where to get sushi grade fish in los angeles
My research consistently came up with three fish markets as the best sources for sushi/sashimi grade fresh fish. Only one is in downtownThe other two are in Glendale and Santa Monica. Since you?ve found that the fresh fish offered by the Japanese supermarkets don?t meet your standards, I?m reluctant to mention some high end markets that were mentioned by several reviewers as a possible source for the fish you seek. These are Bristol Farms, Whole Foods and 99 Ranch Markets. You might want to try them so you can draw your own conclusions about their offerings. In reviewing the long lists of fish markets and wholesalers in the various directories I discovered that many of them are clustered inSeveral restaurant reviews mentioned that the chefs did their shopping at the downtown fish markets. it interesting to check out the wholesale district fish markets for yourself even though it?s in an unsavory ?skid row? I trust that the assortment of resources I?ve found will provide you
720 North Glendale Avenue Editorial Rating: Highly Recommended
sushi to go apeldoorn Reviews (3): Highly Recommended Santa Monica Seafood Co. Rancho Dominguez, CA 90220 Corporate Spotlight -- Santa Monica Seafood Santa Monica Seafood announced it has acquired the customer base, corporate name, receivables, inventory and other assets of Fish Warehouse Corporation, a Los Angeles-based seafood distributor that has been in business for the past 23 years. 9150 W Olympic Blvd Beverly Hills, CA 90212-3540 FRESH FISH MARKET REVIEWS Los Angeles Area -- Best fish market 99 Ranch in Roland Heights los angeles fish company on stanford downtown main fish market is downtown at like 4 AM. Fish King in Glendale Westside, Santa Monica Seafood at Euclid (13th St) and Colorado Where do I buy the best sushi-grade fish in Los Angeles?
try to find an Asian supermarket with a sushi counter. Fish King in Glendale is the other place to go and get yourself top grade fish. Fish King, 722 N Glendale Ave, Glendale, CA Los Angeles Fish Company, 420 Stanford Ave, Los Angeles, CA Fishland Seafood Market, 9150 W Olympic Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA United Foods, 736 N Broadway, Los Angeles, CA Marukai Corporation, 123 Astronaut E S Onizuka St, Los Angeles, CA Mitsuwa, 3760 S Centinela Ave, Los Angeles, CA Pico Seafoods, 4100 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA Downtown Los Angeles Walking Tour -- Wholesale District/Skid Row To the east of the Historic Core lies the Wholesale District and SkidThis area is characterized by a mix of warehouses (mostly fish and produce), light retail (mostly toys) and an extensive cluster of missions, shelters, drop-ins and Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels, the largest service-dependent ghetto in the nation. "fish market" "los angeles"
fresh sushi "fish market" los angele best "sushi OR sashimi grade" "los angeles" "fresh fish" market OR best "los angeles" "fresh fish"The main difference is freshness, or the time it would take to reach your "mouth."All the sushi restaurants I've worked in Los Angeles and San Francisco got their fish directly from the wholesale fish supplier and they all used those fish within days.Because those fish were "sushi" or "sashimi" grade (not an official term, it's just a term used by grocery stores and consumers), they needed to be as fresh as possible and had to meet sushi chef's freshness quality standards.Some of the same fish suppliers deliver those fish to the supermarkets, and they do sit in the fridge until a consumer purchases it and takes it to home to cook.Many factors would make fish a "Sushi" or "Sashimi" grade (in commercial terms), so, unless labeled, grocery stores like Whole Foods can keep the fish a bit longer than sushi restaurants it it were meant for "cooked" consumption.
Fish sold for sushi is handled in a shorter, more direct logistic chain than fish sold for home or restaurant cooking.Fish sold for sushi (i.e., fish sold for uncooked consumption) is kept frozen until thawed for preparation of the sushi, unlike fish sold for cooking, which may be shipped on ice, and is thawed for sale.What qualifies fish as sushi-grade?What does the supply chain for sushi grade fish look like? Can you get sushi grade fish at your nearest chain grocery?There's generally five de facto grades for fish at a commercial fish market, usually bought in the "what sells first for how much" order:The best and most expensive stuff the sushi guys buy first.The next best stuff, that restaurants buy for the catch of the day.What the supermarkets buy for the fish freezer.What the canneries buy for canned fish.What the pet food people buy for pet food...and also what the "discount sushi" people buy (i.e. never eat "discount sushi').A lot of places have exclusive deals with fisheries, like CostCo does.
Whole Foods has some direct vendor relationships, as detailed here:SeafoodIt's difficult to understand the "real" or intrinsic difference between excellent quality fish and not-excellent quality fresh fish unless you've worked with it for a period of time. Once you know it though, great fish sticks out like a sore thumb.Depending on the species, great, fresh fish has a unique translucence and texture. It's more "clear" than stuff of lesser quality and the texture is more like jello jigglers. It has a bounce. Conversely, less than pristine fish is cloudier and has more give. Great quality fish is great not only because it tastes and eats better, but it's about 10x easier to work with and cut. Lesser quality fish are more delicate and are more easily damaged.Now that we've covered the flesh itself, there's one common misconception to take care of. Most people think that sushi is all about the "freshest fish," and have the idea that the less time that the fish spends between the ocean and your mouth, the better.
The reality is that getting peak flavor from fish all depends on the fish. Most sushi fish benefit from some sort of aging, curing, pickling or any combination of the three. Just like with land animals, you develop flavor with time.Here's a picture of 10 day aged fish from Zaiyu Hasegawa of Den in Tokyo:And just like with land animals, there is a difference between aging and just plain rotting. The former is the result of deliberate handling and the latter, one of neglect.Some fish, endangered Blue Fin Tuna is a good example, are flash frozen on the boats, auctioned frozen, and then further kept in deep freezers for months until ultimately thawed out by the restaurant to be cut and served. Most of the most expensive tuna that you'll have at the nicest sushi restaurants in the US will have gone through this process. Never frozen Japanese Bluefin tuna is highly sought after, but it's a minority of the trade and almost never leaves Japan.Going back to fish before any processing, aging, or storing, great quality fish is a matter of good fishing practices, selection and proper handling.
Culturally, the Japanese are of a completely different mindset compared to the western world in each of those aspects. Through experience, they readily identify and classify the quality of the fish and sell it accordingly. There are US importers of fish that have gone through the Japanese system, and so it is possible to get high-quality fish if you're willing to pay for it and seek it out. Getting fish through the US fishing system, my experience is that "fish is fish" so it's more luck-of-the-draw and your own personal selection required to get a great quality fish. I've used the best local fish purveyors that I could find, and even then, it's not unusual to get just one excellent quality fish out of a batch of 60 fish.So, given how difficult it is for me, as someone who actually cares and knows the difference to get excellent quality fish out of the local wholesale system, you can imagine the quality of fish that end up at your local fish counter. At my favorite local supermarket, they do from time to time luck out and get a few high-quality pieces of fish.