All Fresh Seafood

[ecowper]

I've been looking for an option for seafood other than driving into downtown Seattle and going to the market or being limited to what Costco has on hand. I like other stuff besides just halibut, cod, and salmon. Sardines, mackerel, black sea bass, char, branzino, and much more, are on the list of stuff we like. After a lot of investigation, I've decided to give All Fresh Seafood in NYC a whirl. They've been in business over 30 years and have over 20 years experience with internet ordering and shipping. Reviews look really good. Also, they give you fairly good information about the sources of their fish.

So, for the first order I did the following

Healthy Fish Trifecta - 2 lbs each of Sardines, Mackerel, Black Sea Bass
Branzino - 3 whole fish, averaging 1.25 lbs each
Swordfish - 1 lb of steaks
Texas Gulf Shrimp - 1 lb of 16/20 per lb shrimp, shell on

It's arriving tomorrow, if UPS is to be believed. I will share details once I have it and unbox!

[yakima]

ecowper, you have obviously looked into PNW mail order suppliers. I find it hard to believe that you have to go to New York. Which suggests a market void on the Left Coast.

I do know that Lytle Seafood, Hoquiam, gets fresh scallops flown in from Boston. But don't believe that they do mail-order. They send a truck to Yakima on weekends, in season. He parks in the VFW lot near downtown. Has oysters, clams, shrimp, crab, salmon, scallops. He always says to call ahead if you want anything else. No idea what other inventory they have.

[ecowper]

Oh no, I've looked at PNW stuff ..... problem is they carry, more or less, the same things I buy at Costco. they don't carry the Atlantic and Mediterranean things I'm looking for like swordfish, sardines, branzino .... I can get those if I'm willing to drive into Seattle to Pike Place. But I'm looking at abandoning the west side entirely, so not likely to want to go to Seattle. As far as Salmon, Cod, Halibut and such .... never fear, I will keep getting them here in the PNW.

[FireMan]

Don’t know about the selection yer lookin for, but quality is way up there with Wild Alaska Company. Not just Halibut & Salmon & the customer service is off the charts. They will even talk you through any special needs that one might have. Important to me, since I have discovered I have to pay attention to my intake of shrimp, lobster & others that spend their time scrounging the bottom.

[ecowper]

I like Wild Alaska, but I can get most PNW fish I want at Costco and it’s just as high quality. I used to be a Sitka Salmon member, but then they completely changed their model and you can no longer trace the fish to the boat and instead source their fish from factory fish providers. Seafood ain’t easy if you care about source quality.

[acorgihouse]

I have ordered from All Fresh Seafood several times, maybe more than that. I have a love of fresh sardines a la plancha, something I tried in Madrid years ago and became "hooked." In gulf coast Florida, we can get all kinds of warm water seafood, but forget about sardines. I have also tried their fresh anchovies, same. I love them (and the Blackstone is a great way to cook them fast.) IIRC, the sardines are often from Portugal, just checked the freezer. I have a bag of sardines, and a bag of anchovies that are from Peru. Both imported through a Coral Gables, FL importer, don't know if that is their only source. Seems I recall trying their mackeral at one time, also, and also good. I have never been unhappy.

Per the Alaskan seafood mention above: I would think that would be what you can get there. I do routinely order Alaskan seafood, though. I can get all the gulf shrimp I want, and am recently enamoured of the Argentinian shrimp I get at Costco, but salmon and such? I have ordered, for years, from www.alaskagoldbrand.com. A fisherman owned co-op, with great salmon, halibut, etc. I'm also happy there.

Edit: next order, I'm going to splurge on one of their caviars. Will report back.

[ecowper]

Bkhuna once I get my wife good to go with grilled sardines, I’m gonna order some anchovies :-)

[Bkhuna]

@ecoper Try it prepared simply, like this- https://www.thespruceeats.com/spanis...recipe-3083690

I think you could use either small sardines or anchovies.

[ecowper]

Bkhuna popped that into Paprika, thanks!

[texastweeter]

That's what I miss the most about living on the TX gulf coast. Spent 8 years in West Columbia, and 1 year in McAllan.

[ecowper]

We get great, very fresh, Pacific NW seafood, of course. But it’s not as easy getting the other stuff we like.

[Troutman]

So ponder me this. If I was to ask Eric to send me some Gulf shrimp, it would originate in my backyard, be shipped to NY, be re-packaged and sent to Seattle then back down to me What a great world we live in !!!

[ecowper]

It’s awesome

[FireMan]

Can’t get there from here! 😎

[Willy]

But...why would you do that? Better to buy locally in your case. No?

[Uncle Bob]

There used to be a seafood market behind the Starbucks in Issaquah. Are they not there anymore, or don't they have the stuff you're after?

