CONSIDER the ANCHOVY

Forget what you think you know about these tiny oily fish and embrace their umami-packed flavor and health-transforming nutrition.

- FRANKIE HUANG

THE BEST PIZZA I'VE EVER TASTED was in Italy. It was one of those last-mealon-earth pizzas, an ethereal soft-crisp crust graced with a simple sauce and adorned with capers, olives, and anchovies. The worst pizza I've ever tasted also had anchovies. It was from one of those wannabe Neapolitan-style joints, and I felt like I was biting into a slice studded with soggy salt packets.

And that's the whole situation with anchovies. All along the Mediterranean coast, in South Asia, and elsewhere in the world, anchovies are revered for their flavor and nutrition, which drives a demand for higher-quality products. In America, they're largely reviled, likely because of those run-ins we've all had and have since held deep within our psyches.

But something has shifted over the past several years. Though anchovies remain America's least favorite pizza topping, according to a 2021 YouGov poll, popular cooking personalities (YouTube's Matty Matheson and Joshua Weissman, for two) have begun to trumpet the small but mighty fish as a versatile secret weapon that adds a boom of umami depth to any meal. During the height of pandemic-induced home cooking, I watched anchovies attain Instagram stardom as people ate their way through shelf-stable foods. And professional chefs, too, are trying to celebrate the little fish for all it's worth. At the Anchovy Bar in San Francisco, you can enjoy anchovy toast, fresh lime-pickled anchovies, anchovy steak tartare, and anchovies with fried onions and eggs, all made in-house from the day's fresh catch.

Stuart Brioza, the restaurant's executive chef, says he has to push back continually against people's memories of bad anchovies. "For those who have suffered these shoddy products, it's important for them to know that good anchovies are out there," Brioza says.