Best of
the Twin Cities
If you can’t trust your local fishmonger to get you good fish, who can you trust? Your local star chef, maybe? What if they were one and the same? During a brief hiatus from the kitchen, Tim McKee, celebrated culinarian of La Belle Vie prestige, worked for the Fish Guys, a St. Louis Park-based sustainable seafood purveyor. From there, he went on to open a seafood emporium: Octo Fishbar, a tenant of the Market House Collaborative building in Lowertown St. Paul. His time at the docks has translated to magic behind the burners. Find genius renditions of toasted bread and uni butter, octopus bolognese, and crudo. Whistle in awe as one of the seafood towers comes to rest on your table, a cornucopia of fruits de mer to tantalize the eyes and palate. Lest you think McKee left his fishmongering days behind him, know that adjacent to Octo Fishbar is Almanac Fish Market, where you can grab a fresh catch to take home. At Almanac and Octo, you can have your lake trout and eat it, too.
