NYC Catch Of The Day
November 27, 2022 11:54 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for a New England-style fish market in New York City. Help? (I grant that this question may be something that people will only really understand if they have lived in/visited both New York City and coastal New England, but I live in hope.)
While visiting my parents, I stopped into a fish market with Dad to pick up some swordfish for that night's dinner - and I realized I really, really want to find a fish market like that where I live, if it exists:
* The shop was located right bang next to a dock where commercial fisherman brought in their catches, so it was "just caught today" fresh.
* They had a few prepared things, and a small freezer with some frozen shellfish, but it was mostly extremely fresh local fish.
* They catered mainly to customers making small purchases (i.e., us getting 3 swordfish steaks for that night's dinner, someone picking up a half pound of mussels for a fancy date night, someone getting a whole cleaned halibut for a dinner party, etc.).
By contrast, most of the fish markets in New York buy things from the Fulton Fish Market wholesale, so their fish is a little older, or they're super-fancy and the prices are a little overinflated. There's the fish guys at the greenmarkets, but that's only once a week, and their selection is on the small side and most of what I usually look for is gone by the time I get there.
I also know you can order from Fulton Market online, but that has a $75 order minimum. Neither my appetite nor my freezer would be happy trying to accommodate that.
I don't mind going on a hike to get there - but I want the kind of place where if I decide i want fish for dinner tonight, I can go there in the afternoon and get a fish that was caught literally that morning, and walk out only with that fish if that's all I want. Help?
While visiting my parents, I stopped into a fish market with Dad to pick up some swordfish for that night's dinner - and I realized I really, really want to find a fish market like that where I live, if it exists:
* The shop was located right bang next to a dock where commercial fisherman brought in their catches, so it was "just caught today" fresh.
* They had a few prepared things, and a small freezer with some frozen shellfish, but it was mostly extremely fresh local fish.
* They catered mainly to customers making small purchases (i.e., us getting 3 swordfish steaks for that night's dinner, someone picking up a half pound of mussels for a fancy date night, someone getting a whole cleaned halibut for a dinner party, etc.).
By contrast, most of the fish markets in New York buy things from the Fulton Fish Market wholesale, so their fish is a little older, or they're super-fancy and the prices are a little overinflated. There's the fish guys at the greenmarkets, but that's only once a week, and their selection is on the small side and most of what I usually look for is gone by the time I get there.
I also know you can order from Fulton Market online, but that has a $75 order minimum. Neither my appetite nor my freezer would be happy trying to accommodate that.
I don't mind going on a hike to get there - but I want the kind of place where if I decide i want fish for dinner tonight, I can go there in the afternoon and get a fish that was caught literally that morning, and walk out only with that fish if that's all I want. Help?
Check out Pierless Fish to see if they're close enough to what you're looking for. They do retail delivery but I don't know if they have a storefront operation.
posted by entropone at 1:29 PM on November 27, 2022
posted by entropone at 1:29 PM on November 27, 2022
Perhaps Chinatown? There are a number of fish shops selling fresh fish as their clientele expect nothing less. If you are looking specifically for a shop near Chinatown that speaks English, try Aqua Best on Grand Street.
As for me, I order directly from Alaska and get my fish frozen directly from the source. I prefer salmon and Pacific/Alaskan salmon is best.
posted by ichimunki at 1:39 PM on November 27, 2022
As for me, I order directly from Alaska and get my fish frozen directly from the source. I prefer salmon and Pacific/Alaskan salmon is best.
posted by ichimunki at 1:39 PM on November 27, 2022
Response by poster: Ooh - Shipwreck says that it specializes in "dayboat daily catches", which sounds promising - and I live within 5 blocks of it to boot!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:45 PM on November 27, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:45 PM on November 27, 2022 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Here is the description for Aqua Best. I believe they still operate their storefront:
Aqua Best started as a humble mom and pop operation located in downtown New York City just blocks away from the original location of The Fulton Fish Market. Through our decades of experience, we learned the secret to obtaining great seafood.
We work directly with local fishermen, and constantly in tune with the seasonal nature of our products. For a majority of the items that we carry, we source our own boats or contract boats to fish for us, thus ensuring that you, the customer, are getting the best quality seafood possible,
We also set up our own buying station located in Martha’s vineyard and long island, in the mission to bring the freshest local catches that are caught and sold the very same day in our retail location. Aqua Best is also licensed to export and import seafood from and to all over the world.
While our family run business has grown, we are still very hands on in everything we buy. We make sure we control the entire process from picking up the fish directly from the boat to overseeing that every fish is handled properly.
posted by ichimunki at 1:49 PM on November 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Aqua Best started as a humble mom and pop operation located in downtown New York City just blocks away from the original location of The Fulton Fish Market. Through our decades of experience, we learned the secret to obtaining great seafood.
We work directly with local fishermen, and constantly in tune with the seasonal nature of our products. For a majority of the items that we carry, we source our own boats or contract boats to fish for us, thus ensuring that you, the customer, are getting the best quality seafood possible,
We also set up our own buying station located in Martha’s vineyard and long island, in the mission to bring the freshest local catches that are caught and sold the very same day in our retail location. Aqua Best is also licensed to export and import seafood from and to all over the world.
While our family run business has grown, we are still very hands on in everything we buy. We make sure we control the entire process from picking up the fish directly from the boat to overseeing that every fish is handled properly.
posted by ichimunki at 1:49 PM on November 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
F. Rozzo and Sons on 9th Ave in Chelsea is a real-deal wholesale fish monger that opened their doors for retail when all the restaurants they've been supplying for 100 years shut down at the beginning of the pandemic.
posted by nicwolff at 4:32 PM on November 29, 2022
posted by nicwolff at 4:32 PM on November 29, 2022
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posted by Mavri at 12:31 PM on November 27, 2022