T-t-t-tuna!

I don't remember the exact details, but several years ago N and I were staying at my eldest sister's beach house up in Ocean Side, Washington, (just north of Illwaco, known to some as Ill-wacko), when we first discovered "the tuna".

Maybe we're a little odd--getting excited over an excellent can of Oregon tuna.  Probably from some tuna related event in our childhoods.  Perhaps we were . . . tuna deprived?  (In the 60's? Nah!  Not possible!)
At this point I think a disclaimer is necessary:  when it comes to canned tuna our very first choice would be home canned, but since we have to rely on the kindness of friends and family for that version we've worked diligently in finding an excellent substitute.
When it comes to factory canned tuna, frankly there's a lot of crap out there.  We happened across Bornstein's simply because we took a wrong turn looking for lunch while on a drive in Warrenton.  Instead of lunch we found a little joint on the Skipanon Slough to buy gift tuna for the neighbors taking care of Zuzu the cat.  Of course we had to buy a few cans for ourselves.
Once we opened a can, stuck a fork in the tender fillet inside and pulled the entire contents of the can out at once, we were hooked.  We've gifted the tuna to friends and family in the years since.  Either they've become hooked or they call and ask what's the story about the tuna--wondering how a can of fish can be special enough to gift out at Christmas.
If you're a little nutty about tuna and don't home can, they have a special going on right now--coupon code "2009" to get 10% off.  You might want to split a case of 24 with a friend, then you'll qualify for another 10% off.