I had hoped, like probably most of the world, that we’d finally be on the other end of COVID-19 by now. Instead, the caution continues, and the feeling of interrupted lives. Because of the high transmission rate of Omicron I’ve found myself mostly focused on takeout and delivery and staying home, with limited dining out. The first exception I’ve made in 2022 though was for the inaugural Flying Fish Science Pub. They hope to hold more events like Flying Fish Science Pub and I wanted to share what the experience is like. Welcome to my recap of Flying Fish presents Science Pub 1.0, a seafood market and restaurant collaboration with Chef Andre Uribe and Chef Patrick Marg of Sustainable Meals Oregon and guest speaker PSU biology professor, deep sea marine biologist and director of CLEE (Center for Life in Extreme Environments) Dr. Annie Lindgren.

I’ve been a fan of Flying Fish Company since I first met the idea of the company in 2019 and first tried their smoked salmon and a family recipe smoked salmon dip at events like Cowabunga and Nicky USA’s Wild About Game. What impressed me then and what still impresses me now is the passion for talking about where the seafood comes from in terms of the specific seafood type (salmon, albacore, oyster, etc), the environment it was harvested from, the affection and simple care in bringing out the flavors that are naturally there when you have this kind of high quality product. I miss the oyster bar and seafood market at Providore Fine Foods (mainly it’s more convenient location to me), which they closed when they opened their independent brick and mortar market and restaurant at their current location in early 2020, just as the pandemic began to be realized here. Thankfully, their ability to offer groceries and the outdoor dining space they have has helped them survive so far.

Hands down Flying Fish is the best place in Portland to get seafood if you don’t fish for it yourself or have a line to a fisherman. They publish their “Fresh List” daily like an old fashioned shop that has a board but modern because you can find it on the web. You’ll find fresh fish and shellfish of course, and smoked fish, but also the best pantry of tinned seafood and some meat options if you want to put together surf and turf. They have a menu of prepared food to dine outdoors or enjoy as takeout that includes some pretty amazing small plates and fish and chips. They even have an event list that includes different kind of field trips such as fishing or oysters. When I heard they were offering a dinner event called Flying Fish Science Pub that includes nourishing four course meal and nourishing conversation about sustainable eating, and it included a female marine biologist professor oh yeah, I was all in.

I want to note this was Science Pub 1.0 so it was the first attempt at this type of event, so they may make changes to future events so your experience may not exactly be like mine. But here is what my experience was like.

Flying Fish Science Pub takes place on a Tuesday, when the restaurant is closed normally, which means only the attendees of this private event of 20 some people is who you will be sharing the space with. The event is held outdoors, but it is in a covered tent with plenty of heaters, so you don’t need to worry about the weather or being cold (in fact it was so warm I ended up having to remove my coat!).