Although I had always been disappointed by supermarket fish and hadn’t even considered going to one, when my previous fish supplier vanished, I decided to try Wegmans.
If their seafood department was anything like their produce department (which always looks like it’s ready for a photo shoot), it should be pretty good. And it was! I’m happy to say that their fish is as wonderful as their produce.
Call the Seafood Department, tell them you’re looking for their freshest sashimi-grade fish and ask what they have and when it’s coming in. He’ll say something like “I have <insert fish here> flying in on Tuesday at 10am” All you need to do is show up with a small cooler and they’ll wrap it up, give you some crushed ice and you’ll be on your way with awesome fish that was swimming the day before, in many cases.
The only down-side is that they don’t have quite as wide a selection as I’d like (they hardly ever have hamachi, for example) but the up-side is that it doesn’t cost me $250 to overnight a cooler full of fish and ice from the other side of the country. It’s also really nice to see the food before you get it.
Give it a try. I was really impressed!And if you find any place that has Hamachi, please let me know.