We're looking forward to kicking off the summer with an action packed weekend in the store. Please note that we will be open during normal business hours Saturday (9:30am-9pm). Sunday we'll be open from 10am -7pm and we will be closed on Memorial Day.

Along with a full line-up of finfish, lobsters, oysters and other shellfish, our buyers have been busy this week sourcing other seasonal specialties (including live crawfish!) in order to make sure we're fully stocked for the long weekend.  Don't forget to check back on our blog on Thursday to get a weekly inside peek into what's fresh at the market and to see a full list of the specialty items and oysters that's we'll have on hand at the store. 

Feel free to give us a call (212-255-5672) if you need to place any large advanced orders or have any questions regarding availability.  Looking forward to seeing you this weekend and we wish you a Happy Memorial Day!!

Now, on to the good stuff...

Specialty Items

Abalone, CA

Bonito, FL

Boston Mackerel, MA 

Monchong, HI

Opah, HI

Razor Clams, MA 

Sea Urchin, CA

Soft Shells, MD (TBD)

Wild King Salmon, AK

Wahoo, HI

Oyster Lineup

Beau Soleil, Miramichi Bay, NB

Fire Lake, Cape Jouriman, NB 

French Coast, Northumberland Straight, NB

Belon, Harpswell, ME

Flying Point, Maquoit Bay, ME

Mystic, Noank, CT 

Widow's Hole, Peconic Bay, NY

Shooting Point Salts, Little Machipongo Inlet, VA

Nassawadox, Nassawadox Creek, VA

Kusshi, Deep Bay, BC

Nootka Sound, Nootka Sound, BC

Shigoku, Wilapa Bay, OR 

Kumamoto, Humboldt Bay, CA

The Lobster Place

Scallops are in the seafood headlines this week with projections of high prices for 10-20’s and U10’s in the coming months. The federal government regulates the scallop fleet by limiting the number of days a boat can go to sea and the amount of catch it can land per day. Both of those measures were cut by about 30% this year. (http://www.seafoodsource.com/MarketReport.aspx?id=20653) For our part, we’re seeing landed wholesale costs of .75 to 1.00 higher per lb than this time last year – an increase of around 10%. Fortunately, our sources in Wellfleet, MA; New Bedford, MA; and Barnegat Light, NJ have plenty of product to offer – it’s just a bit more expensive than previous years.

Soft Shell Crabs remain expensive, though we are seeing more consistent supplies and expect the price to come down further in the coming weeks. While on the subject of crab, Chinese Pasteurized Red Crabmeat prices will increase in the coming weeks. A poor harvest of red crabs has disrupted supply and we’re being told that import orders are being cut by as much as 30%. As prices continue to rise, we're recommending Indonesian Pasteurized Blue Crabmeat to our wholesale customers, which has superior flavor and texture. The blue’s have historically been a couple dollars more per lb, but that seems to be changing.

Wild Striped Bass are also problematic at the moment, with the only landings occurring in the mid-Atlantic states and the catch sizes being really big. Our Maryland supplier tells us they’re landing massive 40+ lb fish – which of course are illegal in NY. Consider Tilefish or Tautog as substitutes as they’d both respond well to similar preparations.

Some good news – squid are running strong all the way up the Eastern Seaboard and we’re bringing in beautiful dayboat product from Rhode Island and Boston, MA. 

It’s been a great couple of days for locally landed product and we’ve got some exceptional fish in house that are coming ashore in and around Long Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey. Hook and Line Bluefish; Golden Tilefish; Spanish Mackeral; Tautog (Blackfish); and Hook and Line Porgies are all in house and are excellent choices for your holiday weekend menus.

Finally, if you’re looking for something really unique, try the Canary Rockfish we just brought in from Washington State. This species is very popular on the left coast and is a great head-fish if you’re looking for a break from Red Snapper/Grouper. Please give us a call to sepcail order.

Have a fantastic Memorial Day weekend!

Spring and early summer's seafood bounties are finally starting to come on line and we're hoping to see more consistency with wild salmon from the west coast and soft shell crabs from down south. Wild salmon always takes this long to show up, however soft shells are a bit of a different story. Usually we start to see good consistency of soft shells a little earlier, however with the cold spring we've been having, there hasn't been much in the way of supply. Soft shells are blue crabs that have recently molted their shell, and the warmer water temps start the molting process. While it's looking good that wild king salmon will be available more frequently, soft shells are likely to take a week or two before supply picks up.

