Commenting on my last post regarding food-gone-bad, "Ungruntled" remarked that he (or is that she?) is a big fan of the fish counter at Shoreline Central Market, where I often stop for seafood. "As far as supermarkets go, their seafood is among the best," insists Ungruntled. "It's the only non-specialty place I'll buy fish (the specialty places: University Seafood & Poultry and Mutual Fish). They're very good about letting me sniff the product before I buy (with them holding it, of course)."
Which brings me back to Becky Selengut, whose recipes for her upcoming sustainable-seafood cookbook got me on the subject in the first place. While we were yakking about vendors this week, Becky, whose preferred retail outlet is Mutual Fish on Rainier Avenue South, described to me a foray to the U-District's University Seafood.
Standing at the counter in the University Seafood for the first time, Becky asked if she could smell the scallops. The fishmonger looked at her sideways, she recalled, said "We stand by our quality," then scallops in hand, allowed her — grudgingly, to her thinking — to lean over the counter and give 'em a sniff. They smelled wonderful. Convinced she was buying a fresh product, she introduced herself as a chef and chatted with the fishmonger, who explained his reticence by noting that the health department frowns on the practice of allowing customers to sniff the seafood.
To read the rest of this story, please go to: Seattle Times.