Buying fish/frozen fish, shellfish online

[Franci]

This was the topic at dinner yesterday night. How hard the fish industry has been hit with this pandemic. Result is that lot of fish is getting frozen. Suppliers that is the past were only selling to restaurants are opening now to general public. Do you have names, links you’d like to share? Are you going to start buying fish online? 

 

Thanks! 

[Alex]

We're very fortunate to still have high-quality fish and seafood available near us, both fresh and frozen. The only place I've ever dealt with online is The Crab Place, and even then, it was their fresh jumbo lump crabmeat. Not cheap, but good. They have an excellent reputation, though, so I imagine their frozen stuff would be good, too.

[dans]

My late wife's family has a branch outside of Seattle. We went out for a wedding and stopped at Pure Food Fish Market before jumping on the ferry. We picked up a whole salmon cut into steaks. When we got there, I removed the bones and tied them into rounds. I grilled them that night and people were saving the leftovers for lunch the next day.

 

I've since ordered from them a couple of times. Excellent quality, fast delivery, but don't ask the price.

 

As for supporting local. We have a farm stand nearby that has a seafood vendor (and others) come in on Saturday. Every time I stop there, they are sold out of everything. I guess I'll just continue to shop at the fishmonger a couple of town away.

[weinoo]

Great-Alaska Seafood - i've gotten some nice stuff from them, both their smoked product and fresh frozen. Their deliveries have been in perfect condition, arriving overnight still quite frozen.

 

 

[Smithy]

11 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Great-Alaska Seafood - i've gotten some nice stuff from them, both their smoked product and fresh frozen. Their deliveries have been in perfect condition, arriving overnight still quite frozen.

 

 

 

Thanks for this recommendation. I've been looking at their ads, but in no position to buy from them yet. Come May, I hope the story will be different.

[palo]

Zehrs (Loblaws) here in Orillia has a decent seafood department and as it's a supermarket their prices are as well

 

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[joancassell]

I've gotten excellent fish online from VitalChoice.  It arrives in perfect condition packed in dry ice.  Their sockeye salmon, sablefish, and escolar (called Chilean Sea Bass) are all delicious.

[Franci]

Taking notes! Thank you. Some websites prices are still pretty high, will check again in little bit. @joancassell, I think I ordered in the past from VitalChoice but definitely not frozen seafood. 

[dans]

17 hours ago, joancassell said:

... and escolar (called Chilean Sea Bass) are all delicious.

 

Chilean Sea Bass is another name for Patagonian Tooth Fish.

 

Escolar is sometimes called Butterfish or "White Tuna" and has been associated with some health issues in some people.

 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2020 by dans (log)

[lindag]

On 4/12/2020 at 5:24 PM, weinoo said:

Great-Alaska Seafood - i've gotten some nice stuff from them, both their smoked product and fresh frozen. Their deliveries have been in perfect condition, arriving overnight still quite frozen.

 

 

I've heard good things about Sea To Table seafood.

Like @Smithy I will have to wait a couple months (or more) until my new house is ready and I can move.

In the meantime I'm trying to empty my freezers.

[weinoo]

4 hours ago, lindag said:

I've heard good things about Sea To Table seafood.

Like @Smithy I will have to wait a couple months (or more) until my new house is ready and I can move.

In the meantime I'm trying to empty my freezers.

Yes, I've ordered twice from them as well.  Very nice shrimp, and this week I cooked a filet of wild sockeye that was fine.

 

I did it like this...

 

 

Topped with ramp butter, baked in the foil packet for about 12 minutes in the CSO. Served on top of some donabe ginger turnip rice...

 

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My order of barramundi arrived from amazon.  I plan to have some of it tonight.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

...but not all of it.  With amazon you usually have to buy a lot.  I well know one is not supposed to refreeze previously frozen barramundi.  But refreeze I did.

 

Must say it looks nice though.

 

[David Ross]

One thing I've never understood about Eastern, Washington is that we have never had good local markets selling very fresh seafood.  We no longer have a local seafood shop and what we have is in the grocery stores.  There is one Mom and Pop seafood market left in Northern, Idaho about 30 miles from Spokane.  I always have thought this is odd given the fact we're just an hour flight from Seattle and flights from Anchorage arrive the same day.  So we have to really choose the right grocery store and hope it is fresh.  Buying online is a good option.  Vital Choice is based in Bellingham, WA, which sits near the Canadian border north of Seattle.  https://www.vitalchoice.com/ they don't have a large selection but it's all fresh.  I saw on their website this morning that they are experiencing delays due to heavy volume.  It's of course expensive since you pay a lot in shipping for seafood, but worth it for the freshness and quality.  Another one I've looked at but never shopped is Fulton FIsh Market in New York. https://fultonfishmarket.com/

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Shad is my favorite fish and I seem to be able to buy it about once in five years.  Last year @Katie Meadow suggested Citarella as a source.  Well, yes, Citarella sold me shad that they could not supply.  Now I'm wondering if my credit card will be refunded or if I have store credit.  I was not pleased at all but I will cut them some slack since we are in strange times.  Shipping from Citarella runs about $30 but for shad I was happy to pay what they asked.

 

I was so looking forward to the shad.

