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National Seafood Month is winding down

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McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants have celebrated October as National Seafood Month with specials all month long.

For lunch, there is a 10 Under $10 special, and with the Choose Your Perfect Combination special, you have the option to choose from five seafood classics, including Jumbo Gulf Shrimp, Fresh Water Tilapia, Atlantic Salmon, Alaskan Halibut or Crab Cakes. Choose two for $19.95 or three for $24.95.

And, through a new partnership with the Rachael Ray Show, you can save even more by using a coupon for 20% off any entrée. Here’s an insider tip for big savings on the Choose Your Perfect Combination special: Choose three for $24.95 and add on the North Atlantic Lobster Tail upgrade for $3.00. Apply the 20% Off Coupon, and you’re feasting on three types of fresh seafood for $22.95!

Although the month is almost over, McCormick & Schmick’s does not plan to discontinue any of the specials on any specific date. If you can double check by calling your local restaurant, I think that will be the best way to be sure. The 20% off coupon does expire on 11/30/09, though.

To help diners get the most out of their seafood experience, McCormick & Schmick’s has paired a list of Seafood Fun Facts with Top Tips for Enjoying Seafood from the “King of Seafood,” Chef Bill King*.

Seafood Fun Facts

I ate ahi tuna on my last visit!

Did you know . . .

  • National Seafood Month was started in the 1940s by the National Fisheries Institute. It originally started out as a week-long event, but evolved into a month-long celebration in the 1950s.
  • Shrimp is America’s favorite seafood, followed by salmon and tuna (Ahi, Yellow Fin or other fresh tuna).* At McCormick & Schmick’s restaurants nationwide, diners feast on approximately 515, 000 pounds of shrimp and 470,000 pounds of salmon each year.
  • Interestingly enough, it’s the same three types of seafood that are eaten most often at home, with canned tuna replacing fresh tuna as the second runner-up for home-cooked meals.**
  • Nearly 50 percent of Americans are more likely to eat seafood while dining out as opposed to cooking at home. In fact, on average, nearly 10 million meals are served at McCormick & Schmick’s each year.*
  • The American Heart Association and USDA dietary guidelines recommend eating seafood at least twice a week. Yet, the vast majority of Americans, 86.7 percent, have seafood only once per week or less.
  • In the U.S. in 2008, we consumed 16 pounds of seafood per person, down 0.3 pounds from 2007.***

Tips for Enjoying Seafood

Hubby had scallops & risotto!
  • When pairing seafood, pay attention to flavors and textures. Some of the best seafood combinations to try are halibut with shrimp and salmon with crab cakes.
  • If you want a lighter, healthy option, you can always request any seafood “simply grilled” at McCormick & Schmick’s. Just a squeeze of lemon juice is enough to enhance the natural flavors of the seafood.
  • Think seafood and cheese don’t go together? Then you haven’t tried McCormick & Schmick’s Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia served with capers and lemon butter sauce. Delicate and flavorful.
  • When ordering crab cakes, ask your server about the ratio of crab to filler. A good crab cake should be mostly crab.
  • When pairing wine with seafood, you don’t have to go with whites every time. In fact, many varieties of seafood pair better with red varietals. For example, try ordering a glass of Pinot Noir to go with salmon.
  • When it doubt, ask your server. They know what’s fresh that day, the origin of the seafood and they’ve usually tried everything on the menu, so they can help with tough ordering decisions.
  • Chef King’s personal seafood favorites: Halibut, Chilean Sea Bass, Sturgeon, Whole Dungeness Crab, Sole Parmesan, and Ahi, lightly seared.

I’ve got a $25 McCormick & Schmick’s gift certificate for one of my readers! To enter, please leave a comment on this post. I’d love to know what your favorite seafood is!

For extra entries:

  • Subscribe to my feed (or let me know if you already do).
  • Follow me on Twitter (@OhMariana) and tweet about this giveaway (up to 1x per day): I just entered to win a
    $25 @McandSchmicks GC from @ohMariana! https://bit.ly/44C80c
  • Grab my button (at the bottom of the page) and link to me in your sidebar or blog roll.

