Swai

I like fish and seafood, especially fresh.  But in Lubbock, we do not get much fresh fish or seafood.  For Easter, I went to Joe's Crab Shack http://www.joescrabshack.com.  Although I prefer steamed or grilled fish and seafood, I actually got a fried seafood meal. I wanted seafood, I just did not want to deal with the mess of cracking and opening shells.

Seafood is expensive, even on the coast, no matter what ocean or gulf. So you can guess it is even more expensive in Lubbock. Many years ago, I do not recall how many, a new to me fish came on the market:  Tilapia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilapia.  Tilapia is not as expensive as other fish, such as cod, salmon, or trout. Tilapia is okay, but for me the flavor is a little bland and mild. 

Recently, I purchased some swai http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2009/01/what-the-heck-is-swai/index.htm at the supermarket.  It was surprisingly fresh tasting and much more robust in flavor than tilapia.  I actually like a robust fish flavor.  Something I learned in Lubbock is that many people who eat fish do not like the heavy fish flavor, so want it covered or masked with lemon or something else.  I was surprised when I read the article on swai that is compared to catfish, because I do not especially care for catfish.  But I like swai.