BALTIMORE (WJZ)—It’s a real taste of Maryland, and if you’ve had it before you know how delicious and healthy it is.

Ron Matz reports Baltimore restaurants are ready to serve up a “Rockfish Celebration.”

At Regi’s American Bistro, your table is waiting. It’s time to recognize the rockfish. Owner Alan Morstein’s popular restaurant is part of Baltimore’s Rockfish Celebration.

“The Rockfish Celebration is put on by Baltimore’s Downtown Partnership, and it’s celebrating the state fish of Maryland, the rockfish, which is also known as striped bass. In Maryland we love our rockfish,” Morstein said. “We’ve prepared our rockfish two different ways celebrating the taste of Maryland. One is over succotash and silver queen corn that we got from Bartenfelder’s Farm during the summer. We flash froze it and saved it for this week, Rockfish Week, and we want the whole plate to exemplify the true state of Maryland.”

Rockfish dynamite style is topped with crab imperial.

“People love their rockfish and they love their crab, so it’s two of the best things in Maryland paired together on a plate,” said Mike Broglio, Regi’s executive chef. “It’s topped with jumbo lump crab imperial. It’s a very rich satisfying dish. It’s flashed under the broiler to give it a little brown crust. It’s a traditional old school Maryland dish.”

Regi’s rockfish is a local treat.

“It’s grilled [with] a little salt and pepper,” Broglio explained. “You don’t want to overcook it. You want it to stay moist and flavorful. We use a little lemon butter over the top and the succotash. We put some Old Bay in it to give it that authentic Maryland flavor.”

Morstein says their customers expect nothing less than the best rockfish.

“They know by coming to Regi’s they’re going to get fresh rockfish, not previously frozen,” he said. “It’s all local, line caught, not in nets. It’s the best rockfish you can get and prepared expertly.”

Twenty Baltimore restaurants, including Regi’s, are part of the Rockfish Celebration.

“When you buy rockfish you want to make sure the eyes are clear, the gills are pink and the flavor is succulent. Since it feeds off crab and eel it’s going to have a moist texture, thick white fillets. It’s an excellent table fish,” Morstein said.

For more information on the Rockfish Celebration just click here.