Dockside Seafood
We take great pride in offering the highest quality seafood available, whether you are dining in one of our three Dockside locations, purchasing fresh fish in our Fish Market (Dockside Too) or purchasing a whole fish directly from our commercial fishing vessel, the Bonnie Marietta.
Why eat seafood?
If you're a seafood lover, this might seem like a silly question. But, in addition to seafood tasting delicious, did you know that the health organizations and the government are currently recommending that you eat two seafood meals each week?
Seafood is a nutrient rich food that is a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals, and the health benefits of seafood are becoming increasingly well known.
For instance, seafood is naturally low in total fat, and the fat it does contain is healthy polyunsaturated fat. Scientists and health organizations worldwide, including the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and the American Heart Association, recommend adding seafood to the diet as a good source of omega-3 fatty acids (EPA+DHA). Scientific studies continue to explore the relationship between the unique type of fat found in seafood, the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, in the prevention or mitigation of common chronic diseases.
Seafood is also a good source of important vitamins (A, B-complex, and D) and minerals (selenium, iodine, iron, and zinc) that have been linked to various health benefits. Cooking food can sometimes cause a breakdown of nutrients, but generally the greatest loss is water. With most cooking methods, vitamin retention in cooked seafood is greater than 85%, and retention of important minerals is 100%.
Fortunately, the many types of seafood make it a very versatile ingredient. So, if you want to add more seafood to your diet in order to enjoy its health benefits, you are limited only by your imagination!
From its start in 2004, Dockside has been a proud supporter of Morro Bay's commercial fishing fleet. Whenever possible, our daily specials feature locally caught seafood, both as menu items and as fresh product in our Fish Market. Our facilities allow us to receive and process seafood directly from local boats, ensuring control (and quality) from the time of landing to the moment the seafood is plated or sold to you for cooking at home.
We can even tell you the name of the captain and boat which landed our local seafood. It's an important way we can link those who catch the fish with those who eat it. Also, the next time you dine at our original Dockside Restaurant, notice that each tabletop highlights a local captain and fishing vessel. These are the faces of Morro Bay's historic fishing industry.
If our seafood isn't local, it is from the West Coast whenever possible. Some of our seafood may be FAS (Frozen at Sea), if freezing immediately upon harvest is the superior method of handling. Season restraints, ocean conditions, and availability do sometimes force us to go beyond the West Coast in pursuit of premium seafood, but we require that our servers know the origin of our seafood, so feel free to ask.
Our wild Pacific King Salmon and Albacore Tuna are hook-and-line caught. Our crab dishes use Dungeness Crab, which can be more expensive but is the finest Pacific crab available.
The bottom line is that we love seafood and we want YOU to love it too, and that requires unsurpassed quality!
Why buy your seafood at Dockside?
In 1997, eight years before the term "locavore" was first used, the commercial fishing family of Bonnie and Captain Mark Tognazzini turned to consumer-direct (straight off the boat) fish sales in response to the disparity between wholesale and consumer fish prices.
During albacore and salmon seasons (around May to September), Captain Mark would fish during the week and then conduct sales from the Bonnie Marietta on the weekends. A weekly email would notify customers of the sales, and they would turn out in droves, sometimes standing in line for two or more hours for a chance to buy a whole fish directly off the boat. Captain Mark took great pride in the quality of his hook-and-line caught fish, and would even custom cut each fish purchased.
By the time the Tognazzinis opened Dockside Too Fish Market in 2009, they were eager to provide loyal customers with a wider variety of high quality local fish, while also supporting other local skippers.
However, the sea continues to call, and Captain Mark still fishes and conducts sales straight off the boat when albacore and salmon are available in sufficient numbers. (As Captain Mark always says, it's called "fishing," not "catching.")
So, the email list (or "Fish List" as it is commonly known) continues, but now it also serves to notify customers of special offerings in the Fish Market and restaurants.