Blackfish
17 Truro Center Road
Truro, MA 02666
508-349-3399
With its unobtrusive shingled exterior (it blends with the Cape landscape so seamlessly) Blackfish restaurant might be easy to miss - but this restaurant is worth seeking out - it's considered one of the lower Cape's best kept secrets. From its comfortable perch in the quaint, rural community of Truro, the restaurant has been quietly gaining a loyal following since its 2007 opening.
Exposed brick walls and rustic decorative touches give the intimate dining room a casual feel, while copper-topped tables and wrought accents add an air of sophistication. The menu (bursting with all sorts of local, seasonal goodness in summer and full of exotic game during the fall) showcases the refined culinary sensibilities at work in the kitchen.
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Eric Jansen
Chef at Blackfish
Chef Eric Jansen recalls his grandmother as his earliest culinary influence. She was an amazing cook who treated his family to traditional dishes such as her famous roasts and home-made soups. As a teenager, Jansen was required to select a work detail while attending prep school in Connecticut. He chose the school cafeteria, and unbeknownst to him at the time, his culinary career had officially begun.
Jansen came to Cape Cod in the summer of 1985, working first at Gepetto's in North Truro. He washed dishes, delivered pizzas, waited on tables, and eventually worked his way into the kitchen. As he gained more experience, he found work in the kitchens of many hot spots including the well-known Surf Club in Provincetown. While he called the Outer Cape his home each summer, Jansen enjoyed traveling in the off-season and used his kitchen experience to land chef positions in Aspen, Jamaica, Miami and Connecticut. It was at Tattoo in Aspen where his passion deepened under a demanding and very talented chef. He also enjoyed the unique experience of opening a restaurant for a close friend in Treasure Beach, Jamaica.
In 1994, Jansen's winding road brought him to the popular Bubala's in Provincetown. Bubala's became his home for the next ten years, as he worked his way through the ranks, eventually becoming head chef. Jansen increasingly knew, however, that he wanted a restaurant to call his own. That opportunity came in 2004 when he and his two partners (fellow chefs at Bubala's) opened the Wicked Oyster on Main Street in Wellfleet. Soon Jansen was ready for his next challenge - in 2007 he returned to his old stomping grounds in Truro and opened Blackfish.
As a self-taught chef, Jansen sees his culinary style as continually evolving. He enjoys learning new ways to prepare foods and enhance the dining experience.
- Aïoli
- 1. noun A blend of ail (garlic) and oli (oil) in the parlance of the Provence region of southern France. Around here, we'd call it a garlic mayonnaise.
- Beurre blanc
- 1. noun A thick sauce of butter, white wine and vinegar.
- Brioche
- 1. noun A soft, yeasty French bread enriched with butter and eggs.
- Carpaccio
- 1. noun Wafer-thin slices of raw beef served cold; named after the Renaissance Venetian painter.
- Compote
- 1. noun Slow-cooked fruit in syrup.
- Confit
- 1. noun Meat (usually goose, duck or pork) that is slowly cooked in its own fat and preserved with the fat packed around it as a seal.
- Foie gras
- 1. noun Expensive, silk-textured goose or duck liver that has been enlarged by a process you don't want to read about if you're going to eat this dish.
- Frisée
- 1. noun A curly, mildly bitter member of the chicory family, eaten raw in salads.
- Frisee
- 1. noun French for curly, but usually refers to curly endive, the bitter salad green of the chicory family.
- Gremolata
- 1. noun Minced parsley, lemon peel and garlic.
- Haricot vert
- 1. noun A green string bean with French attitude.
- Hoisin
- 1. noun A mixture of soybeans, garlic, chilli peppers and spices, hoisin is a thick, dark-brown sauce, used as a condiment to accompany Chinese meat, poultry and shellfish dishes.
- Jus
- 1. noun French for juice, jus also refers to the unthickened juices from a piece of roasted meat.
- Mascarpone
- 1. noun Ultra-rich, soft cheese known best for its role in tiramisu.
- Moussaka
- 1. noun A sort of Greek "lasagna" layering minced meat (often lamb or beef) and eggplant slices, sometimes with tomatoes, béchamel sauce and cheese.
- Niçoise
- 1. noun Dishes typical of cuisine from the Nice, France, region, where garlic, black olives, anchovies and tomatoes are nearly always part of the mix.
- Panko
- 1. noun Coarse breadcrumbs used in Japanese cooking.
- Polenta
- 1. noun A slow-cooked cornmeal porridge popular in northern Italy; can be served soupy or firm, sometimes fried.
- Ragu
- 1. noun Tomato and meat sauce from Bologna.
- Romesco
- 1. noun Catalonian sauce of finely ground tomatoes, red bell peppers, onion, garlic, almonds and olive oil.
- Salsify
- 1. noun A root vegetable with oyster-flavored flesh.
- Tagliatelle
- 1. noun What they call fettuccine born in northern Italy.
- Tartare
- 1. noun Ground or finely chopped, seasoned raw meat (traditionally beef). May or may not come mounded, and with a raw egg.
- Timbale
- 1. noun A savory pie traditionally made of meats or vegetables and cooked in a drum-shaped mold called a timbale.
