fishmonger

Now here is todays seafood news: We will be getting our direct Portuguese sardines that are always great and growing in popularity, thanks for the support. We also have some nice larger sized rouget they are running 1 to 2 per pound, and should have a good yield. We just got in a nice short trip Jersey boat with huge bloody monkfish, and technicolor golden tilefish (3-7 lbs each). Both are limited to a hundred or so pounds. Black sea bass finally made an appearance today so we have a small amount of mostly jumbo sized black sea bass for Thursday. Onaga came in like baseball bats, if you haven't tried this fish yet you will be not be disappointed. Wild striped bass had a few additional limited openings and along with Maryland we now have tagged fish from the PRFC (Potomac River Fisheries Commission), and VMRC (Virginia Marine Resource Commission). We hope the additional fish will start to bring prices down over the weekend. The National Restaurant Associ...

Just released by the National Restaurant Association "What's Hot in 2010; Chef survey" shows that local and sustainable seafood are high on the list of important issues for chefs. Here is a brief look at where seafood ranks: Top 20 Trends #2. Locally sourced meats and seafood #3. Sustainability #10. Sustainable seafood #18. Non-traditional fish (e.g. branzino, Arctic char,barramundi) Top Trends by Category Main Dishes / Center of the Plate #1. Locally sourced meats and seafood #3. Sustainable seafood #4. Non-traditional fish (e.g. branzino, Arctic char,barramundi) Breakfast / Brunch #4. Seafood breakfast items (e.g. smoked salmon, oysters, crab cake) Culinary Themes #1. Sustainability All data has been collected from www.restaurant.org/foodtrends For additional information see the Nation Restaurant Association website or Seafood Source .

I used to enjoy watching John Stossel on 20/20 and his Give Me A Break segments. I even had the opportunity to attend a dinner at Stetson Law where he spoke. I wonder what he would say about the current state of the Salmon industry. That most of the Industrial Salmon Complex are owned by few companies leads one to ponder conspiracy theories. We are all guilty for enjoying the relatively inexpensive farm raised Atlantic salmon during its hey day. The American people generally ignored all the bad press the lowly salmon had to take. Food writers and scientists alike criticized the fish because of the way in which it was raised, that it was dyed or color added, and that it was contaminated with toxins, or that it just didn't taste as good. Maybe Top Chef contestant and finalist Stefan will forget all he thinks he knows about farmed salmon after his disappointing showing cooking or overcooking as the judges determined lean wild coho salmon. Despite all its bad press most people love the...

From a New York fishmongers perspective, how things have changed. Since it has been nearly two months since my last musings here so much has happened. The market for seafood has gotten quite dismal with the wholesalers at the New Fulton Market in Hunts Point reduced to working on nickels and dimes when they can. Many companies have put crews on 4 day schedules, and games of cards and the occasional chess match fill the empty late night hours for lack of buyers. Not a day seems to go by that I here of fish being sold at ridiculously low prices, just so companies can avoid an outright loss. Many fish like Halibut have simply become too expensive an option for most, and restaurants have removed them from their menus. Back in favor Atlantic Salmon (a particularly great bargain with the ISA issues in Chile), tilapia, catfish, and skate. We are most of the way through Restaurant week here in the city (Restaurant Week is actually two weeks, many establishments are even extending it further.) ...

Wednesday November 12th was the second evening hosted by Wild Edibles to promote sustainable seafood. Sustainable After Hours is an opportunity for concerned New York Chefs to have questions answered by experts and producers of seafood. The special guests for the night included Kate McLaughlin Seafood Program Director from the Blue Ocean Institute, Jim Michaels Program Manager Mote Sturgeon Research Project, and Karen Rivera Founding Member Noank Aquaculture Cooperative. All the guests made brief speeches followed by personal conversations with some of the cities best chefs. I personally cannot help but think the impact that these small gatherings will have on the choices we all make when procuring the fruits of our fragile oceans. For those of you who attended, thanks for coming and having the conversation. I encourage anyone in the industry to continue the conversation and to reach out to your suppliers, and friends. Chef Paul Jambor of Wild Edibles Oyster Bar with the always tasty ...

Zagat says yes . Consumers have had information at their disposal for a few years now about the fish they purchase in retail stores. This was helped along by some legislation C.O.O.L (country of origin labeling) that took effect in 2004. This law only applies to retail stores and excludes prepared fish. So basically every restaurant is exempt from any reporting. One still must be careful and dine at trusted restaurants, because some misleading information is out there like the Florida grouper debacle that had numerous species filling in for the states favorite fish in a bun.