 

[gfweb]

2 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Shad is my favorite fish and I seem to be able to buy it about once in five years.  Last year @Katie Meadow suggested Citarella as a source.  Well, yes, Citarella sold me shad that they could not supply.  Now I'm wondering if my credit card will be refunded or if I have store credit.  I was not pleased at all but I will cut them some slack since we are in strange times.  Shipping from Citarella runs about $30 but for shad I was happy to pay what they asked.

 

I was so looking forward to the shad.

 

That sucks. There's still a few shad fishing companies around Trenton, I'm told.

 

BTW have you read The Founding Fish by princeton's own John McPhee?  Great shad book by a nonfiction master.

 

Shad are a popular topic down here south of philly. Colonial era dams are being removed from the Brandywine and White Clay creeks and shad have returned. Just hickory shad so far, but that's not nothing.

 

http://www.efrankhopkins.com/   

Says they carry shad.

Edited May 14, 2020 by gfweb (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, gfweb said:

That sucks. There's still a few shad fishing companies around Trenton, I'm told.

 

BTW have you read The Founding Fish by princeton's own John McPhee?  Great shad book by a nonfiction master.

 

Shad are a popular topic down here south of philly. Colonial era dams are being removed from the Brandywine and White Clay creeks and shad have returned. Just hickory shad so far, but that's not nothing.

 

http://www.efrankhopkins.com/   

Says they carry shad.

 

 

I wrote Hopkins to ask.  I am not optimistic. Citarella said they had shad too.  I was not aware of The Founding Fish.  Interestingly we have a  copy at our library branch where I was busy working (masked and gloved) this afternoon.  Amazon lists the publication date as 1665, so it may have been penned before McPhee matriculated.

 

I've attended the annual shad festival in Lambertville and watched the commercial fishermen (and fisherwomen) ply the Delaware.  Quite something to see.

 

[gfweb]

Anybody know these guys?

https://wildalaskancompany.com/

[Smithy]

17 minutes ago, gfweb said:

Anybody know these guys?

https://wildalaskancompany.com/

 

I'm on their mailing list and have been considering buying from them. I like their sales pitch. I haven't bought anything from them yet, though. 

[gfweb]

7 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

I'm on their mailing list and have been considering buying from them. I like their sales pitch. I haven't bought anything from them yet, though. 

 

I wonder about the price after the first order,,,,

[Smithy]

2 minutes ago, gfweb said:

 

I wonder about the price after the first order,,,,

 

That's part of my hesitation. The other part is that we have a couple of local fishermen who make their living providing Alaskan fish to stores and businesses here. I haven't had the chance since we got home to see how that stock is holding up, but if they're still in business I'd rather support them.  I'll be able to find out this week.

[Franci]

I keep looking at websites but honestly, it’s very hard to beat Costco prices on the sockeye salmon and other fishes and overall the quality has been better of all other places I’ve tried (at least supermarket level). Good thing I added to my regular purchases has been frozen octopus legs from Whole Foods, easy to do a quick dinner salad. I also buy from my local frozen place, wild fork, which I love for meat, local Key West Shrimps, I am buying also frozen soles from US, avoid anything from South East Asia. 

[SLB]

I got a referral to Wild Alaska Salmon from a very, very seafood-picky friend.  So I signed up along with my neighbor. 

 

I felt anxious, because it seems like I ought to be supporting Atlantic fisheries.  But they had this black cod, and I was feeling sorry for myself . . . . 

 

Well.  My overnight delivery has been sitting in Yonkers for the last four days.  The first delay was unexplained.  The second delay was "undeliverable, damaged packaging".  The third delay was "delivery restrictions".

 

Last fedex memo was, will be attempted again on Tuesday.  Which is a full week after it was packed. 

 

I got an inappropriately chipper email from them offering me a replacement, at no cost to me!  

 

I told them that, yes, they would be replacing it at no cost to me.  And if not this week, don't bother.  

 

So.  I have no reason to believe the fish is less than stellar.  But you do have to be dealing with, sigh, pandemic shipping.  

 

I'm probably gonna deal with Pierless in Brooklyn going forward.  Unless this Black Cod turns out to be life-changing.  

 

 

 

 

[lindag]

1 minute ago, SLB said:

I got a referral to Wild Alaska Salmon from a very, very seafood-picky friend.  So I signed up along with my neighbor. 

 

I felt anxious, because it seems like I ought to be supporting Atlantic fisheries.  But they had this black cod, and I was feeling sorry for myself . . . . 

 

Well.  My overnight delivery has been sitting in Yonkers for the last four days.  The first delay was unexplained.  The second delay was "undeliverable, damaged packaging".  The third delay was "delivery restrictions".

 

Last fedex memo was, will be attempted again on Tuesday.  Which is a full week after it was packed. 

 

I got an inappropriately chipper email from them offering me a replacement, at no cost to me!  

 

I told them that, yes, they would be replacing it at no cost to me.  And if not this week, don't bother.  

 

So.  I have no reason to believe the fish is less than stellar.  But you do have to be dealing with, sigh, pandemic shipping.  

 

I'm probably gonna deal with Pierless in Brooklyn going forward.  Unless this Black Cod turns out to be life-changing.  

 

 

 

 

We look forward to hearing the outcome.

[Tri2Cook]

I found one option for ordering seafood online for where I live. My order was cancelled 2 days after I placed it because "our carriers are unfortunately unable to deliver to your postal code within the required time." There was a warning about that possibility for some rural areas in their shipping policy... I really need to take the time to read those when I shop online.