GREER WYLDERDo you want to know how...

GREER WYLDER

Do you want to know how to cook a live lobster? Or have you always

wanted to know the correct way to shuck oysters? Or are you looking

to buy shrimp in every size and type?

Then get to Santa Monica Seafood on East 17th Street in Costa

Mesa. Santa Monica Seafood is all about fish, a seafood lover’s dream

market.

Costa Mesa won the fish jackpot in 1997, the year this store came

to town. Southern California’s premier fish market carries an

incredible fish selection -- on average, there are 55 choices daily,

and prices run 15% to 20% less than high-end markets.

Seafood-buying experts, as well as novices, are well taken care of

at Santa Monica Seafood. Its friendly and knowledgeable staff offers

helpful cooking and cleaning tips, as well as complimentary recipes.

The kitchen staff prepares made-to-order meals to enjoy on the

patio, at tables scattered inside the market or for take-out.

The store also stocks party-perfect seafood platters, deli salads,

fresh sushi, fine wines, gourmet groceries, cookbooks and cooking

tools.

The original Santa Monica Seafood opened in 1939 at the Santa

Monica Pier. The Cigliano family-owned business sold fresh halibut,

shark, sea bass, tuna, sardines, anchovies and live spiny lobsters to

hungry visitors. In the late 1960s, the family’s pier shop closed due

to traffic and relocated to its current site on Colorado Avenue in

Santa Monica.

Santa Monica Seafood’s reputation is topnotch. It also operates a

wholesale center in Rancho Dominguez that supplies seafood to nearly

1,700 upscale restaurants, country clubs and hotels throughout

Southern California, as well as Las Vegas. A few of its local clients

include The Daily Grill, Claim Jumper and the Blue Water Grill

restaurants.

Santa Monica Seafood prides itself on its seafood selection --

mostly fresh and some frozen -- and on finding the best sources

through brokers. It’s constantly looking for new species and improved

fisheries to provide the best quality at consistent prices. Seafood

comes in from Alaska, Canada, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Chili, Japan,

Hawaii and the Northwest.

It’s salmon season and Copper River salmon -- a connoisseur’s

favorite -- has just arrived. It’s available just four weeks out of

the year. It receives the most attention for being the tastiest

salmon, due to its high fat and oil content.

There is also high quality wild Troll King salmon from Canada

($16.99 per pound); famous wild Norwegian salmon ($11.99 per pound); and farmed Scottish salmon ($6.99 per pound).

Also just in is Maryland soft-shell crabs, available through

August; and Alaskan Black Cod ($17.99 per pound), which makes a great

substitute for Chilean Sea Bass and is a lot less expensive.

Special requests are accommodated, including orders on rare

abalone (at a steep price of $140 per pound). Customers can also buy

hard-to-find fish, such as monkfish filet, Opah and, during the

summer, skate.

The sprawling seafood case carries the finest Dungeness crab,

Mexican shrimp, four types of oysters, whole striped bass,

hard-to-find wild anchovies and sushi-grade ahi.

Also available are four kinds of ready-to-grill shrimp brochettes,

shrimp and scallops, tuna and swordfish, large ready-to-cook crab

cakes and excellent stuffed scallops.

The deli case prepares specialty salads that locals can’t live

without. The salad selection includes tangy ceviche with red snapper,

tilapia, salmon, citrus, tomato, onions, jalapenos, cilantro and

Tabasco; marinated mussels in garlic, peppers, onion, oil and

vinegar; a mango relish with red onion, red bell peppers, jalapeno

and lime; and a black seaweed salad with vinegar, soy sauce, corn

syrup, sesame oil, sesame seeds, kale, red pepper and onion.

There is also a marinated octopus salad with red and green bell

peppers, red and white onion, celery, basil, red chili, olive oil and

parsley.

The menu features its famous New England and Manhattan clam

chowders ($2.75 per cup to $8.95 per quart), secret recipes from

manager Ezequiel Rocha, a former sous chef at The Original Fish

Company in Los Alamitos. Other selections include: made-to-order

grilled fish with vegetables, rice and garlic ($9.95 to $12.95);

spicy tuna burgers ($5.95); albacore tuna melt ($5.95); grilled fresh

fish tacos ($6.95); and shrimp or crab Louie salads ($7.95).

Each Thursday, Santa Monica Seafood releases weekly specials with

bargains on fish. Examples of past specials include: fresh petrale

sole fillet at $11.99 a pound, fresh Oregon Bay shrimp at $5.99 a

pound, and salmon fillet stuffed with spinach and feta cheese at

$8.99 a pound.

* BEST BITES runs Fridays. Greer Wylder can be reached at

[email protected]; at 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626;

or by fax at (714) 966-4679.