In a game of Go Fish, the player to the left of the dealer asks any player if they have a certain card — say a Jack or a Queen. If so, the other player must surrender all examples of that card they possess, getting the player who made inquiry closer to making a four-of-a-kind "book."
A look at the menu at Go Fish Wine Bar, one of the latest entries in the expanding San Antonio restaurant empire of Emily and Houston Carpenter, suggests that making a book will be very hard indeed. For now, at least, red snapper is the only fresh fish appearing more than once, and the treatments of other offerings are so different as to render the varieties of seafood moot.
That wouldn't be an issue in itself, except that the menu appears to have been downgraded from the initial promise of diverse fresh fish both on the plate and for retail purchase over ice. The latter's place has been taken over by ice-bedded bottles of bubbly and chill-worthy whites. In addition to the oysters that made Little Em's, the Carpenters' first foray in King William, the menu at Go Fish now features a Bites section that ranges from pizza to lox on sourdough to skewered sardines and anchovies.
Good luck putting together a winning hand.
But a savvy restaurateur reads the room and adjusts accordingly, so maybe Go Fish's evolution was inevitable. Maybe the play here, considering that the business also calls itself a wine bar, is to make another kind of game of it all — one where there's a vino to match with squid and fermented fresnos, another that pairs perfectly with spicy fried prawns, and yet another for that lone cheese pizza.
That could be a fun, if different, way of making a book.
Alas, the luck of the draw may not be with you here, either. Out of a list of fewer than 40 bottles — modest by wine bar standards — there are only eight available by the glass. It was a rough go to pick two to pair with my orders of crispy tacos of fish chorizo and red snapper ceviche. Especially since I was dissuaded from ordering a promising-sounding pet nat rosé from the menu's Esoteric and Experimental category. It's on the sweet side, warned the server. Thanks but no thanks?
Though not displayed in fillet form alongside the bottles on ice, the snapper in the ceviche was impeccably fresh. It was also dominated by a soupy blend of chopped strawberry and tart, pickled rhubarb. Mint put in an appearance as did a side container of what I'd imagine to be fried shallot and chili crisp. There was a mound of torn butter lettuce whose only function seemed to be as a plate-filler. Whole leaves might have invited taco-making, on the other hand.
Against all odds, a lemony grüner veltliner almost worked with the ceviche. Beer, and that is an option at Go Fish, would frankly have been better.
The notion of fish chorizo was admittedly intriguing. It called to mind shredded, smoky marlin I once had on the Mexican Pacific Coast near Mazatlan. And if the idea was to emulate the traditional, meaty version, I have to say that they nailed it — orange-hued oil and all. The shatteringly crisp taco shells were also faultlessly executed — a solid reminder that they remain a viable component of the Tex-Mex canon. To fancy it all up, shaved, "cured" egg and a few precious pearls of trout roe made for a texturally complex mouthful if nothing else.
The only other rosé by-the-glass option was a workhorse blend from Provence, its strawberry notes not quite up to the task of tussling with the pescatarian chorizo, but pleasant enough nonetheless. Again, beer would have been better. Or, if feeling frisky, maybe the by-the-glass pinot noir/syrah blend from France's Pays d'Oc.
The entrance to Go Fish is up a narrow stair that's not especially inviting, but inside the Carpenters have done their usual good job of fitting out the once-pedestrian space. Pale pastels of blue and green contrast nicely with rough, clay-tile walls, and the lighting is simple but effective.
Still, I can't help thinking that the place hasn't yet found its soul. There's a Fish or Cut Bait board game that might be called into play here if someone needs help.
Go Fish Wine Bar
125 W. Grayson St. | (210) 542-6631 | gofishmtk.com
Hours: 2-10 p.m. daily, 8 p.m.-10 p.m. happy hours
The rundown: Go Fish appears to have abandoned its original fish market premise, along with most entrée sized menu offerings. There's a charcuterie board that should play with well with the new wine bar emphasis, but the menu's Bites portion makes pairing a little harder. So, consider it a challenge to match vino with anchovy skewers, sardines and sourdough or the latest ceviche. Polar opposite pizza and oysters are also available.
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