At The Fish Market: March 2012 Week 1

Every week, one of our chefs is lucky enough to wake up before sunrise to visit the Hunts Point Fish Market in the Bronx to buy fish for our restaurants.
This week, it was South Norwalk’s Executive Chef Mike Hazen’s turn. Here’s what he had to say:

Thanks to Juan Meyer for taking all these beautiful pictures!

This voyage starts at about 1 AM on  Thursday morning, after closing up the restaurant and a 14-hour shift. Adrenaline kicks in with some help from a double espresso.

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3 AM. We have arrived into another world...

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A fisheye’s view of Fulton Fish Market!

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We pass on these beautiful soft shells crabs @ $68 per dozen

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A closeup of Sepia. I buy 42 pounds!

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After the market, we stop to get some coffee. This is 50-year fish market veteran Stan, one of the proud few with a running coffee shop tab.

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Those aforementioned coffee shot tabs. It's 4:45AM, so I buy another double shot of espresso.

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Fish buyers consortium meeting outside coffee shop.

The chefs email each other the weekly buys from market, to get a head’s up on amounts & prices. This gives us an extra 6 hours to plan specials. Here’s what I sent them:

“Good week for fish market, lots of amazing fresh fish finds! Some very rare wild sturgeon….. Wild Sturgeon 9.95 filleted send all…40 pounds split between everybody.

economical….
smelts  $3.30   send each 5 pounds

couldn’t resist….
Sepia $6.60 a pound each 5.5pounds

And I had to pick these beauties!
Razor clams 6.60 pounds  at $6.50

‘Tis the season for stripers….
Wild Striped bass $7.95 filleted each send 5 pounds

Return of the whelks. The feet were halfway out of their shell! Super fresh…scooped them right under a sushi buyers nose.
Whelks $2.75 –    7 pounds each”

Keep an eye out on the menu this weekend for these! Here’s some of the specials I’m running with this week’s Hunts Point buys:

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Sepia a la Plancha, Garlic, Parsley, Crushed Red Chili Flake (l), Razor Clams with Salsa Verde (r)

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Whelks, Parlsey Pimenton-Garlic Butter (l), Spanish Olive Oil-Poached Sturgeon with Pickled Red Onion

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Crispy Smelts, Meyer Lemon Sea Salt, Herbed Aioli

Until next week!