Deck Hand's Daughter is a lovely pantry staple of canned herring at Renee Erickson's Sea Creatures restaurants (Bar Melusine, Bateau, General Porpoise, Barnacle, The Whale Wins, and The Walrus and the Carpenter) that's named in honor of supplier/herring evangelist Warner Lew's actual progeny, and it recently won a Good Food Award. Maybe calling it the 'Oscar of Canned Fish' is a stretch, but the Good Food Awards are pretty cool. They celebrate food that is "delicious, respectful of the environment, and connected to communities and cultural traditions."

I'm most excited about Renee and Warner's win, because I did a whole feature on the woefully underutilized Pacific herring fishery and am thrilled to see it getting its due. Washington had an impressive showing in all the Good Food categories. Hometown heroes include Reuben's Brews, Olympia Coffee Roasters, Theo Chocolates, and Pike Brewing (nominated, ironically, for mustard).