I distrust flowery, ostentatious names, as well as any name that attempts to make something sound more cosmopolitan or international than it actually is.
In this spirit of distrust, I questioned the authenticity of the Chilean sea bass a couple of nights ago at dinner.
“That name sounds like total marketing to me. How can a sea bass even hail from Chili? What if it is caught off the coast of Peru, or Ecuador, or even Argentina? Does that make it an entirely different species of fish?”
Turns out I was right.
First off, the Chilean sea bass isn’t even a bass. It’s a Patagonian tooth fish.
Second, it does not necessarily hail from Chili. Patagonian tooth fish are found throughout much of the southern hemisphere and are caught by fishermen off the coast of almost every South American nation.
But if you’re unwilling to question things, it’s easy to sell you on the wonders of the Chilean sea bass. It’s got a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
So what if it isn’t a bass and probably doesn’t originate from Chilean waters?
It’s a little harder, however, to get you excited over the Patagonian tooth fish. But that’s what I’ll be ordering in the future.
I can’t wait to see the look in the waiter’s eyes, right before Elysha knocks me upside the head for being such an ass.
