It's really important to get to know your fishmonger...
Meet Ian MacGregor, President & Chief Fishmonger of The Lobster Place in New York City. Ian took over his family's seafood business 8 years ago, growing the modest mom & pop seafood shop into a thriving and respected wholesale/retail fish business, supplying over 400 of NYC's "most discriminating" chefs, in addition to seafood lovers visiting their 6,000 sq. ft. Chelsea Market store. The catch he secures everyday for his loyal customers is as "premium" as seafood products get, and he credits that completely to the relationships he's established with seafood suppliers all over the world - relationships that began in 1974 when his mom and dad started selling seafood in the city. Relationships that he claims have allowed him to source more varieties than any other seafood market in the Northeast.
The Lobster Place knows how to handle, store, present and care for the seafood they deal with and it shows. When you walk inside, you're instantly hit by the fresh ocean-y smell of the sea - something many folks say you should look for in a good seafood market. Product is checked daily for degradation to ensure everything you eat tastes fresh. And educating customers on the seafood they are buying is a top priority, not only can you learn where your fish comes from, but they can tell you how to prepare and cook it too (and a lot of this I've learned from personal experience as my husband works in their retail division).
So enjoy my behind-the-scenes peek into what makes The Lobster Place tick. I'll take you inside their Hunt's Point facility in The Bronx to see their wholesale seafood operation during the wee hours of the morning before restaurant deliveries, and get up close with the fishmongers prepping fish for the store. Seafood doesn't get any fresher unless you're catching it yourself...
Thanks for watching food. curated. Happy eating!
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