Shellfish

Even though October ends with an “R” (old wives’ tale), this is actually the perfect time of the year to run shellfish on your menus. Oysters and clams are in prime swing with fat meat and consistent availability, and they love this temperate weather, the colder the better. We have more than two dozen oysters available from the Chesapeake, Hood Canal, Puget Sound and PEI area. Speaking of PEI, our mussels are some of the best in the business and should be on every single winter menu. With consistent supply and at less than a $3.00 portion cost for a monster 1# portion, these are a no-brainer. Big U-10 dry scallops are steady and running large right now because they are coming from Closed Area #1 and Closed Area #2. Confusing name, but they are named closed areas because they are only open for two trips per boat annually this time of the year, and the rest of the time are “closed” for conservation purposes. Old Salt littleneck and cherrystone clams are plump and have great shelf life this time of the year as well.

East Coast Seafood

Atlantic options seem to be slim, but there are tons of nice Canadian swords, cod, haddock and perch, and North Atlantic wolffish is back in the mix this week.

West Coast/Gulf Seafood

Halibut season is still stringing along, and fish quality has been most impressive, so run it on special the next two weeks before the season ends in early November. We have arctic char, Alaskan sole and red rock snapper available from the Pacific, along with corvina, redfish, cobia and grouper from the gulf region.

Freshwater Fish

Colorado Catch Hybrid Striped Bass are not only sustainable, but one of the freshest fish we carry. And why not—they are hand raised and harvested by Tyler Faucet and his parents in Alamosa, CO. Seattle Fish has had a 20-year relationship with this family farm, and Seattle Fish is the only place you can get these fish in the Midwest. We have cut these fish against the larger bass farms, and the shelf life, quality, consistency and price point cannot be beat. Perfect for specials or even better for winter menus, since availability will not be a problem. Call to get yours today.

Catfish still seems like a dirty word out there and is expected to get worse. When farmers can get more money for cotton or soybeans, thanks to the cheap import catfish market, most US farmers are drying up the ponds and planting fields to farm. With that said, we have a relationship with a small company that carries an all-natural, no-water and no-hormone USA product that is the best-tasting catfish you will ever eat. So clean and fresh it tastes more like a cod and is definitely worth the extra coin.