Morro Bay wasn’t the only place that ‘Bizarre Foods’ chef stopped in SLO County

Looks like Morro Bay lingcod won’t be the only thing potentially on the menu for an upcoming episode of “Bizarre Foods.”

Travel Channel host Andrew Zimmern was spotted Monday filming a segment of his TV show “Bizarre Foods” at Tognazzini’s Dockside in Morro Bay, eating what could have been blue-mouthed lingcod. (When reached for comment Tuesday, Dockside owner Mark Tognazzini said he could not reveal what they were eating.)

But Zimmern apparently also was eating with a different local fishing family for the same show later in the day.

Kerry Evans Nechodom said Zimmern also went fishing with her nephew, Danny Morton, in Avila Beach on Monday, before coming back to her sister’s home in Grover Beach for a fish barbecue with her father, Travis Evans. Evans, 94, has been fishing in the area for 74 years.

“They were originally going to do an episode on slime eel fishing, but the slime eel fisherman didn’t come through,” Nechodom told The Tribune on Tuesday. “So Danny told them about our ‘fishing family,’ and they came and did an interview last Friday. Yesterday they went fishing with Danny, and last night we had a fish barbecue with Andrew and his crew.”

The group didn’t have anything too “bizarre” on the menu, however. Nechodom said they ate freshly caught halibut, clam chowder, calamari and “lots of local favorites such as Cattaneo (Brothers) sausage and San Luis Sourdough bread.”

“The experience was incredible, and the whole crew were great,” she said.

Tognazzini, with whom Zimmern met, had similar sentiments.

“He was a very pleasant man, very articulate,” Tognazzini said. “This will be very good for our community and for commercial fishing.”

Tognazzini also said the show crew had been filming in other parts of the Central Coast recently, including a piece down in Santa Barbara.

Nechodom was told by show representatives that the episode featuring her family would be aired March 7, though Tognazzini said he was informed it could be in mid-February.

This story was originally published December 13, 2016 at 3:29 PM with the headline "Morro Bay wasn’t the only place that ‘Bizarre Foods’ chef stopped in SLO County."