Florida is almost an island. Water on the east, water to the south and the west. Water underneath (the Floridan Aquifer) and in the summer months, a good deal of water from above.
You would think our state would be fresh-fish paradise.
Not so.
I don't know why, but it's difficult to find fresh fish. By fresh, a term that has become ubiquitous but often improperly used, I mean a fish that has spent less than, say, 48 hours from water to shopping cart, and has never been frozen. The latter notion is important.
I have nothing against frozen fish, as long as it is flash frozen within hours of being caught. In fact, I'll take a frozen fish over an older "fresh" fish. But it's important to know that the texture and taste are altered when a frozen fish is defrosted. The texture is less firm and can taste a bit more "fishy."
I asked Rob Cameron of Ward's Seafood (1610 Greenwood Ave. S, Clearwater; (727) 581-2640), an institution in the Tampa Bay area for 50 years, what's up with the scarcity of fresh, local fish.
It turns out that overfishing and fishing regulations are widely responsible.
I also remember the day I tried to buy fresh mullet off the boat (not an extreme delicacy but a decent fish if you're camping, which I was) from a fisherman on Pine Island, near Fort Myers. He refused with the nonchalance of someone who has been asked before. The fish was being sent to Taiwan a few hours later, where it would hit the wallet of Taiwanese cooks, at a higher price than if sold here.
I could not afford my local fish!
In a global world where fresh Florida mullet gets sent to Taiwan, where can we, gourmets of Tampa Bay, find excellent fish? All is not lost. These places are our best bets for off-the-boat quality:
Tampa residents will have to cross the Courtney Campbell Parkway to Ward's, which always has, in addition to the usual suspects (red snapper, black and red grouper, shrimp, spiny lobster), a lot of seasonal items (stone crab) and fish from elsewhere. The last time I was there, I saw some fresh white tuna, a rarity worth mentioning.
Frenchy's Seafood (419 E Shore Drive, Clearwater Beach; (727) 442-6411) and Crabby Bill's retail (401 Gulf Blvd., Indian Rocks Beach; (727) 517-9521) are well-established seafood restaurants that have their own docks. Even though they don't really promote their retail fish market, you may purchase the catch of the day right off the boat.
Surf and Turf (3235 State Road 584, Palm Harbor; (727) 785-8873) has also some of the freshest seafood, and for live Maine lobster, as well as live Florida lobster, visit Lobster Town in Oldsmar (5000 Tampa Road, Oldsmar; (813) 855 2888).
Other fish markets include, but are not limited to: Dunedin Fish Market (51 Main St., Dunedin; (727) 733-2542), Cox Seafood Market (6821 N Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa; (813) 879-5084) and Save on Seafood (4820 N Armenia Ave., Tampa; (813) 879-3718 and 1449 49th St. S, Gulfport; (727) 323-0155).
In any case, choosing fresh fish is a sensory experience.
Look for moist, slippery skin, clear white or red flesh, depending on the variety of the fish. The smell must be pleasant and fresh.
For whole fish, look for crystal clear eyes, not sunken into the surrounding skin.
Finally, for crispy culinary anecdotes, I invite you to read Kitchen Confidential (Ecco, $14) and discover why chef/author Anthony Bourdain (of New York's Les Halles and bestselling author) won't order fish on Mondays at most restaurants. (He claims that because the fish markets are closed on Sundays, the fish is never fresh.)
- Chef Gui Alinat welcomes questions about cooking and will respond to those of general interest in future columns. Sorry, he can't take phone calls or answer individual requests. Send questions to him in care of Taste, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or e-mail him at chefgui@chefgui.com Please include your name and city of residence.
