Lush Wine and Spirits offers aged Spanish canned seafood
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Spain is known for its massive coast, offering dozens of species of fish. But you can't harvest year-round, and for many food lovers, canning is the next best thing. But traditions vary in our two countries, and now that you can get Spanish canned seafood here, some stores and wine shops are now selling it so you can eat it before you get home.
One thing that sets Lush Wine and Spirits apart is the ability to buy a bottle of wine and drink it in the store with no corkage fee. There's a limited menu at both its Roscoe Village and West Town locations, allowing you to pair that wine with some food, and part of that menu includes canned seafood.
"It seems like the tradition in Spain is to take the best seafood that they can harvest each year, and then they can them and preserve them, have them year-round," said Lush owner Mitch Einhorn. "It's not like American tuna, where they're just like 'let's put the cat food in there and call it tuna fish,' it's really, these are the best, most pristine examples of seafood that they can get along the coast of Spain."
Lush has three options. oily-rich sardines, baby octopus and meaty tuna.
"Like the tuna, for example, is aged in olive oil in the can for a year, and they're actually vintage dated, and they keep getting better as they age in the can," Einhorn said.
You don't need to do much to dress them up, either.
"We add a little bit of Portuguese olive oil, we add a little bit of shallot, some lemon juice, some parsley, some capers, put them back in the can to serve them, and serve them with a crispy sort of flatbread," he said.
Einhorn said pairing wines with the seafood is easy, especially in the summertime. A Portuguese rose is always a safe bet. He said Americans are slow to accept high-quality canned products, but all it takes is one taste.
"When they try it, they're like, 'Oh, I didn't know it could taste like that," he said.
Lush Wine & Spirits
West Town
1412 W. Chicago
312-666-6900
Roscoe Village
2232 W.Roscoe
773.281.8888
