Welcome to my new recurring feature where I actually find something nice to say about Charleston. The horror! First thing first:
Joe’s Fish Market.
Ever watch a random episode of Good Eats on the Food Network where Alton Brown goes into some really cool fish market where 1, the fish looks and smells fresh, and 2, the guys behind the counter are friendly, funny, interested and completely knowledgeable about what they’re doing?
Well guess what, Kroger shoppers? We have one of those places right here in town! On Quarrier Street! It’s practically the closest thing we have to a grocery store on the East End.
Now look — like the rest of you, I’ve spent most my life in a landlocked state that’s at least a full day’s drive from any body of water that isn’t primarily inhabited by tires. I don’t pretend to be a great expert on the ways of fresh fish. But try this out: get a piece of salmon from Joe’s Fish Market. Saute it in a pan with a generous amount of olive oil over medium-high heat, and eat. After you come down from your fatty fish high, take note of how your house smells. Yes, it might smell like you just fried something, but it’s not going to smell fishy or unappetizing. It’ll probably smell just a little bit like the ocean — fried in olive oil. Now. Get a piece of Salmon from Kroger. Any Kroger will do, but preferably one that also has a nice selection of air freshening products. Prepare as describe above. Notice that strange, fishy smell in the air? Get used to it. That’s how your house is going to smell for the next 4 days.
What I’m getting at here, is that the product you get at Joe’s Fish Market is much much better than what’s available at the supermarket. And the turnover is faster, too. Alton says that’s a good thing.
But I swear, I think my favorite part might be the people who work there. They’re funny. They’re knowledgeable. If you ask them, “what’s good today?,” they’ll tell you. (Try asking the pimply kid at Kroger who makes $5.75 an hour “what’s good today?” Just try it.) If you want cooking tips, they’ve got them. If you need a lime for the gin and tonics you plan on making later, they’ve got those too.
They also have Chilean Sea Bass.
So yeah. Joe’s Fish Market. Every time I leave that place, I think about how lucky we are to have it in our town.
Tags: Quit Yer Bitchin!!!
February 15, 2008 at 4:02 pm
A nice, pleasant post. Also, do you have anything to say about http://chronicle.com/weekly/v54/i23/23a01601.htm ?
February 15, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Try the Yugoslavian Fish Stew.
February 15, 2008 at 5:07 pm
You don’t honestly think I haven’t had that stuff, do you? It’s their signature item.
The clam chowder is good too. And the crab cakes…
MMMMmmmmggglllllmmmmmphhhhh…..
February 16, 2008 at 8:02 am
Wish we had something like this in Parkersburg. If you had a Fresh Market or Whole Foods in Charleston, I would be in my car right now headed your way. Might just have to do a trip for Joe’s!
February 16, 2008 at 11:47 am
Hey WV Couch, the P-burg News recently reported that something like that might come to our downton (I’m a Parkersburgian as well). Lord only knows where they’ll put it though.
February 16, 2008 at 2:38 pm
One of the things I like about Joe’s — it’s actually kind of spartan. It’s not a big spread like Whole Foods. The stuff in the case is pretty standard — salmon, tuna, scallops, shrimp, the o-so-trendy-and-delicious Chilean sea bass, and a couple fresh water fish like tilapia and catfish. They get other stuff too. The point is, the stuff they get is good, and it sells fast. Turnover is important.
I have a hunch the stuff at Kroger is chemically treated so that it can sit there longer.
February 16, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Holywriter ~~ Heard they are going to try downtown by the flood wall. A farmers market concept. Where they will get the money, who knows.
February 17, 2008 at 9:36 am
I’ve known those guys for well over 25 years now, they are great folks, with a great shop. For people that don’t know, these guys worked for General Seafood for years. When Gen Seafood went out of business, they at least have kept the shop going.
February 17, 2008 at 1:44 pm
your a very angry person
February 17, 2008 at 6:22 pm
And your a very poor speller.
February 17, 2008 at 10:54 pm
HK, I will trust your judgement on the fish market. I went in there about 2.5 years ago and it smelled very, very fishy.
Nice people, but very fishy. As we all know, fresh fish has no smell. So, I left. But, people and stores change. I trust if you say it is cool, then it is cool.
February 18, 2008 at 12:33 am
The whole “fresh fish has no smell” thing is has mislead far to many people.
Fresh fish smells like…fresh fish. Sort of like the ocean. But that’s just the fish itself. As for the store, any closed space where a lot of fish (or any meat, for that matter) is being butchered is going to have…smells. I’m sure there’s some scientific explanation for it that escapes me. It’s especially true with fish. Years ago I worked at a Mom & Pop grocery store, and I was always amazed by how funky the meat cutting room smelled. And that place was SUPER clean, and never warmer than 45 degrees.