This week, we've got another great specialty and oyster list. Headlining this week are beautiful wild king salmon from Sitka Sound in southern Alaska. These kings have a really nice fat content and go well in many applications. They're arriving today so make sure you stop by to pick some up while they last.

Now, on to the good stuff...

Specialty Items

Albacore, NY

Bonito, FL

Kona Kanpachi, HI

Monchong, HI

Opah, HI

Periwinkles, MA

Sea Urchin, CA

Soft Shells, MD (TBD)

Uku Snapper, HI

Wild King Salmon, AK

Wahoo, HI

Oyster Lineup

Beau Soleil, Miramichi Bay, NB

French Coast, Northumberland Straight, NB

Indian Creek, Malpeque Bay, PEI

Widow's Hole, Peconic Bay, NY

Montauk Pearls, Lake Montauk, NY

Pine Island, Oyster Bay, NY

Shooting Point Salts, Little Machipongo Inlet, VA

Nassawadox, Nassawadox Creek, VA

Cortes Island, Deep Bay, BC

Kusshi, Deep Bay, BC

Nootka Sound, Nootka Sound, BC

Hammersley, Hammersley Inlet, WA

Kumamoto, Humboldt Bay, CA

We hope you'll stop by this weekend and take advantage!  Stay tuned next Thursday for another addition of specialty items.  Please note that occasionally items listed will not make it to our store due to weather or unforeseen supply issues.

Last night marked the first dinner service for our new restaurant Cull&Pistol, located right next door to The Lobster Place.  It was a tremendous showing and we’re thrilled at all of the support our loyal customers have showed us.  Since oysters are a prominent part of Cull&Pistol’s identity, we’d like to take some time and wax poetic about one of the newest additions to our ever evolving oyster list, the Shooting Point Salt from Virginia. 

The Shooting Points are heirloom oysters grown out Little Machipongo Inlet on Virginia’s Atlantic coast.  What’s an heirloom oyster?  Glad you asked!  Heirloom oysters are cultivated from the local, native brood stock of Nassawadox creek (on the Bay side).  While these oyster “salt” up on the Atlantic side, they’re decedents from one of the Chesapeake Bay’s oldest oyster beds – no genetic engineering, no non-native seed or spat – the same line harvested by the historic Bayford Oyster House in the 19^th century.  Shooting Point Salts are a throwback oyster, if you will, to the grand old days of the Chesapeake Bay oyster boom.  Even better, since much of the Chesapeake Bay’s tremendous oyster stock was devastated by the poor farming techniques of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, Shooting Point Salts are helping bring back Chesapeake Bay stocks to what they once were.   More oysters equal cleaner water, and a better overall ecosystem both in the Bay and along the barrier islands of the Atlantic coast. 

Shooting Point Salts have a very high salinity due to the fact that they’re “salted” up in the barrier islands of Virginia’s coastal reserve.  This high salinity yields to a characteristic sweetness and cool, cleansing finish.  Now that we’ve got you excited about oysters this weekend, we would be remiss if we didn’t remind you that this Sunday is Mother’s day.  We can’t picture a better way to celebrate Mom than with a dozen of your favorite oysters, great wine and a tremendous menu featuring the raw product from The Lobster Place that you’ve come to love over all these years.  Stop by Cull&Pistol this Sunday and do Mom proud!

Now enough with the shameless promotion and onto the good stuff:

Weekend Specialties arriving Thursday through Friday

Albacore, NJ

Blackfish, NY

Bonito, FL

Dungeness Crab, WA

Hebi, HI

Kona Kanpachi, HI

Monchong, HI

Opah, HI

Soft Shells, NC

Uku (Gray Snapper), HI

Wahoo, HI

Weekend Oyster List

Beau Soleil, Miramichi Bay, NB

French Coast, New Brunswick

Gooseberry Bay, PEI

Maine Flat (Belon), Harpswell, ME 

Wellfleet, Wellfleet Harbor, MA  

Katama, Katama Bay, MA   

Mystic, Noank, CT 

Montauk Pearl, Lake Montauk, NY

Nassawadox, Nassawadox Creek, VA

Shooting Point Salts, Little Machipongo Inlet, VA

Broadwater, Occohannock Creek, VA  

Kusshi, Deep Bay, BC  

Nootka Sound, Nootka Sound, BC

Fanny Bay, Baynes Sound, BC

Hammersley, Hammersley Inlet, WA

Pickering Pass, Pickering Passage, WA 

Shigoku, Wilapa Bay, OR 

Kumamoto, Humboldt Bay, CA  

It's May and weekend is looking good, so it's time for a boil!  Wild Crawfish has just arrived to the store and it's begging for some corn, potatoes, sausage, a little seasoning and a nice long simmer.  Come get these while they last, they won't be around that much longer.  If you're not into crawfish, check out bay scallops from Martha's Vineyard, which should be the last of the season and won't be around until November. 

