Seafood can be a healthy catch

Even the view is all about the fish!

Splashing down directly across from the Georgia Aquarium in the burgeoning Luckie Marietta District downtown, Boston-based Legal Sea Foods has arrived in Atlanta and with it three generations of seafood savvy.

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CRAIG BRIMANSON/The Reynolds Group

The Legal Sea Foods menu of safe and healthy fish choices includes Swordfish with Red Onion Jam, rice pilaf and sauteed sherry mushrooms and spinach.

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President and CEO Roger Berkowitz says he’s excited about introducing southerners to his restaurant’s emphasis on top quality seafood from north Atlantic waters, such as haddock and cod. “I really like cold water fish,” he says. “There’s a sweetness and succulence and flavor of fish that’s superior.” And Berkowitz knows a lot about fish and fishing. Recognized as an innovator in the seafood industry, he started working in the family business in Cambridge at age 10. Roger’s dad, George, opened the first Legal Sea Foods restaurant next to the family fish market in Inman Square in 1968. Today Legal has over 33 locations and its own 75,000-square-foot quality control facility in the Boston area.

Berkowitz insists that all fish and shellfish must be tested to ensure absolute freshness before they’re sent to the restaurants. “We evolved from a fish market to a restaurant, so we’re a seafood company first,” he says. “We’re fanatical about the source and handling of the products.” Raw oysters, clams and other shellfish are held in quarantine for 24 hours until each batch is scientifically sampled for bacteria levels. Once given a clean bill of health, the batch is released to the restaurants. Fish are tested for mercury content, so swordfish and tuna lovers can dive in knowing their dinner made the seafood safety cut. Legal’s team even helped develop standards now used by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Fishermen get lessons too from Legal’s fish buyers on how to properly ice down their catch.

Of course, New England clam chowder, crab cakes, Maine lobsters and Boston scrod are prominent fixtures on Legal Sea Foods’ Atlanta menu. But Executive Chef Rich Vellante has added a few specialties with a southern twist, such as swordfish with a tasty red onion jam (so you don’t need to add any butter), and you can order greens as a side dish with any fish. There’s even a lighter version of clam chowder on the menu that’s made without cream, but as Vellante adds, “It’s got all of the flavorful aromatics including thyme in a broth-based soup.” But no matter which seafood dish you pick, Berkowitz says the company slogan “If it isn’t fresh, it isn’t Legal” will apply.

Healthy Catch

The health of the oceans and seafood lovers who consume its fish has been a top priority for Berkowitz and his team for years. Legal Sea Foods was among the first restaurants to focus on finding sustainable seafood sources and to ban heart disease causing transfats from kitchen fryers. Legal even partnered with The Harvard School of Public Health to monitor the latest on seafood nutrition, so expect to see plenty of fish dishes rich in healthy Omega 3 fats found in wild salmon and other varieties like arctic charr and bluefish. At the suggestion of a Harvard professor, Berkowitz says he reluctantly added brown rice to the menu and then, “It took off like a rocket! We sell a ton of it.” There’s a gluten free menu available too.

Go Fish: Tips for Any Seafood Menu

High Tide for Calories

• Clarified butter: 120 calories per tablespoon
• Lobster bisque: 225 calories per cup
• New England clam chowder: 260 calories per cup
• Fried clams, oysters: 450 calories for 6 ounces
• Fried shrimp, catfish, grouper: 540 calories for 6 ounces

Low Tide for Calories

• Cocktail sauce: 20 calories per tablespoon
• Cioppino, Bouillabaisse: 155 calories per cup
• Clams, scallops, crab, octopus: 180 calories for 6 ounces
• Tomato-based clam chowders: 200 calories per cup
• Maine lobster, oysters, Wolfish: 210 calories for 6 ounces
• Steamed shrimp, halibut, tuna: 240 calories for 6 ounces

Source: USDA Nutrient Data Base