Deckhand Dave\u2019s is giving Juneau locals a reason to brave South Franklin Street\u2019s summer crowds. Juneauite David McCasland\u2019s recently opened food truck serves his take on the fish taco using only fresh and local fish.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are pretty classic fish tacos,\u201d McCasland said of the rockfish, halibut and salmon he serves.<\/p>\n
Except for the red cabbage slaw accompanying the fish. \u201cNot a lot of people use red cabbage,\u201d he adds and \u201cnobody does the panko-battered salmon bites.\u201d Also, there\u2019s the Mexican crema sauce in spicy-lime chipotle and mild-avocado.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve definitely got my own spin on it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
McCasland developed his signature taste in the last five years working in commercial fishing. He was the cook for the last three years. \u201cI did a lot of practicing,\u201d he said. \u201cTried it on the crew, tried it on myself, and then even when I wasn\u2019t fishing, I would have parties at my house (to) try food out (and) get opinions from my friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
McCasland said he got lucky with his first year fishing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the highest predicted year of fishing for pink salmon. It was the highest price and it was the biggest run and I knew I had to go seining that year.\u201d<\/p>\n
He got a spot on the F\/V Owyhee, a seiner, with captain Scott McAllister and earned the \u201cDeckhand\u201d in his business\u2019 name \u2013 as well as enough to pay off his student debt. After four more years of fishing, he was ready to give it a start.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always wanted to own a restaurant,\u201d he said. \u201cI figured this would be the time to do it. I was debt-free. So I sold everything I owned and I got a loan through JEDC.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, he was surprised by the expense of permitting and the added costs as he got closer to opening. When his hood didn\u2019t pass inspection, he had to rip it out and get a new one custom fitted \u2014 along with a full fire-suppression system, adding an extra $8,000 to his total.<\/p>\n
There had to be some material sacrifices along the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a nice truck but I sold it. Now I have a super beater,\u201d McCasland said. \u201cI wish I had the old truck back.\u201d<\/p>\n
But to McCasland it\u2019s worth it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a gamble. But I feel like this is the time in your life to make a gamble.\u201d At 26, McCasland said \u201cright now I could lose it all and still be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not that he intends on losing.Though he\u2019s only been open a few weeks, the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a savory house-made tartar that pretty much everyone raves by,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
And while it may only be a fish taco stand, this is no slap-dash effort. There\u2019s a tented eating area with tables McCasland made out of old wire spool. The condiment baskets, he made from Japanese packed-roe boxes from Excursion Inlet. The truck and three of the tables are coated in pictures taken by Juneau photographer Chris Miller last year when he visited the F\/V Owyhee to take photos for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.The fourth table features a custom wood-cut topographical map of the Inside Passage made by Chilkat Fabrication.<\/p>\n
When it\u2019s sunny, McCasland pulls off the sides of the tent and takes advantage of his waterfront location. \u201cIt\u2019s a real nice place to eat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s the food that people come for, and right now McCasland is keeping it simple with the options of beer battered or blackened rockfish tacos, beer battered halibut tacos and salmon bites either in a taco or on their own.<\/p>\n
He picked his menu based on what he likes and what sells.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t do any cod,\u201d he said. \u201cI think rockfish is superior.\u201d He likes its flavor and texture and the flexibility it gives him while cooking.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tourists want halibut so if they want to pay the price they can have their halibut,\u201d he said. At $17.99 it\u2019s the most expensive item on the menu.<\/p>\n
He said he also does a halibut cake special (think crab cake with halibut) that will show up on the menu. He hopes to have his beer and wine license by July.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s just going to keep getting better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Contact Capital City Weekly staff writer and design wizard Randi Spray at randi.spray@capweek.com. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Deckhand Dave\u2019s is giving Juneau locals a reason to brave South Franklin Street\u2019s summer crowds. Juneauite David McCasland\u2019s recently opened food truck serves his take on the fish taco using only fresh and local fish. \u201cThese are pretty classic fish tacos,\u201d McCasland said of the rockfish, halibut and salmon he serves. Except for the red […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":30333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":7,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[74],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-30332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life","tag-arts-and-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30332"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=30332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}