Seafood market? (Phoenix, Tucson: to buy, live in, restaurants)

[Scout37]

Is there a good seafood _market_ in Tucson, preferably east side? Searching on-line all I can find is restaurants. I'd like to be able to buy lobsters or clams once in a while and haven't found a place. Thanks.

[Marcy1210]

I think the best you'll be able to do is the grocery store. If there are seafood markets, I don't know about them. The Fry's by me has a live lobster tank, but all the fish and seafood is previously frozen. I have not seen clams, oysters or mussels at all. They have lobster tails which are really just large crayfish, and frozen crab legs ($15.00/lb), salmon, tilapia and trout but they're all previously frozen. There is a larger selection of scallops and fish in prepackaged bags by a national brand, but that's the best you can do in the desert. At least as far as I know. I'm sure if there is a seafood market, someone here will know. But, seeing as how we're landlocked in a desert, it's highly unlikely you'll find fresh seafood or fish...

[CheyDee]

Sprouts usually brings in one or two types of fresh fish each week. (It's flown in six days/week.) The quality is good and the prices are reasonable for being in a desert, but you get no selection; whatever they happen to be featuring for the week is all they have that's fresh.

This week it's sockeye salmon fillets. Over the past few weeks they've had halibut steaks, swordfish steaks, flounder fillets, and jumbo shrimp. I'm sure there was more, but I don't remember the others off the top of my head.

[2farsouth]

I haven't been here yet, but Rodriguez L H Wholesale & Retail Seafood
3541 S 12th Ave
Tucson, AZ 85713 is mentioned in Yelp.
Before moving to Tucson, I lived in Mazatlan, Mx, and was spoiled by the fresh shrimp and fish ,caught that day, delivered to my door. I know I saw a place in my online searches before moving here, that sold shrimp from "The Sea Of Cortez", (in my opinion, the best shrimp in the world), here in Tucson.
When I have more time, I'll try to find which place has the best "fresh" seafood, and post later.

[Scout37]

Thanks for the ideas. If they don't have anything here, it's just because of demand, not because we're in the desert. I grew up in Phoenix and you can get whatever you want there. And you can bet Dallas and Chicago have good seafood even though they are in the middle of the country. For that matter, Los Angeles surely has great lobster available and "normal" lobster with claws all comes from the Atlantic.

[motormaker]

If your a member of Costco, they usually have a pretty good selection from time to time.

[robabeatle]

Does the 17th street market have seafood? I thought my friends used to say that.

[RickTucsonHomes]

Originally Posted by robabeatle

Does the 17th street market have seafood? I thought my friends used to say that.

Yes they have lots of seafood, but I don't think they have lobster and clams from what I remember. But would certainly be worth checking out for the OP. http://www.seventeenthstreetmarket.c...et_Market.html

[CheyDee]

Originally Posted by Scout37

Thanks for the ideas. If they don't have anything here, it's just because of demand, not because we're in the desert. I grew up in Phoenix and you can get whatever you want there. And you can bet Dallas and Chicago have good seafood even though they are in the middle of the country. For that matter, Los Angeles surely has great lobster available and "normal" lobster with claws all comes from the Atlantic.

I disagree.

We were born, raised & spent our young adulthood on the mid-Atlantic coast. To us, good seafood is more or less what was caught the same day.

We moved from NY to Dallas, where we lived for a decade, until moving to AZ in 2004. We were hard-pressed to find fresh seafood most of the time. There were usually gulf shrimp and crawfish around, but anything else was slim pickings. Finally, over the past several years, some seafood and specialty stores opened, i.e. Rex's, Sea Breeze, etc. Prior to that, (when we lived there), there wasn't much more than Whole Foods and whatever they brought in. I think the demand was always there, but the goods weren't. I am guessing the demand is here, too - but the goods aren't. Unfortunately I can't think, "Gee, I'd like to make mussles for dinner tonight. Let me run out and get a couple of pounds of them." I would love to see that change though.

[Boompa]

Originally Posted by CheyDee

I disagree.

We were born, raised & spent our young adulthood on the mid-Atlantic coast. To us, good seafood is more or less what was caught the same day.

We moved from NY to Dallas, where we lived for a decade, until moving to AZ in 2004. We were hard-pressed to find fresh seafood most of the time. There were usually gulf shrimp and crawfish around, but anything else was slim pickings. Finally, over the past several years, some seafood and specialty stores opened, i.e. Rex's, Sea Breeze, etc. Prior to that, (when we lived there), there wasn't much more than Whole Foods and whatever they brought in. I think the demand was always there, but the goods weren't. I am guessing the demand is here, too - but the goods aren't. Unfortunately I can't think, "Gee, I'd like to make mussles for dinner tonight. Let me run out and get a couple of pounds of them." I would love to see that change though.

As soon as they move an Ocean nearby you can have fresh clams etc. Until then you live in the desert. Had some decent Sea Food in rocky point and San Felipe. The 17th Street Market in Tucson and 99 Ranch Market at the Chinese Cultural center in Tucson are about it.