Tiffany Derry on Top Chef giving Go Fish a boost

by Teresa Gubbins

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North Dallas restaurant seeing new customers.

DALLAS — Now that Dallas chef Tiffany Derry is finally busting a move as a contestant on Top Chef season 7, so is her restaurant, Go Fish Ocean Club in North Dallas.

Though Top Chef premiered in mid-June, in the past few weeks Derry has emerged from the middle of the pack as a likely finalist, and the crowds at Go Fish have increased correspondingly, says owner Mike Hoque.

"I just saw the sales report from last night, and we haven't had a Monday like that since we moved from the old location," Hoque says. "We started seeing a climb after Episode 3 or Episode 4, and it's been slowly climbing every week."

Dinner at Go Fish on a recent Saturday night revealed two schools (schools! like fish) of customers:

1. the East-Coast-leaning, slightly older clientele that's been the restaurant's bread-and-butter since the days when it had original chef Chris Svalesen; and

2. a new wave of first-timers, easily spotted by their more youthful age and more casual dress -- shorts, flip-flops -- who are clearly at the restaurant because they've seen Derry on TV.

A Top Chef-themed poster of Derry is propped up on an easel at the entrance as reassurance.

Derry's dishes on the show have echoed some of the dishes featured at the restaurant. She's becoming known for cooking a piece of fish skillfully, then giving it a flavorful topping such as the swordfish with olive-raisin tapenade she made for episode 7.

"With fish, it seems like everyone does the exact same dishes, and I don't want to do that," she says. Rather than the fish & chips, baked stuffed sole, seared ahi tuna, steamed mussels, or fried fisherman's platter you might see on a standard seafood menu, she'll do a daily whole fish such as branzino or snapper with a sassy jerk seasoning. Or soft-shell crab with fava beans, smoked bacon, and roasted pearl onions.

One of her best dishes is "crispy" red snapper -- with the skin still on, oh how brave -- in a spicy-hot red sauce with slices of Spanish chorizo and chunky crawfish, topped with a fresh shaved-fennel salad.

And nearly everything, even comfort-food dishes like creamed corn, has personality; that creamed corn comes laden with bits of lobster and lots of chile heat.

Photos of some dishes are below:

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