Best Sea Food (Cedar Park: home, buy, vs.)

[achtungpv]

Originally Posted by Franklyn

Better develop a taste for Catfish, I fear.

Cheers

Or Tilapia which is the "upscale" name for Perche.

[Weatherguy]

This is all good information. I've lived here 35 years and have rarely had good seafood except at the seafood bar at Whole Foods. I've always traveled to Houston for what I would call fine seafood. Maybe I should give Austin a chance.

[buildit]

Appreciate the input
Actually i kind of like cat fish,Channel cat cut in finger like strips ,dipped in egg and rolled in a corn meal/cajun season mix and quick fried at a high heat in olive oil ,quite tasty
looking forward to checking out the spots mentioned Thanks

[love roses]

Yeah, I haven't found any knock your socks off seafood here yet either. It's not bad, but I grew up closer to the gulf coast and it just seems better out that way. I always want to have seafood when i go back to Clear Lake to visit my mom.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by Weatherguy

This is all good information. I've lived here 35 years and have rarely had good seafood except at the seafood bar at Whole Foods. I've always traveled to Houston for what I would call fine seafood. Maybe I should give Austin a chance.

I strongly disagree. These days you can be in any big city in the country (including austin) and get good/fresh seafood. The major difference is the cost. What you might pay $10-15 for on the coast will cost you 20-35 in Austin.

A lot of it has to do with how well they prepare it. I personally eat all my fish medium rare, while most americans seem to like their fish medium. Even on the coast when I caught my own fish and had it prepared at the restaurant it was overcooked which ruined it for me.

For example, eddie V's and mccormicks and schmicks are both good. We dont have any inexpensive good seafood places though. In orange county california there is a place called the fish house where the fish is only 10-15 and is awesome and the environment is very downscale.

[gigi927]

I agree that Eddie V's would top my list any day, any time. Truluck's is a close second. Go to Eddie V's in the Arboretum for happy hour any night except Saturday, I believe, and most of their really fun seafood appetizers are all half price - tuna tartare, broiled oysters, sea scallops...it is a smoking deal!

[amyboone]

Quality Seafood is a great place, you can also eat there.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by amyboone

Quality Seafood is a great place, you can also eat there.

I have eaten at quality seafood a number of times because of how many people that I know raved about it. I found that they improperly prepared their fish (overcooked) every time which pretty much defeats the purpose of fresh fish.

[rridgeback]

I checked out this thread because by coincidence I ate at Quality Seafood tonight. It was great.

Our table of 3 started out with Live Oak beer on draft, 2 dozen oysters on the half shell and 2 dozen steamed mussels. The oysters were perfect and very cold. I ordered the mussels because there were no clams due, apparently, to red tide. I wouldn't get them again because I wasn't crazy about their broth, which uses tomato, and I prefer just a straight garlic and salt broth. Entrees were blackened red snapper; a tuna steak, broiled, with a Guinness glaze; and fried catfish. Of the three the red snapper was the best. Very moist and nicely spiced. The catfish was wonderful - nicely crisp on the outside and moist on the in. And the tuna was also very good, lightly sweet and perfectly cooked. The second round of beer was also terrific.

Quality Seafood and Central Market are the two top places to buy fresh fish in Austin. There is nowhere else in town that's comparable.

This week and possibly next, Central Market's seafood selection is a bit limited because they are installing new refrigerators.

[artifice]

I buy huge amounts and vac. seal from central market when they have Wild Alaskan Salmon and Wild Ahi Sashimi grade Tuna. I've not been lucky enough to find White Tuna from them yet. Also the huge sea Scallops. I buy around 15-20 lbs. and have them cut it into portions for me and then vac. seal and freeze. Very expensive but well worth it in the winter to have an awesome seared Tuna steak or Pecan Crusted Salmon!