Well, if you have that choice, sure. Us in between the coasts don’t, and, at least some of the grocery stores around here, it’s just frozen fish that’s been defrosted that’s sitting in the case. Might as well just get frozen at that point and do the defrosting step yourself.
I’ve never understood why Chicago restaurants don’t feature more freshwater fish on the menu. You got this enormous lake right next to you, full of delicious fish, and the fancier places offer you oysters and lobster and snapper and sea bass and tuna steak. Days old and shipped in from a seacoast.
Is it some lingering inferiority complex toward New York or San Francisco restaurant culture?
I always try to get the local fish, depending on what water is close by. Trout in Montana, clams in Maine, perch in northern Ohio, pike in Wisconsin, oysters in Chincoteague…
Well, you do see plenty of perch and smelt on the menus, but that’s mostly middle-of-the-road diners and such restaurants, and I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the fish isn’t even from around here.
I buy my fish from Costco specifically because they will give you a refund if you get home and discover your fish is bad.
No questions asked. At least not the only time I ever returned $35.00 worth of halibut that was bad.
I had a neighbor give me a couple of tuna filets he had just brought back from one of those fishing boats that go out with a bunch of guys hauling in whatever, and guys cleaning and slicing them for you. Grilled them on the Weber. One was perfect, and the other one would have been perfect had I chopped off all the dark edges (closer to the innards). Even fresh, some parts of the fish are simply nasty.
Mmmmmmm…Friday night fish fry! I grew up with those in the '60s near Cleveland, and the perch was always fresh out of the lake.
Went to one at Elkhart Lake, near Sheboygan, last year. Still delicious, but the portions are a lot skimpier these days.