Alonso N

Um, ok. yall had some good points, and some myths. First off, quality. While there will always be old, bad fish at any market, Fulton gets some of the best product in the country consigned directly to it from the source fisherman/farm. Most of the NY/NJ/CT area wholesalers have buyers at the market every night. Also most of the stalls get more product in every night than they can put in thier coolers at the end of the day. That market moves huge volume. The main point is buying. Sure you can, on a cash (as in folding green stuff) basis. But yes, there are some limitations that make it a bit of a challenge. Like the fact the market goes from 4am to 9am. How to do it: Show up on a Tues. or Wed., as they are the slower days, before 7am. The stalls primarily sell in bulk, but most stalls will have a table out with pieces (individual fish, boxes of shrimp, etc.) that they will sell by the lb, each, etc. Pick something out that and ask how much. If you want it the guy will weigh it and give you a ticket. Take the ticket to the cash window, pay, and take the reciept back to the guy and get your fish. Almost none of the places cut product, so you have to buy whole fish, which I think is a good thing.... If you want pointers, forgive me for being un-PC, find some oldish immigrent-looking lady walking around with shoppingbags and watch how she does it. Stalls specialize. Shellfish places may break boxes or bags. most will sell .5 gal scallops (4lb). If you have rubber boots ware them and tuck your pants in. As you are wandering around folks may say "buyer-seller" to you. Answer buyer. It's an amazing, and intimidating, place. You can see fish there that you won't see an fish markets. If you live in or visit NYC and like seafood you owe it to yourself to do it one morning, and see what goes on behind the curtain. See it before it's gone. Corruption, not realy, not anymore. Usedtowas. I have been deep enough into several Fulton shops to know. Seafood is a cash for commodity business, so/and it looks rough, but the organized crime element has been disenfranchised to the point where folks do basicaly straight business. For instance vendors sending product in used to have to give thier driver ฤ to pay off the mob so the truck got unloaded... mayor G fixed that years ago. B Edulis, a how to buy trip around chinatown sounds like a hoot. I live in MD, but if we had enough takers it could be a great field trip. Not to be harsh, but if the people you buy your fish do not know farmed/wild/producer/where from/dry vs. processed, go buy somewhere else. Find a place where you can get good info. on the product. -Nef

Lived in Cambridge for 5ish years and I like to eat both well and cheap. Blue Room, 1 Kendal Square: My fav. Best value for $, on the low side of high end. Just incredeble meals. Look it up in Zagat, ranks up with the top flight restaurants, but reasonable. Just a few doors up the street is Daddy-O's Bohemian Cafe, 57 Crescent St. an american bistro. Good eats, interesting but not wacky, chef-owners working a line visible from dining room, good garden/patio. If you are feeling freyed and need some comforting their mac&cheese is great. Ice cream place in Innman Square, next to a comedy place. Absolutely INTENSE flavors, and some very interesting ones as well: Mexican Hot Chocolate, Kolfuti, Whiskey and Wheat Bread. Rum Raisen where the rum in the raisen will make you say 'ooo' Can't remember the name, but it's been around for ever. Atasca, 279 Broadway (bet. Columbia & Prospect Sts.) Portugese, Great authentic food, good service, inexpensive. Dali, 415 Washington St., and her sister resaturant on Newbery in Boston. Tapas, again great, but a wee bit pricey Stay away from all restaurants on Mass. Ave. Most are downright bad, some realy expensive and not great. Except for Common Ground (ne. Rosies) Just above Harvard Sq. Nice, large bar/restaurant, the standard stuff done will, and some interesting stuff. Great beer selection. I concur with Pal of Fat Guy on Redbones (some of the best BBQ anywhere, and it's in Boston?!) and respectfully dis-agree re. Chez Henri; most meals were somehow wrong, and I found the atmosphere annoying. -Nef

I, too, travel much too much, and have been doing so for the last 10 years or so. And I always try to find a good local pub/eatery. BUT. There are plenty of places where all there is is mall-#### type cookie-cutter food factories, which I rate as follows: Gone There While At Home, Once or Twice: Outback, Uno's I'm Ok if I See One Near The Hotel: Chilli's, TGI Fridays Not Bad: Appebee's, Ruby Tuesday, Starbucks. Avoid Like The Plague: Pizza Sl*t, Olive Garden, Bennigans, Macaroni Grill, etc. etc. Most Improved: TGI Friday. Best Fried Chicken: Popeyes spicy. A note about Starbucks: Yah, it ate my local chain, and made me cry, but boy-o-boy am I happy when there is one on the way from the hotel to the job site when in West Cammel Toe, just 40 minutes from the booming metropolis of Chinchilla, OK. Same goes for Sam Adams. Time was the choices were Bud, Miller, Coors or maybe, just maybe Heniken. Sigh. So much bad food, so little time on earth. Such a shame, such a waste. -Nef

Yall in NYC have THE BEST seafood resource in the country, the Fulton Fish Market. (I know this, I'm a seafood company consultant, and have been to 150+ seafood co.'s in the US) The trick to good seafood is knowing what to look and ask for. For instance, for scallops ask for dry pack, not processed. HUGE difference: 40%+ water and tri-poly phosphate added. Get someone to show you dry and processed side-by-side and you will be able to pick out the good ones in the future. With shellfish it's a matter of taste, and harvest location and date. It's the law that all shellfish must have a tag on the bag or box with harvest information. For mussels farmed PEI's are all the rage, and they are good. But my fav's are from a company in RI that gets wild ones, then then sorts and de-sands and de-beards them. They are the only company that I know that does a taste test on every batch and directs the fishermen based on results.