[S2000]

Hi all. Looking for a good seafood market in the new haven county area. I live in Milford. No I am not looking for a seafood restaurant. I am looking for a good seafood market. I usually find myself taking a drive to RI or MA to stock up on good seafood. Not so much shell fish either.

[JayCT]

S2000 - check my reply on the "What do you love about Connecticut" thread. Jay

[shwee]

Originally Posted by S2000

Hi all. Looking for a good seafood market in the new haven county area. I live in Milford. No I am not looking for a seafood restaurant. I am looking for a good seafood market. I usually find myself taking a drive to RI or MA to stock up on good seafood. Not so much shell fish either.

I recommend Number 1 Fish Market on State Street in Hamden.

[S2000]

Thanks I found this review - c/p

Number 1 Fish Market
2239 State St
Hamden, CT 06517
(203) 624-6171


"This place is a tiny little blip on the Hamden/New Haven radar. Few know where it is, however, many are surprised to find out that #1 supplies fish to most every restaurant in New Haven County, and even further down the shoreline. Also, they get most of their fish from Fulton Market and some even from as close as Stonington. How one may ask would I know all of this? I worked there. I didn't even have a particularly good experience there, but I still think it is hard to beat for fish in the New Haven area.

As far as particular fish goes, I would say go for the flounder, grey sole, and yellowtail sole when possible - as these are frequently from a local fisherman (George Gambardella) and very fresh. As far as what to stay away from - though the salmon is good and the farmed stuff is much better the the supermarket don't buy the wild stuff - much of time it is a farmed king salmon - which mean you pay around twenty dollars a pound for a fish that only cost (wholesale) a bit more than the regular farmed Atlantic salmon. The tilapia and red snapper (fillet) are typically previously frozen, and the snapper is usually not snapper but Nile Perch (it tastes the same, but costs less). If you like whole fish - most of the stuff they have here is really great, and they'll clean it for no extra. The red snapper (whole fish) is really wonderful on Thursdays. Most of the shellfish is decent - and all but the medium shrimp are wild caught. The sea scallops are really great, and if you ask, they usually have more than just the size in the showcase if you like larger or smaller ones - though I would never buy the bay scallops unless they were the Nantucket bays - which will run around 26 bucks a pound - the others are Chinese wet pack, frozen ones.

Over the people who work there are helpful and will give you suggestions for cooking and will typically be honest as to what is fresher than not. Most of what they have is very fresh - if you are making sushi and need good fish to eat raw - go here and tell them you are making sushi - they will suggest the finest fish for doing so (also a good tactic to just tell them if you want to know what is primo quality).

So check it out - just drive up State street into Hamden, and about a quarter mile past the DMV you'll find the little shop where some of the best fish the New Haven area is sold."