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Fresh sardines


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Does anyone know if it's possible to buy fresh sardines in NYC? If yes, how's the quality and where would I find them?

I just got back from Turkey had had fresh grilled whole sardines a few times and they were phenomenal. Was wondering if it was possible to reproduce here.

Thanks -

~WBC

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Does anyone know if it's possible to buy fresh sardines in NYC? If yes, how's the quality and where would I find them?

I just got back from Turkey had had fresh grilled whole sardines a few times and they were phenomenal. Was wondering if it was possible to reproduce here.

Thanks -

~WBC

If you don't mind, I'd love to expand this question slightly so that it's not only about where to get fresh sardines, but also about places in Manhattan to get sardines prepared in the traditional style you're describing (I've been craving them since I got back from Portugal a year ago). I know there are some Portuguese restaurants around, but reviews that I've seen for most of them are mixed at best, and I'm afraid to go and be horribly disappointed.

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Two answers:

Uovo on 11th and B does great grilled sardines. Cuisine indeterminate. I don't think the chef messes with them too much. I'd guess salt olive oil a grind of pepper and a touch of lemon. Maybe no lemon.

I've seen them at Grammercy Fish on 2nd and 22nd street but I'm reluctant to recommend this monger as I've had as many frustrating exchanges of fish for money there as I've had satisfying ones. Think I've seen fresh sardines at Citarella on tenth street and sixth also.

You shouldn't eat grouse and woodcock, venison, a quail and dove pate, abalone and oysters, caviar, calf sweetbreads, kidneys, liver, and ducks all during the same week with several cases of wine. That's a health tip.

Jim Harrison from "Off to the Side"

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At one point, The Lobster Place in Chelsea Market had them and they still indicate them on their website, but I can't say for sure if they have them right now.

Edited by mikeycook (log)

"If the divine creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is prepare them well and serve them with ceremony."

~ Fernand Point

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I've noticed the availability tends to be seasonal, at least for the U.S. Northeast/Eastern Canada catch. They are usually available at my fishmongers at Philly's Reading Terminal Marketing during late winter, early spring. I would think anything you're likely to see in NYC in late summer would be imported from a longer distance and not quite as fresh. The main reason your sardines in Turkey were so good is because they were so fresh. It's not the sardine (which, after all, can be one of any variety of fishes) itself; it's how long it takes to get that morsel of fish oil and flesh from net to fire to table.

Bob Libkind aka "rlibkind"

Robert's Market Report

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At one point, The Lobster Place in Chelsea Market had them and they still indicate them on their website, but I can't say for sure if they have them right now.

I saw them there the other day. You could even buy them pre-skewered and ready to grill. Plus, I think the quality is pretty high there. I think they were about $6/lb.

I've also seen fresh sardines at Whole Foods and in Chinatown in the past two weeks.

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I saw them there the other day. You could even buy them pre-skewered and ready to grill. Plus, I think the quality is pretty high there. I think they were about $6/lb.

check carefully. in japanese markets they have a product that sounds just like this and it is a kind of semi-salted sardine. i don't remember what the name is, but you can tell because it is slightly shriveled and no longer pristine. with sardines, it's all about freshness.

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