Now for the good stuff:

Weekend Specialties arriving Thursday through Friday:

Albacore, NY

Amber Jack, FL
Barramundi, MA
Barracuda, HI
Blue Marlin, HI
Bonito, FL
Crawfish, LA

Dungeness Crab (Live), WA
Haddock, MA
Kona Kanpachi, HI
Martha's Vineyard Bay Scallops, MA
Sea Urchin (live), CA

Sturgeon, CA  
Trigger Fish, MD
Wahoo, HI 

Oyster Lineup

Gooseberry Bay, PEI

Flying Point Maquiot Bay, ME  

Maine Flat (Belon), Harpswell, ME 

Barnstable, Barnstable, MA  

Katama, Katama Bay, MA   

Mystic, Noank, CT 

Broadwater, Occohannock Creek, VA  

Kusshi, Deep Bay, BC  

Cortes Island, Deep Bay, BC   

Pickering Pass, Pickering Passage, WA 

Shigoku, Wilapa Bay, OR 

Kumamoto, Humboldt Bay, CA  

We hope you'll stop by this weekend and take advantage!  Stay tuned next Thursday for another addition of specialty items.  Please note that occasionally items listed will not make it to our store due to weather or unforeseen supply issues.

Sincerely,

The Lobster Place

Now for the good stuff:

Now for the good stuff:

Weekend Specialties arriving Thursday through Friday:

The Lobster Place

Now for the good stuff:

The Lobster Place

Thursday April 4th at 12:00 PM. Florence Fabricant wrote an excellent piece online for The New York Times about our renovation, which you can view here. Beyond what Florence has to say, here's what you can expect when you come in this week:

• An expanded Shack in the Back window that will include clam shack favorites such as fish and chips, clam belly rolls and crab cakes. By the end of the week, hot items from our new kitchen will also be available for the first time.
• An entire section completely dedicated to lobsters (live and cooked) which will feature a one of a kind "mist tank display' and a dedicated checkout line.
• An expanded fresh fish counter that will include sushi grade fish cuts prepared by our sushi chefs; a wider selection of whole fish; and whole tuna butchering in full view.
• A new 8 seat sushi bar where you can enjoy our chef's selections of made to order sushi as well as sake and Sapporo.
• A stand-up Raw Bar with a revolving selection of oysters, crab, shrimp, clams and other specialties.
• A total revamp of our smoked fish, appetizer, and specialty seafood counter including an expanded selection of caviar and smoked fish.

Many of you might have seen news about our new restaurant, Cull & Pistol, in the New York Magazine Spring Preview. Chef Dave Seigal will draw from the diverse selection of fish and seafood available through the market with his innovative and globally influenced menu and extensive raw bar offerings.

We're looking forward to opening the doors at Cull & Pistol later this month. Stay tuned for more updates.

For all you seafood lovers who could care less about the enhancements and just want the goods, here's the weekend specialty list:

Arriving Thursday through the weekend 

Abalone, CA

Albacore, NY

Barramundi, MA

Crawfish, LA

Dungeness Crab, WA 

Kona Kanpachi, HI

Razor Clams, MA

Shad, VA

Shad Roe, VA

Stone Crab Claws, FL

Trigger Fish, NC

Oyster Lineup

Beau Soleil, Mirimichi Bay, NB

Indian Creek, PEI

Wellfleet, Wellfleet, MA

Katama, Katama Bay, MA

Watch Hill, Winnapaug Pond, RI

Mystic, Noank, CT

Montauk Pearl, Lake Montauk, NY

Broadwater, Occohannock Creek, VA

Kushi, Deep Bay, BC

Chef's Creek, Baynes Sound, BC

Calm Cove, Hood Canal, WA

Kumomoto, Humboldt Bay, CA

We hope you'll stop by this weekend and take advantage!  Stay tuned next Thursday for another addition of specialty items.  Please note that occasionally items listed will not make it to our store due to weather or unforeseen supply issues.

Sincerely,

The Lobster Place