Seriously, on good Friday what is there better to do than tour the fish markets of the oAs angeles port. Our first stop was Berth 55 Seafood Market and Fish Deli. Definitely not fine dining, so don’t worry about dress code (or even sanitation for that matter). The concept is pretty cool. You walk into the store and there is a full fish counter with really fresh seafood. Red Snapper, Tilapia, Halibut, Shrimp, Scallops, Clams…. You order your seafood and they pull it right from the counter, and cook it for you in the improve kitchen that they have set up behind the counter (essentially three guys in ripped tank tops pumping out delicious hot seafood). While the health inspection report here might not rival that of a nice restaurant, the seafood is fresh and cooked directly from the counter. I had the seafood taco plate. Three soft tacos packed with sauteed tilapia (or snapper not sure), topped with salsa verde, crisp cabbage, tomatoes, and a dash of love. Pretty cool concept. The clam chowder looked amazing. Thick chowder stuffed into a bread bowl ala 1985…….think Betty Crocker Cookbook. Dave had a snickers bar before we went out, so he just watched me eat. Don’t worry though, the snickers bar was sustainable.
Next stop was the San Pedro Fish markets. Any time you walk into a fish market and the entry way is filled with arcade games, it is a sure sign of quality fish. The first thing you see in the market is that iconic carnival machine with the claw that grabs a teddy bear. Only in this case the claw enters a lobster tank and you go fishing for a fresh maine lobster. Not a joke, pretty cruel way to go fishing……So Dave and I gave it our college try, only to disappoint the crowd of kids by not catching anything at all. After being verbally abused by the band of children, we checked out the rest of the market. Wow, tons of fresh whole fish. Literally all species of fish and a lot of it local caught. The outdoor patio was filled with people eating fried fish neck, tacos, viagra oysters (not a joke), and whole baked fish fresh from the counter.
Right here in our own backyard we can buy fish caught directly from local waters. The prices are more than reasonable, the freshness is not even a factor, and the convenience of getting to these markets far outweighs arm wrestling for a parking spot at your local albertsons. We can only encourage you to eat local and live green, but your palette should have some say in this argument as well. Which would you rather buy, fresh caught yellowtail and white bass from Catalina Island, or pre-frozen, scarred, unsustainable tuna from Indonesia? Hmmmm. eat up.