February 18, 2008 at 9:11 am
Maybe you all could take a few moments away from your deeply held concerns about fish and crabcakes to ponder this story in today’s Gazette:
For the first time in more than a decade, a West Virginia governor is requesting a decrease in spending for the state Medicaid health insurance program for the poor, according to a new report from a nonprofit research group.
For the first time in more than a decade, a West Virginia governor is requesting a decrease in spending for the state Medicaid health insurance program for the poor, according to a new report from a nonprofit research group.
Gov. Joe Manchin’s recommended budget for the upcoming fiscal year - which starts in July - recommends an $8.2 million cut in Medicaid spending.
The decrease could result in a $32 million drop in funding because the federal government provides three dollars for every dollar West Virginia spends on Medicaid, says a report from the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy.
About 390,000 West Virginians receive free health insurance through Medicaid. About half of those are children.
“This is going to have a huge impact,” said Renate Pore, a Medicaid researcher with the organization. “It deserves to be questioned. Do they want to reduce services to kids?”
February 18, 2008 at 2:19 pm
The Flying Fish in Morgantown also has excellent seafood. Growing up in WV, I generally made it a point not to eat any seafood unless I was on vacation near the ocean, but they have gotten me to change my ways. It’s between the Starbucks and the plaza with Puglioni’s, TCBY, etc., on Van Voorhis Road.
February 18, 2008 at 6:15 pm
Their dry rub is fantastic. It’s Old Bay plus something. I love it.
February 18, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Speaking of Old Bay, I wonder if Joe’s would or could have bushels of blue crabs in season. Man, I miss crab feasts.
February 19, 2008 at 10:27 am
Now we’re talkiing…Fresh crabs in the pot, oysters on the half-shell, roasted ears of corn swirled in hot butter, hush puppies and cole slaw, and a frothy cold one….I am going to start counting the days….
February 19, 2008 at 1:36 pm
MSN, all I need is the address.
February 20, 2008 at 11:20 am
Flying Fish in morgantown is fantastic. I haven’t had Joe’s enough to pass judgment on it.
February 20, 2008 at 4:50 pm
JWB, we don’t want to stop talking fish.
February 21, 2008 at 9:54 am
Can we at least expand the discussion to vegetables?
February 21, 2008 at 2:18 pm
JWB, No! No Yugoslavian Stew for you!!
February 21, 2008 at 7:51 pm
The cast of characters in here reminds me of another blog I used to read a couple years back about soup.
February 22, 2008 at 5:57 pm
You can look forward to a few more words about food very soon.
But this time, with all the profanity you’ve come to expect, if not love.
February 23, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Joe’s is indeed good. Not great, but good. Very good.
FF in Morgantown is good too. Joe’s is better.
There’s a new-ish place in Huntington - Jewell City Seafood - that’s also good. Reasonably priced, good selection, people who seem to know their stuff. It’s on 4th across from where The Drop Shop/Gumby’s used to be. Worth a stop if you happen to be in the neighborhood.
Dang, I feel dirty saying good things about places in WV. Can we resume our bitching soon?
February 24, 2008 at 9:18 am
The Barge is good, though a tad pricy. You get the quality ingredients and top notch preparation of the bridge road bistro, without having to put up with a room full of snot nosed assholes.
February 24, 2008 at 11:31 am
Snot-nosed assholes at the acme of Bridge Road?!? Surely not!
February 24, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Funny thing about the BRB, when I can afford to go there at least, is that even with the increase in douchebags per square inch, it really doesn’t feel stuffy to me.
I think it’s the big booths. You can just disappear into those with your food. Delicious, meticulously prepared food.
February 24, 2008 at 7:40 pm
I’m a little turned off when half the people in the place turn and look at you when you walk in because the people are there to “see and be seen”
But maybe I caught the BRB on pretentious ass night or something and I should give them a second chance… when I was there you needed an oxygen tank to breathe the air was so full of “i’m better than you”
February 24, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Funny, I’ve always thought the BRB was set up like a Shoneys with the booths.
February 25, 2008 at 11:18 am
We said the same thing about the BRB being like a Shoney’s. All the little old rich ladies with huge purses trying to navigate with aplomb scooting in the inner booth. Also how about that over the top portrait of Wong on the wall and the weird pig picture. WTF?
The new Creperi Cafe in Kanawha City (behind Inta Juice) is great. Great crepes, very reasonably priced. With Ellen’s ice cream for the desert crepes also. Nice atmosphere but not at all pretentious. Plus, you can often run into Spyro (the Greek don) there and chat with him.
February 25, 2008 at 2:29 pm
My life will be complete when I can get raw oysters in Charleston for less than $20/dozen. We had them in Savannah for 50 cents each. I know that’s too much to hope for in the mountains here, but I hate paying inflated costs for Tidewater’s snooty lawyer atmosphere when I just want oysters and saltines, damn it!
