What's on your plate?

WaPo - On Fla. Menus, a Favorite Fish Experiences Identity Theft

The alleged grouper at 17 of 24 area restaurants sampled by the investigators was actually another, less desirable species, according to a DNA analysis conducted for the state attorney general's office and released earlier this month. Asian catfish. Emperor. Painted sweetlips. And twice, types of fish that could not be identified.

I guess my grandmother should stop worrying so much about what the Chinese restaurant might be serving her and start worrying about what the seafood restaurant is serving instead.

I always thought the reason for eating seafood when in Florida was because the food would be fresher, but apparently not:

Much of the reason for the questionable grouper, red snapper and other fish stems from a simple matter of supply and demand, regulators and industry officials say.

With the popularity of grouper rising nationwide and the domestic catch at times limited by federal guidelines, restaurateurs have relied on imports to fill the gap.

If I'm not going to be served fresh seafood that is actually caught off the coast of Florida, I might as well just go to Red Lobster, or better yet, just stay home and fix something I bought frozen at the grocery store.

I don't really want to be a cynic, but I think I'm becoming one anyway. Trust no one and expect very little. Sad.