Eaton Street Seafood Market

When trying to fulfill their hankerings for seafood, I've found out that conchs (conch = Key West native) go to Publix or Winn Dixie.  I'm sorry, but I find this nuts! As much seafood, and as many fishing boats and access to seafood as there is on this island, I'm surprised that there aren't a slew of local seafood markets.

I digress...
Though there may be some fresh seafood in the local grocery markets, I have found only one seafood market on the island (again, please update me if I'm wrong, so I can check them out too ;) ) and that market is Eaton Street Seafood Market.

This is a nicely sized building, but the actual market is rather humble in size, compared to the entire size of the big white building. The picture on the right is a picture of the right side of the building, and the picture on the left, is the left side of the building. When you open the door, this is what you walk into:

Scallops! Salmon! Tuna! Black Grouper! Clams! Mussels! Seafood salads! Stone Claw Crab! Lobster tails! An abundance of fresh seafood!  It looks rather enticing. You see the vibrant, clear color of the meat of the fresh fish. Then you remember how murky and dull the seafood looks at the supermarket, in comparison--and you can't help but to buy some

However, all of this delicious, fresh seafood comes at the cost of a pretty penny. If you can't make out the costs of each type of fish and crusteacean in the picture let me list it here for you:

Salmon - $16.98 per pound

Ahi (Yellowfin) Tuna - $22.95 per pound

Scallops - $19.95 per pound

Yellowtail Snapper - $17.95 per pound

Black Grouper - $20.95 per pound

Lobster tails - $24.95 per tail

Pink Shrimp - $17.95 per pound

Large Stone Crab claws - $32.95 per pound

Medium Stone Crab claws - $21.95 per pound

After the sticker shock set in a little bit, I decided to give one of these fresh staples of Key West a shot. My choice? The Salmon. It was soo pretty! I got an 8. something ounce piece, so with tax and everything for the one piece of salmon, the price was $10.91. I figured it wasn't too shabby of a price. When I had my 8. something ounce salmon steak in my hand as I was walking out of the door to see my husband and kids waiting in the car for me, I realized: 8. something ounces of salmon is not enough for everyone. It's barely enough for me and The Hubs.

The next day, when I cooked the salmon (salt, pepper and lemon juice, 7 min in the oven at 450 degrees), it was AMAZING! And I'm not tooting my own cooking skills here. That REAL fresh-never-frozen quality made a pronounced difference not only in the flavor of the salmon I prepared, but in the texture and color of the final product as well. So, despite my $11 splurge for 8 ounces of salmon, I was rather pleased with the outcome--even if it only fed me and The Hubs.

Allow me to continue with the tour of what's available here:

Not a wide selection of produce, but definitely things that would complement the seafood being cooked: bell peppers, lemons, limes, pomegranates, and a few other fresh salad greens.

There are three drink refrigerator cases immediately to the right when you walk into the store. Two of them hold drinks, but one case holds house made items such as goat cheese, spinach and artichoke dip and smoked fish dip.

The Bottom Line:

Food: The salmon I had was really good--fresh taste.

Price: High---BUT if you catch it at the right moment, it's the freshest.

Service: Okay. People aren't overly friendly, but will accommodate you.

Overall:  Not bad, but Publix or Winn Dixie might have better prices for same quality depending on when you catch the freshness of the seafood.