February 13, 2008
Beware the Butterfish, Warns Soiled Writer
Sometimes journalists really do pull stories out of their asses: Philadelphia writer A.J. Daulerio and former Gawker scribe Alex Balk are sounding the alarm on a succulent fish that causes some extremely undesirable and embarrassing side effects, namely hours of orange, uncontrollable anal leakage. It’s called escolar but it’s often sold under various assumed names like “butterfish”, “Hawaiian walu” or, when served raw, as “super white tuna” or “king tuna.” Whatever the name, the effects are often the same, as Daulerio himself divulged when he pitched the story via IM to Balk, now the executive editor for Radar online:
A.J.: Have you ever heard of Hawaiian butterfish and the orange shits it causes some unsuspecting diners?Like it or not, it's out there, thanks to Daulerio’s thorough reportage, in which he quotes a chief of clinical gastroenterology at the University of Wisconsin, who explains that “escolar is laden with an overwhelming amount of wax esters.” So unless your partner has a serious Cleveland Steamer fetish you want to spice up for Valentine’s Day, consider yourself warned to stay the hell away from the stuff.
BALK: I have not, but I’m not surprised that this would be your pitch.
A.J.: Thank you.
A.J.: Anyway. So, I love this fish, greatest tasting fish I’ve ever eaten. I’ve had it a couple times in restaurants without any problems.
A.J.: This past weekend? I buy some at DiBruno brothers – very reputable Italian place — and take it home and cook it.
A.J.: Now, mind you, we had a couple of friends who had eaten some at a restaurant and talked about their uncontrollable orange-oily shits they got due to eating it.
A.J.: Nonsense!, I thought.
A.J.: So, I eat some this weekend.
A.J.: And, pow. I’m stricken. In fact, it is beyond all comprehension of what went on. I actually had to stuff napkins down my pants in the middle of Target because I was leaking so bad.
A.J.: So, I do some research, standard googling for, you know, “Butterfish + anal leakage”.
A.J.: Lots of people.
A.J.: Hundreds, even.
A.J.: So, I tell my co-worker about what happened. He passes it along to the local radio djs at WMMR here and they talk about it all day.
A.J.: Their phone lines lit up.
A.J.: So many horror stories about this Butterfish and the horrible orangey shit mess it’s caused for people.
A.J.: Yet? Still served in restaurants without any disclaimers or anything.
A.J.: And in stores.
BALK: You’re pitching me a story about a fish that makes you shit orange?
A.J.: I am. Yes, I am.
A.J.: I think the word needs to get out there.
Apparently Aquagrill in SoHo has been known to serve this “ex-lax of fish.” And Eric Ripert of the high class seafood restaurant La Bernadin has it on the menu; there it's served as an appetizer in portions too small to cause any regrettable side-effects, or so he tells Eater. Ever try it?
Photo of tantalizing Oven-Baked Butterfish with Honey Mustard Sauce via Masak-Masak.
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This is an incredible public service.
that's fantastic.
i had hawaiian butterfish on saturday at a place called Blue Fish Grill in Flemington, NJ. It was delicious, and no orange poopies! maybe this guy got a bad batch. or maybe he fucked a carrot.
yup. It's all amount the amount of escolar you eat . . . and it doesn't affect everyone . . but boy it's a big shocker.
I had butterfish filet at Bar Americain and it was very yummy. No side effects though. Is this for real?
According to wikipedia, escolar is often misleadingly sold and offered as butterfish, but is not truly a butterfish.
This must be the Gothamist scatological story for the week. Thanks for sharing. Ugh.
I just spit all over my computer screen reading this. Thank you!
I had plenty of Escolar with no subsequent ass spray. I call BS on this.
The best-selling diet pill in America is called Alli and pretty much has identical side-effects. Oily, leaky, anal discharge?? Yikes. I'll pass!
The New York Times wrote about it at least once.
Johnny, how long have you waited to be able to appropriately use "Cleveland Steamer" in a post? Congratulations!
Maybe its like my ex boyfriend and any kind of hot peppers. He loves them, insisted on eating them, and then would be stinking up the bathroom for the rest of the night. YEt, I can eat peppers, with no problem. Of course, my shit don't stink.
The best fish you've ever tasted v.s. orange squirts. What a conundrum.
This is totally true and is well known. It only effects a person if they eat a decent amount of escolar. One piece of sushi isn't going to do it, but if a clueless chef is serving escolar as a main course (i.e. a big filet) stay away!! Do a google search on it, and you'll see some great grossout stories about it.....
Hmmm, Alex Balk now shares a tag with: anal leakage, diarrhea, and discharge.
I thought this was crap when I read it, but a Google search for "escolar" "site:.gov" led me to this scientific abstract on PubMed:
Unusually high levels of non-saponifiable lipids in the fishes escolar and rudderfish identification by gas and thin-layer chromatography.
So, whaddaya know? Not definitive proof that it gives you the runs, but does make it seem likely.