# Same old fish **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [March 11, 2021, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730 "2021-03-11T18:43:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2021, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/1 "2021-03-11T18:43:23Z")
When I moved from L.A. to the Pacific Northwest, one of my thoughts was ‘Oh, boy! O, boy! Fresh fish!’ After all, Seattle is know for the Pike Place Fish Market, and the northern Pacific Ocean is where salmon live, right? Imagine my dismay, upon moving to my little seaside holiday community, that all the fish in restaurants was brown – breaded-and-fried. It’s gotten better, but… Where’s the variety? In the '80s and '90s, in Southern California, there were lots of choices. You could go to the supermarket and buy Patagonian toothfish (Chilean sea bass), slimehead (orange roughy), shark filets, fresh swordfish and other fish I don’t remember. Today, up here, I never see those. Every supermarket has two or three varieties of salmon, true cod, rock cod, tilapia, and halibut. You can usually get frozen-swordfish-inna-bag or frozen-sole-inna-bag. Since our office moved out of Belltown, I can no longer walk to Pike Place Market on my lunch break. I’m limited to supermarkets. And I find the selection of fresh fish to be too limited. (Costco has whole trout, which is nice, and whole tilapia; but I can’t use quantities that large.) Costco had fresh barramundi filets a few weeks ago, and those were great in fish Florentine. Alas, no more. Trader Joe’s has frozen-haddock-inna-bag, and I love haddock when I make fish & chips. But sometimes I want something other than the same old salmon/cod/tilapia/halibut. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2021, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/2 "2021-03-11T20:23:18Z")
I picked up some frozen-branzino-inna-bag from Trader Joe’s. I’ve never had it before. I don’t prefer frozen-inna-bag fish, but at least it’s something different. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2021, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/3 "2021-03-11T20:42:08Z")
You’re barking up the wrong trees here. You want variety in fish, go to an Asian supermarket. There you will find a bewildering variety, many of them so fresh they’re swimming in tanks, ready for you to order their death. I live in Portland, and the SF Supermarket on SE 82nd and Foster has about a hunnert feet of fresh fish to peruse along with even more in the frozen section. Fish galore, yo. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2021, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/4 "2021-03-11T21:21:06Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > You want variety in fish, go to an Asian supermarket. Very much so. I’m super lucky to have four really good ones ‘in range.’ An enormous Suprt H-Mart (Korean), an Assi Plaza (Korean), Mitsuwa (Japanese) & a large Seafood City (Filipino). ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2021, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/5 "2021-03-11T21:25:38Z")
Don’t you work near a Uwajamaya or Mutual Fish? That’s where I’d go. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/6 "2021-03-11T21:28:01Z")
Unfortunately, there are no Asian supermarkets near us. Bellingham has two convenience store-sized Asian markets (one touts East Asian), and one ‘grocery store’-sized Asian market. (‘Grocery store’-sized is much smaller than a supermarket, but larger than a convenience store.) I didn’t see pictures posted of fish at any of them. Too bad the border’s closed. Vancouver, BC is only 10 miles farther from our house than Bellingham is. > [@needscoffee](#): > > Don’t you work near a Uwajamaya or Mutual Fish? That’s where I’d go. Currently, Harbor Island. Summer (maybe), Burien. I know Uwajamaya is around in Seattle, but I’ve never heard of the other one. I avoid driving in Seattle as much as possible. Too many cars, too many one-way streets, no- or expensive parking. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2021, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/7 "2021-03-11T21:37:18Z")
There’s the Asian Grocery Store at N 130th & Aurora, about 5 minutes W of I-5 which wouldn’t take you much out of your way (take 130th St exit) (and a big parking lot). ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2021, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/8 "2021-03-11T23:17:49Z")
A very light Google maps sessions shows a bunch of seafood places. Jing Jing, Gemini Fish Market, Lucky Seafood, Wong Tung, Mutual, Seattle Fish Co. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2021, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/9 "2021-03-11T23:25:41Z")
Most of those are in areas he indicated he didn’t want to attempt. But you’re right, surely there’s something that meets his qualifications of parking and non-one-way streets, and are on his route. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/10 "2021-03-11T23:31:35Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > (Costco has whole trout, which is nice, and whole tilapia; but I can’t use quantities that large.) Yeah, I’m partial to Costco’s black cod, but it’s enough for 6 meals for me. It seems to freeze pretty well, but I’d rather not buy fresh fish just to freeze it. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/11 "2021-03-12T00:52:40Z")
