Sea Cuisine, not

Sea Cuisine

Stuffed Fillet of Flounder

Price: $3.99 for 10-ounce box (two 5-ounce servings)

1 serving: 250 calories, 12 g fat, 680 mg sodium

(STAR)

Here's a fish story for you: "Delicately seasoned scallop andcrabmeat stuffing" rolled in a "perfectly prepared and flash frozen"fillet of flounder. "Gourmet seafood made easy." That's what the boxsaid.

Wait, there's more: "Sea Cuisine Stuffed Fillet of Flounder ishandmade using only the finest ingredients, the nutritiouscenterpiece of a unique and elegant meal." On the box was a gorgeouspicture of the cooked fillets, the scallops so plentiful they burstfrom the stuffing, drizzled in a cream sauce, nestled in a medley ofasparagus, mushrooms and pearl onions. Mouth-watering, yet theskeptic still hesitated-until noting that Sea Cuisine is distributedto Certified Grocers in the Midwest by Fishery Products InternationalInc. of Danvers, Mass., which is practically in the Atlantic Ocean.

Outta took the bait.

Alas, a serving was the size of an egg. The stuffing was bread,more bread and one scallop, the approximate size of a pencil eraser.If there was crab meat, it was so sparse as to be unidentifiable.

Following directions, we microwaved one fillet on high for 4minutes; we baked the other at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Neithermethod produced much: a flavorless piece of fish, neither flaky nordelicate, around a ball of damp seasoned breadcrumbs. The nutritionwas swimming in four kinds of oil and butter, plus natural andartificial butter flavor.

The cats did not care for it, either.