This Salmon Dish Should Be on Your January Agenda

I like to view my dining experiences through the prism of individual dishes. I break my meals down this way, thinking, of course, how each dish goes with what comes before and what follows it, but also keeping each course as a distinct entry in my dining journal. It's a method that works for me, and it allows remarkable recall, a vital and necessary thing.

I recently added a great course to my "hits list," one that is worthy of sharing. It's skin-on salmon, and I encountered it at Tony's. I ordered it as my main course, and it was preceded by escargots and a pasta course. I did not regret my decisions.

First, the skin, which I would eat all alone, just it on a plate. It is that good. Perfectly, uniformly crisp, full of flavor. It adheres nicely to the meat of the fish, however, a testament to fine cooking technique. One can enjoy the juxtaposition of textures by cutting a piece of the salmon containing the skin and the flesh. In fact, do it that way.

I recommend asking for medium-rare, because this salmon is fresh and of top-notch quality; anything more would be an injustice. Cutting through the skin and into the moist and beautiful flesh is a revelation. To the eye, the color is wonderful, resembling a melon in the inside. A bite of the skin and flesh together is something you'll remember, and that's even before you taste the sautéed fennel and lobster sauce along with it.

Then, when you gently slide some salmon through the sauce and pick up some fennel on your fork, tasting all together, you will know what eating a perfect piece of fish is all about. Texture, taste, delicacy, and comfort. That is all you need, and want. It's a bit briny, the lobster adding a smooth and rich texture. The fennel brightens the taste, providing a welcome acidity.

If you've made a resolution to eat more fish in 2017, you should start with this dish.