decapitate the cheeks and head!  Never the less, super tasty and very very creative…a must order!

Smoked Octopus – this dish was delicious, but possibly one of the least innovative.  It was paired with chorizo (and with pork how could you go wrong) and the radish gave a great fresh balance and a good crunch, a delicious and perfectly executed dish (octopus not chewy at all) but not as creative as some of the others.

Saganaki – this dish was really innovative, because in most greek restaurants it’s in flames with a little lemon for garnish but just the plain Greek cheese grilled on fire (more presentation that anything else, but it’s cheese so how could cheese ever be bad)…but chef Psilakis really takes it to a different level.  There were almonds for that crunchy texture, honey for sweet, cheese for salty and smooth and it was hot and creamy and served with crusty bread.  This dish should be highlighted and it’s almost an afterthought because it’s at the bottom of the menu, what a shame…a keeper.

Rabbit pasta special – then lastly there was the pasta special, a homestyle rabbit ragu with homemade flat (almost tagliatelle like) pasta…so yummy, as if you could order it from a grandma in the Greek countryside.

Overall this was a wonderful dining experience, and Fish Tag is a real gem!  I will be back soon…Thank you Gus and Mike for an absolutely wonderful dining experience!