February 25, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Ahem.
The Joe’s has them. Not for 50 cents each, mind you, but we’re not exactly close to the ocean.
February 25, 2008 at 4:24 pm
The Flying Fish in Morgantown OWNS Joe’s. By a mile.
February 25, 2008 at 8:01 pm
BRB’s large pig pic and self portriat of Wong is very strange (I think I’d rather see the pig picture- doenst it have teets?) How that place keeps afloat perplexes me as much as how the french place downtown stays open…heck I cant even remember the name of it.
February 25, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Yes, the BRB pig pic has teets. Big ones. The glorious “grand manner” portrait of Wong makes South Hills decor sense, but the pig avec teets?WTF?
Cafe de Paris stays open because Shelley Clay the owner has to have a business in Chas as part of her vast trust fund. The bar IS fun. The food beyond uneven. But the bar is quirky and hilarious. Love it when the jazz band plays and there is rugby or French colony soccor on the tv. The Cafe de Paris bar is similar in quirkiness to BBQ (which is now O’kay’s after Kay Dillion took it over from Jay). Hope they all make it.
February 26, 2008 at 8:32 am
A trust fund that requires a beneficiary to operate a restaurant in Charleston?????????
I’ve only eaten there twice and if the food is uneven I must have been unlucky because it was terrible both times. I got “Chateaubriand” that featured a cut of meat Kroger would label Select, at best, and the sauce was similar to A1. The other time I got lamb that had been overcooked until it was dry and flavorless. If they want to run a quirky bar then they should server bar food– at bar food prices.
As for the BRB, I think you guys need to relax and get over high school. You’re adults now and you should neither need the approval of others nor feel envious of people who remind you of those who shunned you back then. I like the food at BRB, but I don’t like places where I spend $60 not counting drinks or tip and come away still hungry.
February 26, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Right on Pisces. I have mixed reviews of the BRB but there have been enough fine meals that we still make it there 4-6 times a year. The bar is top notch. I do miss a good diner.
February 26, 2008 at 12:54 pm
BRB has excellent food. I can only remember a couple of things I’ve had there that were so-so, the rest has been fantastic. I like the smaller portion sizes. There’s no other restaurant where I can order wine, a salad, an entree, and dessert and not feel like a beached whale by the end of the meal. Hell, in most places just an entree alone is too big to finish. The place doesn’t feel stuffy to me — I feel comfortable wearing jeans there. And I dig the huge booths, though at 5′1″ they do kind of make me feel like I’m a little kid going out for a grown-up meal.
February 26, 2008 at 1:37 pm
I’ll take quality over quantity any day.
But I would like to point out that most of the BRB’s patrons were in their late 40’s when I was in high school, so they weren’t exactly shunning me, nor do they remind me of the people who did.
February 26, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Guess the MBA scandal has been swept under the rug (even by this blog)?
February 27, 2008 at 8:59 am
Is there anything new to report? I saw on the DA’s website yesterday that the Faculty senate met, and the report from the “investigation panel” said that they had met several times, and the investigation was ongoing.
Other than that, I haven’t seen any news.
Has it gone away? Not really. It just isn’t giving us anything newsworthy (at the moment) that we haven’t already said a zillion times already.
Manchin sucks, his daughter sucks, and garrison sucks.
That about covers the update.
February 27, 2008 at 11:58 am
Yes, there are several Chas trust fund set ups that insist that their beneficiaries reside in and/or own businesses in Chas. That’s why a lot of Chilton-Wehrle-Dickinson-McJunkin-Ratries fly in once a year to attend a board meeting of their family businesses that other people run (for which they also usually get paid) and stay overnight in their otherwise empty mansions (empty, except for their caretakers who get to live there all year in exchange for keeping up the property and keeping vandals away…..yes…it’s a good job if you can get it). The old folks were hoping the stipulations would make sure their progeny stayed in Chas to help socially and economically (noblese oblige), but their kids and grandkids mostly ran off to live in Paris, Bahamas, etc and do as little as possible in terms of their social and economic responsibilities in WV and instead, of course, live off the fat of this land in exotic far flung places away from here and our non-glamourous problems. Well, maybe we are better off without them. Let them eat cake. It would just be MORE clueless blue bloods in $100,000 jobs at the state and Clay Center.
February 27, 2008 at 1:33 pm
And that — probably more than any other single reason I can think of — is why Charleston sucks.
February 29, 2008 at 7:50 am
Hey, speaking of the BRB, apparently Chelsea Clinton ate there on Wednesday night for her 28th birthday.
March 1, 2008 at 11:39 am
Being a (transplanted) Huntingtonion, I’ll chime in here about Jewel City Seafood. While I have not eaten there myself, my wife (a Baltimore native) says here experience was disappointing & will not return. Which means it’s GREAT by WV standards! :P