eG Foodblog: nickrey (2011) - Classical/Modernist: It's all Jazz i

[nickrey]

This is De Costi's, which is the shop whose stock I will show to you.

For our non-metric users: please not the prices are per kilo not per pound. A kilo is 2.2 pounds if you want to convert to see the comparative prices.

[nickrey]

Continuing the series

[nickrey]

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Edited January 15, 2011 by nickrey (log)

[nickrey]

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[nickrey]

Ok. That's it for that shop.

There are a number of others like it in the markets, as well as the wholesale side of the business and numerous other food shops and restaurants.

And if you're hungry after all that, here is a seafood platter from Nick's seafood just for you

[nickrey]

You must have got there very early...? I've never seen it that empty..of both people in the market and cars in the carpark!

Yep, it was around 8am.

[lights19]

What a fantastic selection! I'm envious of emptiness at the market. From a lurker, I've enjoyed the glimpse into your part of the world!

[nakji]

(Warning: horrible, fish-related pun) That's scads of fish!

Do you think they go through that much product daily? I'm so used to seeing fish held live in tanks, that I can't help but think some of those whole fish must lose a bit of their freshness - but maybe turnover makes that unlikely?

On another note: the Moreton Bay Bugs look positively primordial. Do you treat them like lobster?

[Pam R]

Amazing assortment - not something we see here, smack in the center of north America. What did you buy?

[nickrey]

Amazing assortment - not something we see here, smack in the center of north America. What did you buy?

lol, nothing.

I thought with all the seafood I'd been cooking it was time for a change of pace. I try to buy and cook fresh so did not want to buy something I wouldn't cook today.

It was simply a picture tour for my fellow eGulleters.

[ChrisZ]

I'm thoroughly enjoying Nick's blog, and as I live about 10 minutes away I'm thrilled to have been introduced to some great local businesses. I'll be heading to the Fourth Village Providore asap!

I can sympathise with overseas readers in regards to comparing prices (which is pretty much the first thing anyone does in a different country...) so as a point of comparison I noted a few fish prices at my local, normal, everyday supermarket. There's no way that the quality of supermarket fish compares to boutique outlets like Penny's, and a lot of it is imported rather than local, but the prices reflect that too. As wonderful as the Sydney fish market is, there's only the one and so most people will be buying their fish from their local supermarkets and fishmongers- and even dedicated fishmongers vary widely in quality. I don't think I've ever bought fish from a supermarket, but sometimes their prices on prawns are too good to pass up.

In kilograms, our supermarket had squid tubes for $14 (Penny's $37), flathead fillets $43 (Penny's $57), Atlantic Salmon fillets $30 (Penny's $43), and whole cooked prawns in a range of sizes from $10 - $30.

In US pounds, this equates to supermarket squid tubes $6.36 (Penny's $16.80), flathead $19.55 (Penny's $25.90), Atlantic Salmon $13.63 (Penny's $19.54) and whole cooked prawns from $4.54 - $13.63.

I won't bother doing the conversions for the prices at the Sydney fish market, but judging from the photos the market is cheaper and the produce is better. Which pretty much sums up the whole point of shopping at markets.

Am looking forward to more posts, it's been very inspiring...

[Pierogi]

Oh. My. Goodness.

I am seriously at a loss for words over the fabulous array of fish and seafood at DeCosti's. Wow. That is beyond incredible. The scallops in-shell are particularly drool inducing.

What's even MORE incredible to me, is that, in all of the Megalopolis that is the LA Basin, there are, two, count 'em, TWO, fresh fish markets of any note. One in Santa Monica and one in Newport Beach. Both about 30-plus miles from my home. In LA traffic.

I know some of the Asian markets have much more in the way of selection than the major chains, but still....we, as a state have a 700-plus mile coastline, and in roughly 200 miles of it (I'm thinking from Ventura to San Diego) we've got TWO freakin' fish markets? What up with that?

It's, I suppose, part of the corporate-ization and dumbing down of American mass marketing. I can remember when I first started shopping for myself seriously, I could get local sand dabs, local snapper, local spiny lobster, local scallops, local halibut, etc. Now....you get farmed tilapia, farmed "swai" (whatever *that* is), farmed salmon, frozen/defrosted farmed shrimp and maybe some halibut or cod. Maybe. Usually frozen/defrosted. And catfish. Needless to say, I don't eat much fish any longer.

