Fish/shellfish vendors in Chinatown

[Bux]

So, as always, with any purchase anywhere, it's caveat emptor.  There is plenty of weird stuff that goes on in the back rooms at even the high end places!

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I didn't mean to imply otherwise, only that it seems easier and more natural to make a close inspection of the fish in Chinatown than in the high end places, which is why I am more likely to be shopping in Chinatown than the high end places, but I have had a few questionable purchses and even a piece of salmon I decided not to cook or eat after I brought it home. Then again, I've been doing the bulk of my shopping for produce, meat and fish in Chinatown for almost thirty years.

[HungryChris]

Just make sure when they take them out of the tanks that the lobsters are alive and kicking.  They sometimes tend to throw them into bags quickly, but do demand to inspect them.

This reminds me of a summer I spent working at a fish market near the home of my youth in CT. The market owner was a crafty bird. There was a little wooden slated box near the lobster tank. Over a period of weeks I noticed that he sometimes put the lobster in that box before bagging it and sometimes he didn't. Over time I began to realize that there was more to the story as well. If the customer was a year round resident he would take the lobster out of the tank, put it in the wooden box to allow the water to drain from it then bring the lobster to the scale then put it in the bag. If, however, the customer was a summer resident/tourist, he would whip the lobster out of the tank into the bag and bring the bag to the scale. In effect the tourist was paying by the pound for the lobster, the water not allowed to drain from it and the bag whereas the local customer was just paying by the pound for the drained lobster. It's just something to watch out for.

Cheers,

HC

[Fat Guy]

There is a seafood distributor with giant tanks of different size lobsters and dungeness crab on the northeast corner of Hester and Allen Streets.  Don't know the name, but I've bought really fresh lobster in there, so they do sell retail.

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I've used this place as well, and think it's terrific.

Seafood on the whole is probably the most inconsistent subset of our food supply, especially at the retail level. As several people have observed above, you can get bad seafood almost anywhere. The Chinatown fish purveyors seem to represent the extremes: they have some of the worst stuff, and some of the best stuff (especially when you take value into consideration). For example, I consistently get better shrimp in Chinatown than elsewhere, and sometimes I even come across ones that are still alive.

[Pan]

There is a seafood distributor with giant tanks of different size lobsters and dungeness crab on the northeast corner of Hester and Allen Streets.  Don't know the name, but I've bought really fresh lobster in there, so they do sell retail.[...]

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Are you talking about the place that has a big sign saying "Wholesale Seafood Distributor" (I think that's the wording of the sign, but in any case, with the word "wholesale" prominently displayed)?

[weinoo]

Are you talking about the place that has a big sign saying "Wholesale Seafood Distributor" (I think that's the wording of the sign, but in any case, with the word "wholesale" prominently displayed)?

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I do believe that is the place - I'll try to take a walk by today and see if there's another name or get the exact address - but suffice to say, they move lots of lobster and crab thru their doors.

And like FG says, I find the best shrimp in Chinatown at easily the best prices in the city - I mean, like under $8/lb. for the U-15 vs. the $15 - $20 a pound I used to spend at Citarella...I try to get them still in a semi-frozen to frozen state. You just gotta make sure you know exactly what it is you're buying...but you gotta know that everywhere you shop -

[Bux]

It's worth noting that most of the shrimp you buy in Chinatown has been frozen -- I think that's probably true in other places as well, certainly it's true in the supermarkets -- and thawed. Much of it is almost tasteless, but you can get live shrimp of different kinds at different prices. Much of that is seasonal. Some of the dead shrimp is not frozen and also seasonal in availability and quality.

If you are buying frozen shrimp, you're probably better off buying it still frozen. No matter what, the quality of shrimp available varies widely. As Fat Guy says, you're likely to find the extremes in Chinatown.

[Luckylies]

pick, poke, and smell all of your fish and creatures, even if it appears to drive the fishmonger crazy! take your time and don't allow yourself to be rushed and you'll get good quaility @ most of the places. there's a place on mulberry abouve canal that's good, sorry, dont know the name. pick your dinner like your picking pets....

which reminds me of hte pet frog story...

[Suzanne F]

RE: shrimp: Chinatown is the easiest and least expensive place for me to get LIVE shrimp -- which bypasses the whole frozen/thawed issue and the concomitant safety concerns. Plus, I prefer head-on for the extra flavor.

[weinoo]

The place for the lobsters is called, strangely enough, The Lobster Farm - address is 87 Hester St. but the entrance is around the corner on Allen St. The signage also states wholesale, but they definitely sell retail as well. I like to go when the tanks are full - that way you know the delivery has been recent - and the lobsters are all looking pissed off.

One more thing about shrimp - the frozen kind - if you buy them by the (still frozen) box, you can check the ingredients, and make sure the only ingredient listed is shrimp - that way you know they haven't been treated with that stuff that makes them hold water - something like sodium trisulphate?