June 15, 2016 — Marc Gralnick’s eyes dart toward the beastly fish in the Whole Foods Market display case.
“Wild-looking thing, isn’t it?” he said.
Three whole lionfish, striped and menacing-looking, lay bulbous-eyed on ice like a dare. Gralnick isn’t scared. He hasn’t stopped thinking about eating lionfish since he had it at a Miami restaurant recently.
“I’m totally into it,” he said. “I loved it. I would have ordered more if it were socially appropriate for one person to order two entrees.”
Gralnick, who lives in Midtown, came to the South Beach store shopping for fresh vegetables and fish for him and his girlfriend. But he’s coming home with an added surprise.
Starting this month, all 26 Whole Foods Markets in Florida will carry lionfish. They are the first national retailer to carry this invasive fish, as prized for its rich flavor as it is reviled for how quickly this one-time aquarium novelty has overtaken Florida’s coasts.
Thanks to a series of venomous spines along its back, lionfish has no natural predators in our waters. It devours any and all kinds of native sea life. And it is often spit up by everything from giant grouper to nurse sharks. Those spines not only ward off potential enemies, they’ve also deterred diners and home cooks. Until now.
Man — thanks to men like Gralnick — is putting itself back on top of the food chain.