Seafood: Newman’s Fish Co. in City Market

Newman's slices and filets all the fish in house

And gets daily deliveries

Even though the Portland area is woven by rivers, studded with lakes and not far from the Pacific we’re not known for our seafood. I recently had coffee with the editor of a local magazine and she was bemoaning the fact that our fair city has such slim pickings in terms of fish markets.

It’s true but with a little effort and a little more gas or peddling you can source some super fresh, delicious seafood here. When most people think about seasonal food they think of produce but everything is connected to the seasons including seafood.

Right now Newman’s Fish Company in Northwest Portland should be rolling in Copper River salmon but prices are way too high this year — so high that they’d have to charge $40 a pound to make any kind of a profit. Newman’s manager Angela Stewart isn’t shedding any tears — she’d much rather eat ocean caught wild, fresh salmon any day. Yes, she’s a little biased — her family runs a chinook and coho salmon fishing boat out of Southeast Alaska — but she claims that river caught salmon doesn’t have the fresh flavor and great texture that Pacific salmon is known for.

Newman's smokes all sorts of seafood at their North Portland warehouse

Other fresh and seasonal Newman’s seafood — halibut started in March, crawdads open the first of June, and Oregon albacore is up in July. Pretty much year-round you’ll find all the tasty farmed shellfish — clams, oysters, mussels — as well as crab, lobster, squid, shrimp, scallops, herring and more.

There's always a great selection of locally farmed oysters, clams and mussels

Dungeness and Maine lobster are usually in the Newman's tank

A vast majority of what's in the case is fresh and line caught and almost everything else is frozen at sea.

Newman’s Fish Company
735 NW 21st Ave.
503.227.2700
www.newmansfish.com

Read about the wholesale side of Newman’s Fish Co. here.