You mentioned Seattle\*, so I started to list great places… then you said Bellingham. You’re in small town America, almost a transplanted midwest town. \*So plan a drive down to Seattle and stock up, then splurge on a nice seafood dinner at someplace like [Salty’s](https://www.saltys.com/seattle/) in West Seattle, which means you look out on the skyline at sunset… ahhh… [![](https://saltys.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Alki-OutsideNight.jpg) ](https://saltys.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Alki-OutsideNight.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/12 "2021-03-12T00:59:53Z")
Hah! Salty’s is really close to his work. (Had my birthday dinner there in an outdoor tent a few months ago) ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/13 "2021-03-12T01:59:31Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Most of those are in areas he indicated he didn’t want to attempt. I centered the map on Harbor Island and went from there. Looking again, I see there’s a Seafood City in Tukwila. OP has loads of awesome fish available. It appears to be a situation of ‘won’t’ vs ‘can’t.’ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/14 "2021-03-12T16:08:39Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > It appears to be a situation of ‘won’t’ vs ‘can’t.’ Well, I could fly to southern Italy for fresh sardines but it’s too much of a hassle. It’s a 230 mile round trip to the office, and the last thing I want to do is spend an hour driving a couple/few miles to find a fishmonger. But that’s not the point. The point is that aside from specialty fish markets nobody seems to have a real variety of fish up here. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/15 "2021-03-12T16:26:08Z")
There’s the same list of the usual suspects here, too, in fact, everywhere. We did have a fancy fish store which closed before I found out about it and could drive there. I think the ‘problem’ is - there either are no more fish or it’s not financially worth it to stock and sell them. There are a few in Asian markets but the great majority of fish, IMO, are scarce and would be very expensive to sell in a grocery store. I did buy a sliver of halibut, $7 for a literal sliver, it was $27 a pound…Why would Walmart or Costco stock and sell fresh orange roughy and swordfish, when their clientele scarfs down fish sticks and to be very daring, a slice of salmon or tilapia filet? … Years ago I had a James Beard fish cookbook, listing hundreds of fish and hundreds of ways to cook them. Today, most of those fish are extinct or just about extinct. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/16 "2021-03-12T16:30:29Z")
@Johnny_L.A, your work is very close to Metropolitan Market. They probably have a wide variety, being a gourmet grocery. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/17 "2021-03-12T16:38:11Z")
Most “fresh” fish you buy at the grocery store is shipped in frozen and thawed in the back to be sold. Given how perishable fresh seafood is, this means only the fast movers are going to be on offer. But it also means, if you don’t like the selection at your local store, buying frozen online is an equally good alternative. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/18 "2021-03-12T16:49:36Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Too bad the border’s closed. Vancouver, BC is only 10 miles farther from our house than Bellingham is. I can just imagine this at the border. “Welcome to Canada; may I have your name please, sir.” “Johnny L.A.” “And what’s the purpose of your visit, Mr. Ell?” “Fish.” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/19 "2021-03-12T17:02:20Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Most “fresh” fish you buy at the grocery store is shipped in frozen and thawed in the back to be sold. I heard a story on NPR last year, where some university or another studied whether people preferred fresh (never frozen) fish to fish that was frozen soon after it was caught. The results showed that most people preferred the frozen fish. I don’t have a problem with frozen fish. I don’t even mind farmed fish if I can’t get wild-caught. The ‘inna-bag’ comment was about the frozen fish supermarkets sell, which tend to be in bags where you can’t see the fish or determine the size and shape. (Trader Joe’s uses vacuum-sealed plastic, so you can see the fish.) > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I can just imagine this at the border. I was thinking about that this morning. I wonder what the duty is on fish? ---
**Author:** ![epolo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@epolo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epolo)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730/20 "2021-03-12T18:36:28Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Where’s the variety? In the '80s and '90s, in Southern California, there were lots of choices. You could go to the supermarket and buy Patagonian toothfish (Chilean sea bass), slimehead (orange roughy), shark filets, fresh swordfish and other fish I don’t remember. Didn’t we basically eat the ocean empty of all of these? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-old-fish/937730.md?page=2)