Eddie's Seafood Market
I'm a product of my father and each day I become more and more aware of this. The Perfect way to exemplify this fact is through my obsession with Eddie's Seafood Market in Marchmont. But let me start from the beginning. Among my fondest childhood memories are the visits to Sun Fat Seafood Company in the Mission, San Francisco, with my dad. These visits were almost daily and included listening as my dad showed me how to distinguish the fresh fish from the older ones, getting excited over different types of clams they would bring in, and going through the baggies of fish part that no one wanted, but always ended up being the best. Engrained in my mind is my dad constantly saying "Ugh. Why do people buy tilapia when you can get this gold for cheaper". But, I have to admit that my favorite was picking shrimp from the massive ice bucket with a pair of massive tongs and discreetly poking the eyeballs of all the fish on display. Moreover, happy were the days when we would come home with a bag of squid and I would sit on my dad's lap at the sink learning how to clean them while occasionally munching on one or two of the raw mollusk. I must say that this fish market has seen me grow up (I remember getting a lobster from them on my 8th or 9th birthday) and has definitely influenced my appreciation for the less appealing looking foodstuffs. So when I stumbled upon Eddie's in first year and saw razor clams in the window my eyes lit up! For a while I lost contact with the seafood market, but last year when I made a paella for some friends I decided to revisit the location in search of some mussels; and I was not disappointed. As I was looking around I found a huge white bucket with some pieces of unwanted salmon including a salmon head. And at this moment my dad's spirit took over and it occurred to me that that salmon head would look amazing on top of the paella. I asked if the fish monger if he'd be willing to sell me the head and after a moment of surprise he gave me the head for one pound! I was beyond happy...Ever since then I'll occasionally drop by to see if they have any unwanted heads or any specials. And I guess my unusual requests have charmed the lady fish monger as she will give me discounts from time to time or some unloved fish parts for soup. One time she gave me nearly a kilo of hake for free! So don't be afraid to ask for weird things! People will appreciate it and if you're lucky they'll surprise you with treats. And if you ever come across a salmon head at your local fish market give it a try! They're delicious! Just season it with some salt and pepper or rub it with some pesto and stick it in the oven for about 20 minutes!
Moral of the story: sometimes the kind of gross sounding or looking things are actually the best; they're usually not as expensive and you might even get them for free!
