In the back, through those double doors, lies a warehouse packed to the gills with fresh catch—from local boats, plus imported desirables. One of the best chefs in the city walks through, picks the best ones, brings ‘em back to his kitchen, the day starts. This is The Fishery, from a sixth-generation San Diego fishing family, now with new blood.
Get the local sardines, blistered in olive oil with salsa verde, puntarelle, parmesan, fried capers, and charred sourdough from killer bakery down the road, Wayfarer.
Judd Brown grew up swordfishing local waters with harpoons. His zero-waste mom would line their home garden with swordfish bills to feed the soil. Determined to get local boat catch into local restaurants, Judd started Pacific Shellfish with a little warehouse in Barrio Logan. Imminent domain (to build the I-5) took his shop, so Judd relocated to this little corner in north P.B. His wife Mary Anne, was an Alice Waters believer—local, sustainable, farm-fixated. She one-upped him by building the attached restaurant, serving fish Judd caught with that do-it-right ethos.
Now, The Fishery is run by their daughter, AnneMarie Brown, with their son-in-law, Nick Lorenz, running the seafood shop. They brought in new talent. Made a partner out of Mike Reidy—an excellent chef who trained under two-star Michelin chef Josiah Citrin and spent some time as chef de cuisine at Callie. At the bar, Zach Sheldon (who trained at cocktail pinnacle, Youngblood) is using leftover lobster shells to make lobster oil he drops into a drink with curry leaf cachaça, coconut palm, green curry coconut milk, peppercorn mélange, lime leaf, and acid.
Old bones, new blood.
