Tinkering with Mama Scoma’s cioppino recipe— you know the one; it’s been on Scoma’s menu since they opened on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf in 1965 and in Sausalito since it opened in 1970—should only be attempted by a masterful chef. So when Chef Gordon Drysdale came aboard as Scoma’s culinary director in 2014, the chef known for Gordon’s House of Fine Eats, Bix, and Fog City Diner aimed high. He transitioned the seafood program to 100% sustainable (originally certified by Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, now certified by the Aquarium of the Bay Sustainable Seafood Alliance). Drysdale only buys farmed salmon that meets the Alliance’s green standard.

“[Between the San Francisco and Sausalito locations], we can use over 1,000 salmon in a season,” Drysdale says. “Is it fair to remove that many from a critically endangered species?”

The restaurant’s Cioppino is a longtime menu favorite.

Find the recipe for Lazy Man Cioppino and the complete story of Scoma’s as the restaurant celebrates its 60th year at Edible Marin & Wine Country.