New York's Only-Branzino, All-the-Time Hidden Gem

How a former Google analyst created a pop-up HIT.

It’s no secret that I have a soft spot for fish-centric food/cooking. Both Lure and Seahorse are rooted in 1/ my love of fish and oysters and 2/ creating menus that allow frequent visits because you leave without feeling too full. There’s also something about the nuance of working with fish vendors — sourcing both locally and from far away, and experiencing the subtle differences between them — that makes the whole thing a lot of fun.

As such, I’ve been endlessly intrigued by what Mason Acevedo has been doing with his branzino pop-up Piscator (people are going wild over it, and with good reason). Today, Mason shares some great tips for buying and cooking seafood, including two easy but delicious recipes (scroll all the way to the bottom for them). Before we talk to Mason…

Newsy Things This Week:

1. Two sides of the same coin: Grub Street’s How Pop-Up Bagels Remade the Bagel Shop for Gen-Z and Curbed’s It’s Humiliating. It’s Exhilarating. It’s a Line. both capture the ways food hype has become a product in itself.

2. April Bloomfield shared the two places everyone should try before they die with Interview magazine.

3. In an interesting (curious?) move, Major Food Group, alongside Palm Tree Crew and 8K Capital, has purchased a golf course in Colorado.

4. Two new great spots have recently opened in the West Village, including Capitaine (formerly Libertine) and Graciela, which I had the pleasure of trying over the weekend. The food, mostly made over a wood-fired grill, lived up to all the buzz that comes with any Pablo Rivero endeavor.

5. This month from the critics across the country—New York: Oriana (New York Magazine), Salt Hank’s (The New York Times); Baltimore: Wren (Washington Post); San Francisco: The Big Four (SF Chronicle); Los Angeles: Yerord Mas (L.A. Times)

6. I also thought this was an interesting take on an NYC-to-L.A. transplant…

See you next time. —John

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Mason’s Story.

“I am obsessed with whole branzino: the ritual of eating it, the visible connection to the ocean, the attention it demands,” says Southern California native Mason Acevedo, founder of Piscator, a seafood pop-up in New York and Los Angeles.

In April 2024, while working full-time as a data analyst, Acevedo decided it was time to explore his true passion: cooking/serving branzino in a decidedly unfussy, more casual way. He developed his concept, studied for a license, and cold-called more than 50 bars around New York City, asking to sell fish in their yards. “Two got back to me,” he says. “I started selling around eight fish for walk-up diners every two weeks, lugging my camping equipment from place to place, and up and down the five flights to my East Village studio each night.” That first summer, the operation stayed small; some weekends, he only sold six fish.

“I cold-called more than 50 bars around New York City, asking to sell fish in their yards. Two got back to me.”

The following summer, mostly through word of mouth, his pop-ups began selling out online in seconds. He finished the season selling 120 fish each week. “I was working full-time at Google then,” he reflects. “Each day I’d stay up prepping until 1 or 2 am, then wake up, work a full corporate day, and do it again. Finally, I quit. I was exhausted, but the want became greater than the fear of running out of savings. I’m still working every day well into the night, but now it’s in pursuit of the thing I’ve always wanted to do.”

Piscator is now described as “one of the hardest reservations to snag.” It was the subject of a NYT Cooking mini-doc released in February. And Acevedo now has a residency at The Test Brewery in Williamsburg, in addition to special one-offs at buzzy spots like Little Island and Jean’s.

Pre-orders for Piscator’s weekly pop-ups are released every Monday at 10 am. The schedule, locations, and more can be found here.

Mason’s Take-Home Tips/Tools.

OTH: Let’s start with the basics. WHY branzino?
Mason: I think of branzino as a “gateway” fish. It’s tender and flaky, with a bone structure that’s simple to navigate.

Serving it whole and bone-in matters a lot to me. It enhances flavor and retains moisture, but more importantly, eating it sparks conversation. You cannot share a bone-in branzino with someone without talking to or acknowledging them.

Eating it this way also automatically connects you to the ocean and where it’s sourced from. Knowing that about something I’m eating comforts me.

OTH: Where are the best places to source ingredients in the city?

Mason: New York City can be challenging because, while we have everything here, there is no one-stop shop. Everything must be sourced from different places if you want top quality without spending your whole budget in one go.

• Seafood: Aquabest on the Lower East Side. Their quality is top-notch, and Steven knows everything there is to know about seafood. He supplies so many chefs and home cooks and still maintains a personal connection with everyone.

• Vegetables: We’re so fortunate to have the Union Square Greenmarket every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. I recommend asking the vendors about the different produce and putting a spin on your dishes at home by substituting in a vegetable you found at the market. Remember, you can cook anything with salt, pepper, oil, and some heat.

• I think people can be hesitant to go to fruit carts around Manhattan, but these are a great way to get affordable produce that you can use the same day. I do advise using this produce the day of, as it is typically ripe the day it is on the cart.

