Eats

Wild Salmon owner caught fish-handed

by Heather Miller

A Times of Acadiana article highlighting The Wild Salmon's menu and live music bookings had some unintended consequences for the bar's owner, who recently admitted to an Alaska online newspaper that the Salmon's salmon comes from a can.

A bartender at The Wild Salmon probably had no idea that he was ratting on his boss when he told The Times of Acadiana recently that the Foreman Drive bar is named for the salmon burger it serves. The Times reported Thursday that Wild Salmon owner Steve Dimmick catches the salmon used in the burgers during his annual summer trips to his brother's fishing lodge in Alaska.

But when The Alaska Dispatch read the recent bar review, the Alaskan online news source took The Wild Salmon's salmon to task, and it was eventually learned through The Dispatch that Dimmick has been "pulling one over on his fellow Louisianans" for quite a while:

Oh-oh. Dimmick's brother, Matt, owns a Soldotna fishing lodge, and it's illegal for the average citizen to catch Alaska salmon and sell them.

Not only that, if there's one thing Alaska anglers hate more than anything, it's the idea of non-residents packing home coolers full of fish after weeks-long trips to the 49th state. Tourist anglers are regularly fingered as the modern-day leaders of environmental rape, ruin and run -- even if the available data fails to support that belief.

Nonetheless, the issue of tourists packing home coolers full of prized Alaska salmon - let alone coolers full of prized Alaska salmon destined to be sold - is a touchy one.

But given this background, it's no wonder Matt paused when asked about what exactly his brother was doing at the Wild Salmon in Louisiana.

It was suggested he might find out what was going on in Louisiana. His brother called back from the Southern state shortly thereafter to confess he'd been trying to pull a fast one on his fellow Louisianans. Steve said he packs a few fish to take home himself when he heads south -- but none for the bar and grill.

"That comes 100 percent out of the can," he said.
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