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A comment in a thread about 'what/where locals eat' raised the question. Why is it so hard to find local seafood at coastal eateries? I have found this to also be true on Carolina coast, with the exception of oysters and peel your own shrimp.
Order fried shrimp, no doubt they came out of a frozen box.
Cost...it's cheaper for the restaurants to buy frozen in bulk at "cheap" prices and then charge "fresh" prices for it when they put the food on the menu.
Bingo. Its all about cost.
When you are serving hundreds of pounds of shrimp & fish a day, you have to have low cost reliable source. And that normally means frozen & imported.
Especially fish and small shrimp.
If you get popcorn shrimp its 100% imported. Somebody invented a machine that peels 80-120 count shrimp and exported it all over the world.
Most larger shrimp are still probably from the Gulf, but also probably IQF (Frozen on the boat, not bad but not fresh).
All Royal reds come from the Gulf and are IQF.
Unless the "fish of the day" or menu specifically says Snapper, Grouper, AJ, etc.., the fish you get is most likely imported basa or suchi.
Lots of places got in trouble about 5-10 years back for mislabeling imported fish as snapper, grouper, flounder, etc..
So now most menus just say "fish basket" or "white fish".
If they do advertise it as a specific species, they have to be able to tell you what country its from.
And its now illegal to mislabel fish species or place of origin.
Almost all oysters still come from the Gulf Coast, all fresh in the shell ones for sure.
So bottom line don't come to the Gulf for fresh seafood unless you want to cook it yourself . Humm ? OR just order it on line and have it shipped . Much cheaper than a trip down to sample the fare .
If you can cook just a little bit and don't mind washing a few dishes, you can make yourself a really nice fresh seafood dinner for the price, or less, of the frozen imported stuff. The bar tab will be a LOT less.
You can still find fresh seafood in coastal areas! Just don't a cheap price tag. The reason tourist areas don't offer it as much isn't just price it's availability, a high customer count restaurant like you find in tourist areas can't afford to have a menu of items that there's no guarantee will be available. Just some light googling and it looks like there's a good number down there that do offer fresh Gulf seafood. BUT they are all the $20 or so a person or more dinner types.
Sorry I missed Carl's near identical post to mine...
I think others hit it, if you want real, fresh Gulf fish, you will pay a higher price.Quote:
Originally Posted by usa
For instance, the "Fish Basket" (imported basa or suchi)is only $12.99 while the fresh Gulf Grouper or Snapper "Fish of the Day" is going to be more like $20.00+.
Ahi (yellowfin) tuna is normally from the Gulf, and probably fresh, as is Amberjack, cobia (if you can find it) and triggerfish.
Also, whole Flounder are normally from the Gulf and fresh.
But yeah, if you want to know its really fresh and really from the Gulf, you have to ask the restaurant.
Or go to the local seafood shops and cook it yourself.
I buy shrimp off the boat in Bayou la Batre, ~$3/pound for 24-27 count!
Lol shrimp up here is imported from over seas and in the teens per lb even for small shrimp! I saw that even Rouse's down there has 9-12 size Louisiana shrimp for $6 a lb! Makes me so jealous.
Carl, have an address for that boat?
Its on Little River Road, between Bryant Ave. & Fields Road in Bayou la Batre.
9145 LITTLE RIVER RD
Right on the water.
funny how things work. fresh seafood isn't always fresh or local when you are sitting literally by waves at your feet that the fish spend their days. yet i go into a bar and ask for an imported beer and a coor's light is served and i get a, "well it's imported from colorado!"
That always cracks me up when US produced beer is sold as an import.
Years back I was at a place that had Killian's Irish Red on the import list.
Its brewed in the USA by Miller-Coors!
Why is crawfish and catfish and talapia called "sea food" when they live in fresh water?
When I was a kid in the 1960s "FRESH SEAFOOD" meant LOCALLY CAUGHT, non-frozen fish, oysters, shrimp and crabs.
Now the fish are practically anything but local, and almost always frozen.
My wife remarks how I NEVER order fish in restaurants except the occasional grilled tuna or mahi or the increasingly rare all-you-can-eat mullet ;-)
People eat mullet by choice?
Fresh fried mullet is great! I've been very happy to discover that there are very few, "trash fish" (those not fit to eat under any circumstances). Most of the time, one just needs to know how to prepare the fish. In the case of mullet, you just fillet them, shake them up with your favorite coating ( I like McCormick's Cajun Seafood mix) and fry 'em up! The fresher, the better!Quote:
Originally Posted by Nimakdm
... and don't fergit the roe and gizzards ;-)
I admit to boiling my unused live bait shrimp on occasion but "fresh" dead shrimp decomposes quickly even under refrigeration or in a cooler. Take it home and cook that day. Most of the gulf shrimp served in GS/OB is IQF which is the best way to preserve flavor. "Fresh" shrimp in supermarkets is usually previously frozen, just thawed for presentation in a seafood case. The quality of fresh fish degrades pretty quickly too so most restaurants serve previously frozen fish. I don't get upset eating something from Louisiana but I don't come down here to eat Asian tilapia that was fed chicken poop or shrimp that was fed rotten fish scraps and antibiotics, or the striped pangus Mekong Delta catfish.
On my way to JOE PATTY' s
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pier#r
Joe Patty’s Andy the pier are my only 2 must do for every visit down there. Amazing quality and prices!
Another reason restaurants buy frozen in bulk is for consistency of supply - so the customer gets the same thing every time. Fresh Catch of the Day is great, but not always available.
i know i have and i bet most of us have done it, but i've most certainly fished with fresher bait than i've had plated in a restaurant.
Years ago, we stopped eating imported seafood, if origin is known. Have seen documentaries about foreign farm-raised seafood, especially shrimp. Totally disgusting, the conditions of the water in which they are grown, especially Vietnam where it is reported that they use pig feces as food for the product being grown.
We also stopped supporting Red Lobster , it was reported years ago that they abandoned Gulf caught seafood in favor of imported seafood.