*rant over*, we'll now return you to the utterly delightful foodblog of Nickrey. Suffice it to say, I'm absolutely flaming chartreuse with envy !

[ChefCrash]

Yeah.. but what?.. No Silverfin? Or Shanghai Bass? How about Kentucky Tuna?! Oh yeah! You gotta live in Michigan to get those!

Ohh! Mahhhhy! Gooohd!

[nickrey]

Thought it was time to go from surf to turf. Summer is great but the dishes tend to all be light and we use more seafood than other sorts of meat. Tonight we have something different.

Despite the trip to the seafood markets, I thought I’d stop off at the North Sydney markets to get some venison. Unfortunately the Mandagery Creek people weren’t there, so I settled on some lamb backstraps.

Now what to do with them? A form of baba ganoush with its eggplant should go well with it. What about other vegetables? Those Mediterranean vegetables I did earlier in the week (which was the first time I’d done them) should go well with the eggplant.

This was our main course, and of course I had to cook it sous vide.

For appetiser, I’ve really been wanting to try the Movida anchovies on toast with smoked tomato sorbet. Out with the ice-cream maker and on with the recipe. Basically, the dish comprises a crisp toasted piece of stale sourdough bread, topped with a special anchovy, some smoked tomato sorbet, and some soaked salted capers.

The entree was twice cooked duck in raviolo and five spice flavoured Asian broth.

The dish looked like this:

Now on to the main. We wound up having sous vide cooked lamb backstraps (55C at a few hours).

This was served on the hand-cut babaganoush and accompanied with char grilled vegetables.

Edited January 15, 2011 by nickrey (log)

[LindaK]

Nick, not to detract from your fine cooking, but some of us are still reeling from your fish market tour. The assortment and freshness are staggering.

Most of them were labeled as from Australia and New Zealand, it appeared. How healthy is the fishing industry in your part of the world? Are AU and NZ facing the same challenges that we are here in the north Atlantic re: overfishing?

[Prawncrackers]

It was simply a picture tour for my fellow eGulleters.

Thank you Nick, I'm fully sated now. All that was really from one shop? Amazing Stuff.

[Chris Amirault]

Picking up my jaw from the floor after that DeCosti photo tour.

Crickey.

As Pierogi said, we have nothing remotely comparable to that here in "the Ocean State," nor are there any comparable places north or south of here. Who shops there? All year round?

Crickey.

Meanwhile: twice-cooked ravioli means what? Beautiful food as always, Nick.

[paulpegg]

Nick,

I am new to Eg and am stunned at your fish market tour. I have never seen such a wide selection of great looking product. Here in central New Jersey we have plenty of Atlantic fish but I never seen a Bay Bug before. What are they?

I mostly cook fish that I catch myself. I fish in New York's East River and lower Hudson River for striped bass as they travel through to New England in the Spring and back down to the Chesapeake Bay in the Fall. here is a recent shot of one. We only keep what we eat and release the big females.

[nickrey]

Nick, not to detract from your fine cooking, but some of us are still reeling from your fish market tour. The assortment and freshness are staggering.

Most of them were labeled as from Australia and New Zealand, it appeared. How healthy is the fishing industry in your part of the world? Are AU and NZ facing the same challenges that we are here in the north Atlantic re: overfishing?

Hi Linda,

Probably the best I can do is point you to the Sydney Fish Market's sustainability page which has some comments about Australian seafood practices.

Commercial fisherman have quotas. There are fishing exclusion zones in place and the courts take a dim view of people who violate these.

A summary of regulations in place and prosecutions can be found here.

[nickrey]

It was simply a picture tour for my fellow eGulleters.

Thank you Nick, I'm fully sated now. All that was really from one shop? Amazing Stuff.

Yes, all one shop.

[nickrey]

(Warning: horrible, fish-related pun) That's scads of fish!

Do you think they go through that much product daily? I'm so used to seeing fish held live in tanks, that I can't help but think some of those whole fish must lose a bit of their freshness - but maybe turnover makes that unlikely?

The high turnover takes care of this. The empty car park you saw is most unusual, as other locals have already commented.