Sea-friendly fish at Jax Fish House restaurant
26 Jun 2015
Jax is committed to super freshness, sustainability, service and fun
By Kate Jonuska | Photos by Phil Mumford The coasts have it easy, says Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar owner Dave Query. A restaurant in New York City can serve Hawaiian seafood, an L.A. eatery may offer Nantucket scallops, and diners assume they’re getting the best—even though the distance from boat to plate is actually much shorter when that plate is in “coastless” Boulder, Colo. “Because [coastal cities] are in close proximity to the water, it’s assumed the fish is good,” says Query, who opened Jax on Pearl Street in 1994. “We, on the other hand, set the bar really high. We have to prove it.” The seafood has to be unquestionably excellent every time, for every customer, and the decades of names signed proudly on the eatery’s brick walls are proof that it’s hit the mark thousands of times for thousands of customers. That signature graffiti is the first indicator of the restaurant’s playful atmosphere. A school of stained-glass fish swims above the dining room, crayons are available at every paper-covered table, and octopus sconces guard the 15-seat bar. It’s a place where $1.25/each happy-hour oysters and draft beers sit on the menu alongside an impressive wine list and the world’s best caviars for $21-$70/half ounce.
“We want people to come in and feel comfortable, to be themselves and be relaxed, whether they’re in shorts and flip-flops or dressed up for the opera,” says general manager Lee Sandoval. “Any personality type or budget can find something they’re going to enjoy on our menu, and all of them are going to have the best service, the best quality and the freshest product.”
Not only the freshest, but also traceable, meaning that your server likely knows the name of the fishing vessel that pulled the Australian sea bass for your entrée out of the water. In that delicious dish ($28), the fresh sea bass tastes sweet and clean atop a bed of squash purée, crispy polenta, wild mushrooms, pancetta and pickled chard stems. Those pickled stems—which are unexpectedly delicious—are also as fresh as possible, thanks to relationships with local growers like Red Wagon Farms and Isabelle Farm.
Equally important to being fresh, though, all of Jax’s seafood is environmentally responsible and sustainable. In fact, the restaurant was the first in Colorado to earn certification by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program, and is among only a handful of inland restaurants to have done so. The program closely monitors fishing and fish-farming operations around the world for sustainability, ranking species as either a best choice, a good alternative or a product to avoid.
“It’s challenging sometimes, because there are lot of tasty fish out there that we can’t feel good about serving and couldn’t partner with Monterey if we did,” says Alex Krill, chef de cuisine. “But it’s also fun. Anyone can serve tuna and salmon all day long, but finding those rare fish that are super sustainable that no one knows about—now, that’s great.”
Upholding the Delicate Balance
Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar (303-444-1811, www.jaxboulder.com) is located at 928 Pearl St. and opens daily at 4 p.m.
By Kate Jonuska | Photos by Phil Mumford
