Tuesday, April 05, 2005

Fie on Their Fresh Fish

I have got to find a new way to buy fresh fish in the midwest. This weekend I bought 1.5 lbs of sushi grade ahi tuna at, um, let's just say a popular east side fish market I'll not name. After paying a whopping $18 pound, I left their fine establishment feeling as though I'd just been taken advantage of -- roughly and in a not very nice way. There has to be an easier way. (To their credit, their frozen "sushi grade" ahi was only $11 a pound, but I was serving it raw.)

In comparison, I'm having a dinner this weekend and prime rib at Kinkaid's is only $12.00 a pound. Guess what we're having for dinner (hint: not fish!) The same thing has happened to me at this fish market with my holiday smoked salmon over the past few years. My traditional five pounds of smoked salmon (two 2.5 pound sides) has gone from $80 to a whopping $130 in just a couple of years. Last Christmas, with no time to make other plans, I ended up paying $25 a pound. It's ridiculous - I may serve prime rib for my holiday party, too!

I'm sure there are deals to be had if you're buying whatever fish they have at a good price that day, but for specific recipes and planning ahead, I'm starting to feel that Indiana is taking a step backward. Just as every good restaurant in town seems to be getting better, fresher fish, these guys seem to think the gourmet home market is a better cash cow than savvy chefs who're finding other sources. Either way, I'm taking fish off my home entertaining menu -- at least until I find a way to buy it that doesn't make me feel like I need to take a shower afterward.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've given up on fresh fish while here in the midwest.

Scott
http://scotthutcheson.typepad.com

Anonymous said...

I think I'm about to. I just have an aversion to spending money someplace where I feel I was just put over a barred and violated. It's too bad, really when so many more restaurants are finding cost effective ways to serve better fish more consistently.