Contest ends: November 10th, 2009 11:59 pm EST. US entries only. Leave a separate comment for each entry & a valid email address/blog URL. Winner, chosen at random, has 3 days to claim their prize.

*Chef Bill King is the Vice President of Culinary Development & Training for McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants. Visit www.McCormickandSchmicks.com for additional information and restaurant locations.
** Statistics based on survey findings from a 2007 study commissioned by McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants.
*** 2008 National Marine Fisheries Service

Giveaway prize provided by McCormick & Schmick’s. No compensation was received for this post.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  6. I am a seafood fanatic! I love it all: from calamari to oysters to crab to shrimp. And I’m happy to say, my kids love it too. We eat fish (salmon, tilapia, tuna steaks) at least twice a week. My favorites probably are Oysters Rockafeller and seared scallops. Yum!!

  26. I love GOOD raw oysters. (I’ve had bad) 🙁 I love fresh trout, wrapped in foil, and steamed over the bbq with lemon, butter, salt and onion. I love fresh smoked Steelhead and Salmon. I love good fried catfish and okra and hush puppies. I love a nice shrimp cocktail with avocado. If I had to pick an absolute fave, in light of health concerns, I guess it would be the fresh bbq Trout.
    That sounds really good right now.

  29. I’m an islander, so it goes without saying that I love seafood. ALL of them (sea urchin, crab, lobster, fish, clam, squid, octopus, shrimp, etc.). Yum!

  43. I would say shrimp, but I recently became a huge salmon fan. A nice wood grilled salmon with garlic mashed and asparagus~ *_*

  54. really fresh sushi is my favourite for sure. But, I just plain love seafood… I also like smoked herring!

  58. I haven’t eaten red meat in years, so I do eat a lot of fish. It is so difficult to choose a favorite. But I think great shrimp prepared well are always a wonderful treat.

  59. Its a toss up between scallops and shrimp
    .-= A Mom’s Choice´s last blog ..When Did Rape Become Cool? =-.

  74. I used to HATE seafood growing up, but I lived in New Orleans during law school and completely changed my feelings on it. My favorite seafood is probably crawfish, but I really love a good shrimp and grits. (I would kill for some shrimp and grit cakes from Coastal Flats right about now…)

  83. I’m not a seafood fan. but I enjoy the filet at McCormick and Schmick’s. Also love the bread.

  87. I love crab cakes and shrimp…but the one thing that I love, that I get rarely, is scallops!

  96. Well I love seafood and will eat anything except bluefish but my favorites are lobster and scallops………….

  97. Ok this is a toss up between Snow Crab legs and Salmon. Ok i would say Salmon cause its less work to get the meat. lol

    texaswaitress(AT)hotmail.com

  98. I love blackened mahi-mahi. A little chain restaurant in south Florida called Flanigan’s has the best I’ve ever had.

  109. I love scallops. I used to eat shrimp at least once a week, but then I developed an allergy. boo.

  110. I love seared scallops or a good seared tuna steak. I’m pretty much a fan of all seafood except for oysters.

  112. i really like mussels and crab legs. I cant pick! I love almost all kinda of seafood minus scallops. Ewww.

  126. I love most seafood, but my absolute favorite is Mahi Mahi. Thanks for this contest, there’s a McCormick and Schmick about 2 miles from my house!

  132. I adore seafood. My all time favorite is Calamari, however, I love lobster, and shrimp as well. Seriously, crab is awesome too! One I do not care for and everyone else does is Scallops. I just don’t like them.

    Thanks for the giveaway!

  146. I love M&S, there is one near me, love too get the Baked Stuffed Lobster ….. soooooo good

  168. I love crab of any sort….crab cakes, crab legs, crab gratin…(I sound like Bubba listing shrimp dishes, but I’m doing crab LOL)

    Thanks.