Favorite Fish

Originally Posted by iammatt

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I'm not sure it is so true anymore. At least it isn't in San Francisco. You have to be willing to go a little out of your way, but not much.
San Francisco is one of, I'd guess, 3 or 4 cities in the US where I'd imagine you do actually have some meaningful options. Comparing SF to Baltimore, or most of the United States, is not really fair.

laketrout.

I was in the Caribbean a few weeks ago and most of the fish available at the market/supermarket was imported from Miami. We were told multiple times that there is local fish and fishermen but the hotels and restaurants buy all of their catch, every day. Entirely locked in by the local hospitality industry. It's possible to go meet the fishermen around 4:30 or 5pm when they get in and buy some of their catch on the spot but something that's much easier for locals to do than for tourists.

Originally Posted by gdl203

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I was in the Caribbean a few weeks ago and most of the fish available at the market/supermarket was imported from Miami. We were told multiple times that there is local fish and fishermen but the hotels and restaurants buy all of their catch, every day. Entirely locked in by the local hospitality industry. It's possible to go meet the fishermen around 4:30 or 5pm when they get in and buy some of their catch on the spot but something that's much easier for locals to do than for tourists.

Were you not staying at a hotel so that you could benefit from this?

Originally Posted by SField

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Were you not staying at a hotel so that you could benefit from this?

No we had a house, but we had a local chef come cook for us a couple of nights and he had access to all the local stuff. Hence my falling in love with that Caicos lobster thing - it was truly delicious (and I'm not one to care much for lobster)

Originally Posted by gdl203

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No we had a house, but we had a local chef come cook for us a couple of nights and he had access to all the local stuff. Hence my falling in love with that Caicos lobster thing - it was truly delicious (and I'm not one to care much for lobster)

I will have to try this. Is it like Langoustine?

I don't really like lobster much, as I've said a few times.

my fish guy can get pretty much any of the exotic fish, but the prices may be outrageous. on the other hand, it took me for ******* ever to find salt cod around here.

Originally Posted by SField

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I will have to try this. Is it like Langoustine?
No it's not. Langoustine meat is very soft and subtle in taste. This is a firm meat that packs a lot more flavor (think of a very tasty and gigantic gambas). They pack a lot more meat than New England lobsters by the way.

Originally Posted by mharwitt

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my fish guy can get pretty much any of the exotic fish, but the prices may be outrageous. on the other hand, it took me for ******* ever to find salt cod around here.

that's because you insist on going to white-boy markets. try grand central market downtown. or seafood village in eagle rock.

just as everything else in the culture is getting blanded out into "one country", so is the fish selection. There are really only a couple of major fishing ports in the country anymore ... Seattle and Boston area. Other places have smaller fisheries, but they don't really catch much. So when you go to a seafood market in los angeles, you're likely to find the same fish as in new york or minneapolis. you can go to Asian markets and get more variety, but most of those fish are imported, so the variety at asian markets is similarly similar. in southern california, we have only the tattered remnants of a fishing community (and we were once BIG ... canned tuna was invented here). Commercially, the only things caught are sardines, mackerel and squid. you can also find some small fishers of prawns, spiny lobsters, etc. and, of course, there's a huge spiny lobster fishery, but almost all of that goes to japan.
the only way to change this is to work hard at seeking out vendors who will supply local specialties. it'll cost more and you won't find them at the supermarket, but it can be done.

Originally Posted by foodguy

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that's because you insist on going to white-boy markets. try grand central market downtown. or seafood village in eagle rock.
i just get sketched out by places that have their fish piled in crates in the middle of the store like produce for everyone to touch. i've never gone to grand central for anything but prepared food. i'll give both a shot. for the record i went to two thai and one latino market looking for salt cod before i finally found it in north glendale.

Originally Posted by foodguy

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that's because you insist on going to white-boy markets. try grand central market downtown. or seafood village in eagle rock.

Is that the place in the mall on Colorado and the 2? I've walked by that place a dozen times without going in. Have you been to Fish King in Glendale?

No love for walleye?

Salmon
Walleye
Sea bass

Originally Posted by Baron

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Is that the place in the mall on Colorado and the 2? I've walked by that place a dozen times without going in. Have you been to Fish King in Glendale?

yeah, it's a super place; astonishing fish, both quality and variety (somewhat surprising because filipino markets aren't typically like that). Fish King is good, also, but you're really paying a premium price there for a much narrower selection.

Originally Posted by Baron

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Is that the place in the mall on Colorado and the 2? I've walked by that place a dozen times without going in. Have you been to Fish King in Glendale?

fish king is where i got the salt cod. russ would skip it in favor of nearby Arko foods, with the perpetually wet floors and ruptured packages of frozen pork blood in the freezer.