[ecowper]

Still there, don’t carry the Atlantic and mediterranean fish I was looking for. They do usually have swordfish, but that’s way low on the totem pole compared to sardines, branzino, and mackerel. :-)

[yakima]

Perhaps on BBQ Stars, Meathead advises that fresh fish should be stored directly on ice. So there is a thin sheet of cold water directly under the fish. How does that square with mail-order packaging? Assuming fresh, not frozen, product.

[acorgihouse]

Both the sources I listed ship on ice, overnight. I can't recall about All Fresh Seafood, but I know that Alaska Gold Seafood will only ship on mid week days, so the shipment can be guaranteed delivery within the time frame for ice to stay okay. I have also had shipments delayed when the weather between here, and where it is coming from, is excessively hot. It's a pretty standard thing these days.

[yakima]

Thanks.

[Meathead]

Mail order fish should be flash frozen. Very low temp, air circulating all around, produced tiny ice crystals and minimal purge (leakage). I get shipmentd from Sitka Seafood monthly and they are perfect.

[PGH_RAM]

This topic is timely for me. I've lived in Pittsburgh for four years now and am completely fed up with the lack of options for fresh seafood. When I lived in Alexandria, VA it was an easy trip to Captain White's in DC to get just about whatever I wanted. When I was growing up in SoFLA, fresh, good seafood was plentiful. Here, if it's not freshwater, there's only one choice for shopping and it's substandard and overpriced, IMO. I'll have to give this NY mail order company a shot.

[ecowper]

I’ll let you know how it turns out when I get my box today. The one thing is that, like almost any seafood shipping, it’s expensive to ship. If you buy the minimum purchase of $175, they ship free.

[ecowper]

Well, delivery was great …. See below

[ecowper]

My box o’ fish arrived about 30 minutes ago. It was fun to unpack. Everything is very clearly high quality. It shipped on ice, space around it in the styrofoam ice chest for some good circulation. There was essentially no purge, everything was in good condition. The gel that makes up the ice packs can be re-used as plant food, which is kind of cool.

This was shipped 1 day express by UPS. The mackerel, branzino, and swordfish were all fresh and on ice. The sardines, shrimp, and sea bass were frozen and also on ice, of course. The fresh fish was all quite cold and firm to the touch, no purge, no “fishy” smell from the packaging. I kept one Branzino out for dinner on saturday or sunday and will let you guys know about quality.

So far, impressed with AFS.

Box is completely intact, no damage


No issues when I open it. It has a packing list and some goodies about how to handle and cook the seafood.


You can connect with their chef on social media if you are into that stuff.


Dry ice warning is clear and easily distinguished.


The styrofoam ice chest is intact, sealed, no damage.


Nicely done inside


After I pulled the top and top ice pack off, this is what greeted me …. Lots and lots of purty fish!


Nicely packaged and easy to store in the garage freezer.

[ecowper]

Meathead it’s great for me even though I’m not landlocked. I can’t easily get these fish unless I want to drive to Pike Place, which is a royal pain and in the middle of the not so fun part of Seattle (not so fun due to all of the homeless issues). I can get salmon, halibut, cod very easily and very fresh, but not sardines, branzino, etc. The modern world is pretty cool.

[smokenoob]

So was most of it vac packed? When I buy fresh fish for rv trips, I vac pack and freeze it. It stays incredibly good that way when I thaw and cook.

[ecowper]

smokenoob yes, it was

[Meathead]

I have subscribed to Sitka Seafood Market https://sitkaseafoodmarket.com for 5 years now. Monthly shipments all frozen. Nothing fresh, and that's how I prefer it so I don't have fresh seafood sitting in the fridge for days because I have dinner dates or other meals planned. I have had only 1 piece of fish that was fishy. The sable is to die for. All line caught by family boats.

[ecowper]

The problem for me personally, and the reason I dropped my subscription, is that their model has changed. I get that they went from directly chartering and manning the boats to their newer model where the processor manages that and they are the broker/marketplace because they were wildly successful. Regardless, it broke the reason that I supported Sitka specifically. I happen to know several Costco buyers and know the processor/sourcing of the salmon and halibut I get at Costco (cont).

[ecowper]

… So I don’t find any particular advantage there. And none of the Alaska marketplace companies offer the other seafood I’m looking for. All Fresh has a good reputation, so I gave it a shot. And so far it looks great. I got 15 lbs of very fresh, sustainable seafood where I know the source for $180. That’s a really good deal. Looking forward to grilling a Branzino this weekend!

[ecowper]

One last thing …. If you are active military, veteran, first responder, medical staff, teachers, or students All Fresh Seafood has a discount for you.

https://allfreshseafood.com/pages/military-discounts