Ordering Fish on Mondays in a Decent Restaurant

Bateman

Do people still adhere to this?

My local fish shop supplies some restaurants, and they don't open Sundays or Mondays, so if that's the general rule is it still better not to order fish in a decent restaurant on Mondays? Or has storage technology moved on a lot since these rules were adhered to?

All thoughts welcome!

btw the specific place I have in mind in the short term is L'Ecrivain

mitosis

It really depends on the restaurant. Some don't buy from a shop, they go to the market, others go to the fishermen. I'd call and ask.

Jawgap

Don't normally post in this forum, but the thread caught my eye.

The idea of not ordering fish at the start of the week stemmed from the idea that fish supply was geared towards meeting a spike in demand on Fridays (and a lesser one on Tuesdays), therefore anything at the start of the week was generally leftover from the previous week and given the nature of fish, those few days can be critical.

Today, though, the supply chain is more sophisticated, the Friday & Tuesday spikes are effectively gone, icing / refrigeration is better (both onboard and ashore) and fish anytime during the week should be fine, especially if the restaurant is working through a local fishmonger / merchant.

the only thing I'd be wary of is the weather - if the weather has been crap, it's unlikely there has been much fish landed meaning the likelihood of the fish being served is fresh is lessened - but I'd say most decent restaurants would just knock it off the menu if they can't get it fresh.

stevenmu

Jawgap wrote: »

but I'd say most decent restaurants would just knock it off the menu if they can't get it fresh.

Yep, it's pretty common to be told a fish item on the menu isn't available.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I thought not buying fish on Monday was because the boats don't go out on the weekends so if someone's selling you "fresh fish" on a Monday it's at least 2 days old. I saw a chef talking about it on TV once, can't remember who.

That said I'm sure the restaurants don't leave it lying around at room temperature all weekend, and any worth eating at wouldn't have it on the menu if it wasn't good.

ChubbyHubby

TICKLE_ME_ELMO wrote: »

I thought not buying fish on Monday was because the boats don't go out on the weekends so if someone's selling you "fresh fish" on a Monday it's at least 2 days old. I saw a chef talking about it on TV once, can't remember who.

This came from Anthony Bourdain's book Kitchen Confidential and it's probably mentioned in his tv show as well. I doubt it's a problem in Ireland though as fish is not all that popular. I'd imagine very few restaurant have actual "fresh" fish in the kitchen and just sell defrosted stuff.

aidan24326

ChubbyHubby wrote: »

This came from Anthony Bourdain's book Kitchen Confidential and it's probably mentioned in his tv show as well. I doubt it's a problem in Ireland though as fish is not all that popular. I'd imagine very few restaurant have actual "fresh" fish in the kitchen and just sell defrosted stuff.

Nothing wrong with fish that's been frozen once it was frozen very quickly after it was caught and hasn't been left lying in the freezer too long (which shouldn't happen at any restaurant whatever their level)

You're right about Anthony Bourdain. Though in his follow-up book Medium Raw he kinda softened his stance a bit about the whole fish on a Monday thing.

To the OP, if you're planning to eat at L'Ecrivain, given the high prices and their Michelin-Starred reputation I'd be surprised if they were using anything less than the highest quality ingredients including the freshest fish.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

Fish is frozen straight away when it's caught at sea. Unless your just fishing close to shore and landing your catch straight away.

My cousin works on a fishing boat and they're at sea all week. They come in on a Friday to land their catch, but it's all on ice from the minute the take it out of the nets until it gets to wherever it's going. So unless your restaurant is right beside a harbour and can literally get it straight off the boat it's going to be "frozen fish" whatever day of the week it is.

What it would really depend on is what type of fish it is. If it's something that lives close to the shore, say mackerel, it could be caught that morning and be really really fresh. If it's something like Monkfish it's unlikely to have been landed that morning unless you live in Norway or somewhere like that.

CJhaughey

Very little fish is landed frozen here in Ireland.
Some prawn boats freeze but not very many.
The majority of fish is landed Fresh, which means it is gutted washed and Iced in boxes and stored in the hold at 2 deg C average.
Anthony Bourdain is in the US, and here in Ireland the boats don't stop fishing on the weekend, they can't afford to stop.
Anthony might know a thing or two about the US system but it doesn't really translate to to other countries.
Poor quality fish is apparent to the Chef immediately and if the restaurant is willing to sell old fish then its not worth going to.

billybudd

Most fish is available for delivery fresh everyday bar sunday, its a myth about the tuesday and fridays apart from shell fish, mussels, clams etc as these are proccessed differently and the truth is that clams and mussels on a monday are usually left over from saturday whether thats by the restaurant or the supplier doesnt really matter.

use your senses anyway if it is a white fish it should have a bright white colour when cooked and served and also by its aroma, even the strongest smelling fish should not have a whiff of foul off it.

The restaurant you are going to and the chef who owns it would never serve anything but the best available produce so i would not worry about that.

Most fish by the way of being kept in large qauntities of ice is in someway frozen regardless of size of boat, if you buy fresh whole fish just look for it to be firm, the scales should flake easily, the eyes should be clear and the gills in good shape and of course the smell and the skin should be gleaming.

Jawgap

Fish quality is quite easy to assess, you just need to remember:-

Skin -shiny, firm, rebounds when touched, no slime
Eyes - bright, clear, convex, not cloudy
Gills Colour - red, not brown, no or v little slime - any mucus or slime present should be clear, not milky or cloudy
Blood Colour - red
Smell Type of odour - sea smell, no ammonia
Rigor - the degree of stiffness - fish should be stiff, floppy is no good
Flesh - firm, no 'gaping' (obvious gaps between the flesh)

Most decent restaurants will let you have a look at the fish they are going to cook for you if you ask.

Bateman

It is indeed from Kitchen Confidential (which I am just finishing this week) that I first saw this, but then I spoke to a few people and noted that my own local fish shop closes Sun/Mon.

Am happy to note the points raised here though, thanks to all

Bateman

Main of turbot was top quality for anyone interested, did not have it myself but tasted it, certainly wouldn't be put off ordering fish on a Monday now anyway

Jawgap

Bateman wrote: »

Main of turbot was top quality for anyone interested, did not have it myself but tasted it, certainly wouldn't be put off ordering fish on a Monday now anyway

might have been farmed - which by no means a criticism of it - some of the nicest fish you'll get are the turbot from the farm in Achill