• Bread: We have such amazing bakeries in New York. My favorites are C&B Bakery in the East Village and Smør Bakery (locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn). They both have incredible sourdough and focaccia, styled slightly differently, but equally delicious.

OTH: Since you’re always on the move, what kitchen tools do you rely on to help keep prep low-maintenance?
Mason: My setup may seem low-maintenance, but it was out of necessity, as I was loading this stuff up and down my fifth-floor apartment to different bars around Manhattan and Brooklyn that first summer. So, the tools and equipment I look for must be multi-use, light, and easily transportable. Ones I swear by:

Metal Cake Tester, Rolling Tote, Fish Spatula

Metal cake tester: If I’m ever unsure whether a fish is cooked through, I pull out my cake tester. If it goes through the meat without any resistance, it’s done. If you’re still unsure, press the cake tester tip on your wrist and ensure it’s warm to the touch.

Rolling tote: As New Yorkers, we’re constantly hauling things around. And as a pop-up, this includes produce, equipment, merch that needs to be mailed out, and so much more. A rolling tote changed my life because I can drag it along the sidewalk, but also lift it up when I’m headed down the subway stairs. It’s a great substitute for trying to haul 30 lbs of cabbage in a canvas tote on your shoulder.

Fish spatula: This is expected, but I don’t use it solely for fish. A fish spatula is flexible, slotted, and beveled, so it’s perfect for lifting delicate pastries like galettes or puff pastry, or flipping delicate items like fried eggs and crepes.

OTH: A lot of people find cooking fish intimidating. What are some tips they can start with?
Mason: The beauty of seafood is that you can be incredibly simple with it. Start with salt, pepper, olive oil, and a dried herb of choice and go from there. The protein does all of the work for you. And it’s perfectly fine to source at your local grocery store. A few other suggestions for questions I get a lot:

• Ask your fishmonger to prepare the fish how you want to eat it at home (as intimidating as it may seem). If you want to put a filet on a pan, ask them to filet the fish. If you want to eat it whole, ask them to gut and scale the fish so you don’t have to.

• Moisture is the enemy with fish! It dilutes the seasoning, causes sticking, and contributes to bacterial growth during storage. Leave the raw fish in a slightly covered/vented container (not airtight) when storing, and pat dry before seasoning and cooking.

• Fish should never smell fishy. If anything, it should smell like the ocean. People always ask if my apartment and kitchen smell like fish, and the answer is no! A fishy smell is bad!

• Eat the fish skin! Just crisp it up first. If you’re cooking a salmon filet in your home kitchen, heat your pan on high, place the filet skin side down to crisp it up, then cover and move it into the oven to finish cooking.

Mason’s 2 Easiest At-Home Recipes.

“These recipes are incredibly simple for good reason. I want to show that the fish itself does most of the work, and that you can really do anything with salt, pepper, and oil. From that foundation, you can add herbs and switch out ingredients based on what looks interesting at the market, etc.”

I’m including one for indoors/one for outdoors since an outdoor area is a luxury here in the city (I sure as heck don’t have a patio):”

For Indoors: Pan-seared filet with a pan sauce

Ingredients:

Any flaky white fish filet (try snapper, sea bass, halibut)
Avocado oil (or any high-heat oil)
Butter
Lemon (or lime)
Capers (or olives, splash of white wine)
Chopped fresh herb of choice (dried is fine too)

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1. Pat your filet completely dry

2. Season with salt and pepper or your favorite rub

3. Turn that stove fan on if you have one

4. Heat a pan with avocado oil until it’s shimmering, then lay the fish skin-side down and don’t touch it for 3-4 minutes

5. Flip, give it another minute or until cooked through, then pull the fish out

6. In the same pan, melt a couple of tablespoons of butter, squeeze in some lemon, and toss in capers and chopped herbs

7. Scrape up any browned bits

8. Spoon it over the fish

For Outdoors: Grilled fish over charred vegetables

Ingredients:

A whole fish such as branzino, trout, or snapper (ask your fishmonger to gut and scale the fish)
Any vegetable you find at the market (cabbage wedges, broccolini, asparagus)
Avocado oil (or any high-heat oil)
Salt
Pepper
Dried herb of choice
Lemon

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1. Get your grill incredibly hot, and scrub any remnants from the grill grates. These items are very important!

2. Lightly oil your grill grates (I like to carefully use a dish towel dabbed with high-heat oil)

3. Pat your whole fish completely dry, score the skin a few times on each side, rub it down with a high-heat oil, and season generously with salt, pepper, and your herb of choice

4. Lay the fish down on the hot grill — let it sit undisturbed until it releases easily and flip to the other side (6-8 minutes per side). Remove from grill when cooked through

5. Toss your vegetable of choice with oil, salt, and pepper, and char it beside your fish on the grill

6. Once both are done, finish with a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of good olive oil

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