By Ariel Yong
Antonio Di Nicola is getting 10 pounds of mako shark from Honolulu in the mail today.
“It’s Shark Week,” the chef of Ciao Osteria in Centreville says laughing. “I love that program.”
Di Nicola says the mako shark entree sold out on Saturday, but due to the hurricanes in Hawaii, he had to wait until today to get another order of shark from the Honolulu Fish Company, so there will be a limited supply.
The $29 entree features a piece of shark sitting atop a breaded and fried zucchini-potato patty with pineapple and basil salsa. Di Nicola garnishes the plate with julienne carrots and a tomato rose.
For those who might be skeptical about taking a bite of the ferocious creatures that are all the rage on the Discovery Channel these days, Di Nicola says mako shark doesn’t taste all that different from a more familiar sea animal: “It has the texture of swordfish. It doesn’t taste fishy. It’s basically a steak fish.”
