Originally Posted by corky (Post 32717703)

Wow --expensive place.

Originally Posted by JBord (Post 32717536)

I've only been to the one in Northbrook, one time. In fact, I went looking for lobster and didn't see anything other than the small frozen tails - same as I can get at Mariano's. It may just have been a bad day, but I was not impressed with their inventory -- although I was impressed with the deli there. I believe you may have been at the Highland Park store? I'm wondering if that one is better. I'll definitely give it a try one of these days.

Originally Posted by corky (Post 32717703)

Wow --expensive place.

Originally Posted by work2fly (Post 32717728)

The soft shell crabs at $8 each look tempting.

Originally Posted by gaobest (Post 32717876)

I a

It’s Chicagoland :-)

n.

Originally Posted by JBord (Post 32717536)

I've only been to the one in Northbrook, one time. In fact, I went looking for lobster and didn't see anything other than the small frozen tails - same as I can get at Mariano's. It may just have been a bad day, but I was not impressed with their inventory -- although I was impressed with the deli there. I believe you may have been at the Highland Park store? I'm wondering if that one is better. I'll definitely give it a try one of these days.

Originally Posted by work2fly (Post 32717728)

The soft shell crabs at $8 each look tempting.

I'm sure I could make them keto with a dip in egg, followed by a crushed pork rind and Parmesan "breading". Might not taste too much like crab anymore though :D

Originally Posted by JBord (Post 32717865)

I should have mentioned -- that was my other disappointment with the Sunset I visited. But also realize that seafood is likely to be generally more expensive in Chicago than the coast. The fish markets here are extremely expensive (but high quality), with one exception I've found. Fresh Farms, which is a small chain that carries almost exclusively Eastern European foods has an excellent fish selection often at 2/3 or even 1/2 the price of the big chains.

Originally Posted by gaobest (Post 32717876)

I also love the stone crabs at joes steak & seafood. Yummy.

I only go to the highland park one and I don’t know how it compares to the others; I just prefer Sunset over other HP options.

It’s Chicagoland :-)

you can also keto them by just baking them on their own and chowing down.

Originally Posted by corky (Post 32717950)

Still the lobster tails are from Maine so they should be equally as expensive out here. And snow crab clusters are around $10 here and they are also not local (and personally I think they are crap).
This is LaLaLand...not known for being inexpensive. :cool:

Originally Posted by chgoeditor (Post 32718369)

First: Ina's seafood chowder recipe: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/...recipe-1925488











Chicago is not inherently expensive, and a muchof the stuff you find in the seafood section of most stores is coming from the same distributors (one of the largest of which is owned by the Moonies). All of the stuff gaobest linked to is likely frozen (softshell crabs haven't been in season for months) so there's no point in making a special trip to Sunset for them if you have a closer source. Personally, I buy 99% of my seafood at Whole Foods, Dirk's, H-Mart and Mitsuwa. H-Mart and Mitsuwa generally have the best prices and all have an abundance of fresh stuff. (WF probably has the most items that were previously frozen.) I'm not going into stores until after my family leaves, so I'll call in an order to Dirk's on Wednesday to pick up shrimp, crab and scallops for our seafood chowder, since they do curbside pickup. (Also, some of their yummy smoked whitefish spread, which isn't as awesome as the stuff we get in Northern Michigan, but a pretty good substitute when you're stuck in Chicago during a pandemic.)

Originally Posted by JBord (Post 32723536)

... And I love the whitefish spread there. I would also often just buy a hunk of smoked whitefish and Dirk's and make my own - delicious! Some of the best smoked whitefish I've had is, surprisingly, in Door County. There's a small smokehouse right up at the tip, Gill's Rock area, near the ferry, that has amazing fish. It's basically the only thing in the area, so not touristy like the rest of the peninsula. I believe you can order from there too, but I can never remember the name.

Originally Posted by gaobest (Post 32723748)

How do these whitefish salads compare to the whitefish at Once Upon a Bagel?

Originally Posted by JBord (Post 32723861)

Good question. I'm trying to remember Dirk's, it's been a while since I've had it. Maybe chgoeditor can remind us what it's like. I do recall that I liked it very much. For my homemade one, I flake the fish, so there are bigger pieces in the salad. And I add a few more things, like celery. I like mine the best, but it has to start with a good smoked fish. Once Upon A Bagel's tastes great, as does Max and Benny's. My minor gripe with both of them is that the fish is almost whipped or blended, with no chunks.

Originally Posted by chgoeditor (Post 32724218)

I would describe it as more of a spread than a salad. I don't think I would want a thick layer of it in a sandwich, but I enjoy it spread on a cracker.