The RuraList: 10 Fishmongers in the RI Region (and why it's helpful to know one)
Here's where you can find the freshest fish, curated by seasoned fishmongers (plus an ode to oysters).
Photo: Mary Nelen
Although fishing in Berkshire, Dutchess, Columbia and Litchfield counties is limited to lakes, rivers and streams, there is no shortage of fishmongers in the Rural Intelligence sphere.
This directory lists outlets where there is a fishmonger (someone who sells fish and seafood) on site to take special orders and where deliveries of fresh fish are made with frequency. According to all mongers spoken with, relationships are worth cultivating so phone numbers, hours and delivery schedules are provided below.
Frank LaManna of Adams Fair Acre Farm in Poughkeepsie says all questions are welcome, especially with respect to the wild versus fresh fish debate.
“Much of the time we have to debunk the myth that only wild fish is worth eating,” he says, stressing that farmed fish can be just as good as wild-caught fish. LaManna’s colleague, Joe Longendyke of Adams Fair Acre Farm in Kingston, claims farmed salmon is best if it is net caught rather than tank raised.
“In tanks, if there are antibiotics they will infect all of the fish, which is not the case with net-caught fish that are farmed.”
BERKSHIRE COUNTY
Guido’s Pittsfield
Mazzeo’s Meat & Seafood
1020 South Street, Pittsfield, MA
(413) 442-9912
Fishmonger: Johnny Borque
Delivery Days: Monday–Saturday
Guido’s Great Barrington
Mazzeo’s Meat & Seafood
760 South Main Street, Great Barrington, MA
(413) 528-9255
Fishmonger: Mark or Ed
Delivery Days: Monday–Saturday
Berkshire Co-op
42 Bridge Street, Great Barrington, MA
(413) 528-9697, Ext. 34
Fishmonger: Joel Liu
Delivery Days: Thursday (winter); Monday & Thursday (summer)
NOTE: Additional delivery days for special orders.
COLUMBIA COUNTY
Pura Vida Fisheries
Wholesale & Retail
6798 U.S. 9, Hudson, NY
(518) 822-0100
Fishmonger: Vanessa Martinson
Farmers Markets: Kingston, Rhinebeck, Saugerties
“Right now, local fish, for example scallops gray soul, black sea bass, from Long Island waters.” – Vanessa Martinson, Chef Manager
Olde Hudson
499 Warren Street, Hudson, NY
(518) 828-6923
Fishmonger: Dena Moran
Delivery Days: Thursday & Friday
“Special orders are welcome, that way we can be sure things are as fresh as we pride ourselves on. The fish is straight off the docks…basic cuts including salmon cod, whole fish, shellfish.”—Dena Moran, owner
The Chatham Berry Farm
2309 Route 203, Chatham NY
(518) 392-4609
Fishmonger: Mike Gilbert
Delivery Days: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
DUTCHESS COUNTY
Adams Fair Acre Farm
765 Dutchess Turnpike, Poughkeepsie, NY
(845) 454-4330
Fishmonger: Frank LaManna
Delivey Days: Monday–Friday (Thursday & Friday are strongest “variety days”)
“I get a call, guy’s got true gulf red snapper, sends it to me overnight when it's in season. Same for Wild King Salmon from the Columbia River. Guy calls and says, ‘We’re bringing kings.’ I’ll order 100 pounds, and 18 hours later fish is at my back door, Fed Ex.”—Frank LaManna, fishmonger
Four Maples Fish
Wholesale & Retail
New Hackensack Plaza
1820 Route 376, Poughkeepsie, NY
(845) 462-3898
Fishmonger: Mike or John
Deliver Day: Thursday
NOTE: Cash or check, no credit cards
Slammin Salmon
3267 Franklin Ave., Millbrook, NY
(845) 677-5400
Fishmonger: Bill Turner
Delivery Days: Monday, Thursday, Saturday
NOTE: Fried fish takeout, as well as fish counter
LITCHFIELD COUNTY
New Morning Store
129 Main Street North, Woodbury, CT
(201) 263-4868
Fishmonger: Paul Chan
Delivery Days: Monday–Saturday
“We take special orders only if fish in the special is sourced properly, to New Morning’s standards.” —Paul Chan, fishmonger
Tony & Sons
639 Main Street, Oakville, CT
(860) 274-3693
Fishmonger: Scott Demers
Delivery Days: Thursday & Saturday (Friday in summer for clams, lobsters)
NOTE: Fried fish takeout, as well as fish counter
Behold the Bivalve: The Best Hedge for Winter
On the first night of snow in November, an oyster feast caught my gaze as I was going out the door of a little place in Great Barrington called Botanica. It was almost six o’clock and weather reports kept customers away. It seemed I had to myself an oyster shucker, the bartender and no less than four varieties of bivalves resplendent on shaved ice.
After a pairing recommendation from Ian Dick, the sommelier, of a sparkling Chandon from Napa as a palate cleanser, we started with a Marionport, from the wilds of Falmouth (briny, perky) after which we moved on to several Cape Cod farmed Blishpoints (sweet!) and then Pink Moons from Prince Edward Island, (sweet AND creamy) and finally a Rhode Island-farmed Moonstone (creamy yet complex.)
Oysters, in their exuberant salinity, are the best hedge for winter next to a flight to Aruba, as are other fish when winter looms large.
The advent of aquatic farming has made oysters particularly prolific. Back in the day, people believed that you could only eat oysters in months with the letter “R,” because the “non-r” months used to mean trouble for wild oysters, according to Wes Malzone of BerkShore, based in Northampton, Mass.
The advent of oyster farming has changed all that. At oyster hatcheries, water flow and the health of the growing oysters is constantly monitored so that the life of the bivalve, from seed to the full grown oyster, is a healthy one. Farmed oysters are easier for state and federal shellfish regulatory agencies to monitor, further reducing the need to confine oyster consumption to the times when fans of the bivalve are less likely to be at the seashore.
Malzone has been operating BerkShore for six years, specializing in sustainably raised and caught local fish. A man constantly on the go, Malzone makes a weekly trek east to the docks of Boston with an empty truck, fills it with fresh fish and turns around and heads back home where he spends the next 24 to 48 hours making deliveries. He has no storage facility other than his truck. Experience has shown Malzone that winter is peak season for New England fish.
“After cod, hake, pollack and haddock have spent the summer foraging, by winter the fat content is high,” he says. And we all know fat is where the flavor is.
BerkShore delivers fish to such restaurants as Prairie Whale, The Old Mill, The Old Inn on the Green and Café Adam, as well as Blantyre and Kriplau and the Berkshire Co-op.
