Fishnet Restaurant | College Park, MD

Ah, the thrills of doing one thing very well.

With that goal in mind, Ferhat Yalcin has opened a café inspired by the fishermen working along the Bosphorous River of his native Turkey. At Yalcin's Fishnet, the menu is dedicated almost solely to excellent fish.

The former Corduroy manager offers four fish options–grilled or fried–that he layers into simple but satisfying sandwiches on ciabatta bread.

Mild, flaky hake ($10) is best fried and topped with the requisite baby greens. Delicate porgy ($10) and calamari ($9) are ideal simply grilled.

Yalcin offers a choice of four sauces to augment the sandwiches. The best are Turkish-inspired. Smoky imported Turkish peppers spike a daringly spicy aioli. Subtle Turkish tarator sauce is like an herbless pesto, mashing together walnuts, a heady dose of garlic and breadcrumbs with sumac and olive oil. A side of hand-cut fries ($2.50) is helpful for scooping up any leftover sauce.

Fish tacos ($10) wrap large fried fillets of wild salmon with a touch of sour cream and tart, crunchy coleslaw in griddled flour tortillas. Though a mess to eat, they are a happily fish-focused alternative to overbattered versions.

The fishmonger also ventures out of the water. Perhaps as a tribute to the healthy café that previously occupied his College Park building, Ferhat serves a robust, herb-laced falafel ($9).

Fishnet, 5010 Berwyn Rd., College Park; 301-220-1070 or eatfishnet.com