I rarely eat fish anymore. It’s not that I don’t like fish. But the available goods are ages from the water and injected with brine to plump them up. Without a fish market in the area, my expectations are low. As a result, I only eat fish at the coast. Growing up in New York City and living in Coastal New England most of my life, I suppose you might call me a snob for good fish. What’s good? A Finnan Haddie, thick creamy chowder with a small mountain of fish in the center, or a delicious halibut stew
Just writing about this causes anxiety that someone might shove some alien trash in front of me at a restaurant, call it flounder, and leave the bill. My wife dreads the possible disarray in which I’d leave the restaurant and no longer points out that the day’s specials include swordfish.
It isn’t good. Friends down at the coast send me postcards of locally caught fish, hoping to lure me to visit. I begin to plot my escape from Central Massachusetts.
Strangely, on our last visit to the coast, we were told that all the ‘fresh’ fish gets shipped inland. Apparently, fishermen flash freeze their catch on sight?
For large commercial ventures that’s true, but lots of restaurants have arrangements with market fisherman who sell direct to better quality seafood restaurants. I can think of about seven offhand on our Northshore, Portland, and Bath. One of the best is in Newburyport called – Bob Lobster – their chowder is must have.
I use to live in Pittsfield and Dalton Massachusetts. I loved it and the soup.
Pittsfield and Dalton are another world from Central Mass, and historically closer connected to New York state. Lovely part of the state to live in!
If you are that fussy living in inland Massachusetts, imagine seafood here in Western Nebraska! Stick with a good slab of beef here.
Doug…before you mentioned it…I had never thought of it…now I’ll have nightmares all night. Thanks, buddy!
Just skip the seafood the farther inland you get and the nightmares will cease.
I hear you. I live on the coast, and I love restaurant haddock, but the $tore $tuff marked “previously frozen” literally stinks. For days after. (Try talking my husband into paying even more for fresh. He’s ruining haddock for me, lol.)
Well The Best