Schools of sustainability at Oceanaire 

If executive chef Rob Klink isn’t to be found in the kitchen of Penn Quarter’s The Oceanaire Seafood Room, chances are he’s on a boat somewhere.

To learn about fish, how they’re caught in the wild and how they’re farmed, requires “lots of trips,” according to the Eastern Shore resident. “I’ve been on a Maine lobster boat. I’ve gone fishing for grouper and wahoo in the Carolinas, visited Massachusetts and Rhode Island oyster farms.”

And he’s done plenty of fishing for salmon in Alaska, bringing in, himself, the wild Sockeye for which Oceanaire is renowned when it’s in season. The experience Klink has gained since joining his restaurant back in April 2002 has taught him about the danger of extinction many species of fish face because of overfishing. At Oceanaire, “sustainability” quickly became a byword.

Baltimore-born and raised, Klink is used to being near the ocean. “Growing up, I used to go fishing,” he said. But the expertise he has now, as executive chef and operating partner of the F Street NW outlet of the national restaurant chain, comes largely from all the time he’s spent among fishermen, he says.

“I’d heard a few things before I went on the boats. But when you’re in Alaska on a boat in water for three days, there’s nothing to do but talk. Basically, the fishermen discussed their theories — of how things have become overfished, and what we can do about it.”

Diners at Oceanaire are not forced to confront the issue. The restaurant doesn’t push propaganda down throats with its dishes, which include turf options as well. On the whole, though, Klink finds his diners are alert to the fragile future for fish. There are those who, without knowing specifics, are happy to ask and follow any guidance in the direction of a sustainable fish dish. And there are those who are very aware of the growing problem of overfishing.

“A lot of people know a great deal about the situation. They understand, and I do get letters asking me to switch to U.S. farm-raised alternatives. Some people are really looking for sustainable fish.”

As much as 500 to 600 pounds of fish sourced where possible from sustainable fisheries that are heavily regulated is served daily to around 400 people coming in for lunch and dinner. It’s an enormous amount for a single restaurant, and Klink and his fish supplier go on trips together to search for responsible sources. "Sometimes you want certain things, [and] you can’t get them."

Pirate fleets using vast trawl nets (which incidentally catch high levels of other unwanted marine life) are the main culprits of overfishing in the Pacific and North Atlantic oceans. Carefully chosen substitutes for in-danger varieties don’t compromise the cooking, Klink said. “If you’re using sable fish for sea bass, it’s pretty much the same preparation. With opah, for instance, a fish kind of like an albacore tuna and pink, you cook it a little less. It doesn’t have a lot of fat and otherwise can dry out.”

Klink’s personal favorites are rockfish (“Because I’m from Baltimore,” he says enigmatically) and red snapper. He also particularly enjoys his own Almond-Crusted Soft Shell Crab. On his days off he admits he’s “kind of a simple guy.” He eats “sushi — a little bit of seafood. But I eat more meat.” Though, in good Chesapeake Bay fashion, he does like to crack crabs in summer.

Klink got into the cooking business when he was 14, working summers as a busboy or other restaurant aide: “Because I think I enjoyed it.” His dad may have been the influence. He used to cook a lot, Klink says. And he credits his dad’s mother with being a really good cook of classic American food. “She does a really nice ham and green beans.”

He enrolled at Baltimore International College’s School of Culinary Arts and found himself in Ireland as part of his training, helping the Irish National Culinary Team prepare for the Culinary Olympics. Despite the salmon that jump out of every lake and stream in the Emerald Isle, he ate mostly lamb.

Upon graduating, he worked in Baltimore restaurants — from Boccaccio in Little Italy, which he appreciates as having inspired many of his current ideas, to the well-regarded Savannah. “I liked the hours, the camaraderie.” His last post was Corks, which he ran until he left to come to Washington.

He surveys his restaurant with delight. Its surroundings are soothing but stately; all high-gloss woods, chrome and red leather booths with the feel of a stylish 1930s seagoing liner.

Klink and his wife Pam, who used to be the pastry chef at Baltimore’s Polo Grill, have a young daughter, Megan, who seems to be following in her parents’ footsteps. "She knew how to make an omelet since she was 2,” Klink says with pride.

Oceanaire, 202-347-2277, is located at 1201 F St. NW.

This article by Julia Watson first appeared in the Northwest, Dupont, Foggy Bottom and Georgetown Current Newspapers. Photo Bill Petros/The Current.

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