no sea bass for you!

Last night I took my wife to Scylla, a cozy little seafood restaurant in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood. We'd been there once before, and although quite pricey, it is very tasty, and it's good to occasionally clean out your wallet for some fine dining. Anyway, I was planning to order the sea bass for my main course, but before I said anything the waiter informed us that there was one change to the menu - the sea bass was off, but you could order the halibut prepared the exact same way; part of the "transition to the fall menu". That sounded fine; I ordered it, and it was good, although not as good as the scallops my wife ordered.

Near the end of our meal, another couple sat down at the next table. The woman mentioned to us that she was leaning toward the sea bass, so I casually informed her of the recent fish substitution. When the waiter came she said to him, "Well, I've heard the sea bass is now halibut, so I guess I'll have that", and the waiter quickly replied "No no, the sea bass is back on the menu!" I looked at the waiter in disbelief, asking him if somehow I was not worthy of the sea bass, or if a late evening shipment of sea bass had just come in, and he just laughed and said he wasn't sure what was going on, just part of the transitioning process to the fall menu.

By the by, if you go to Scylla, I'd stay away from the prosciutto wrapped shrimp first course, which were a bit overcooked, and go instead with the salmon tar tar, which was excellent and almost enough for two.