In reply to TarponChaser
Good discussion. This is the kind of stuff that the Houston Post used to write about. Local interest politics. I miss newspapers...
TarponChaser said:schmellba99 said:Houston (and most of the upper Texas gulf coast for that matter) doesn't have much of an industry for a fresh off the boat seafood market like you'll find in San Diego or Seattle. There ar a handful of places, but nothing that is kind of the central point, so most things get commercialized and sent to wholesalers.94chem said:Good point about the salmon. But the yellowfin has been tried, and there's just not the urgency at the shoreline to pay for the fresh fish. I think everything here is frozen. If it's fresh, you're paying through the teeth to get it flown in same day.TarponChaser said:94chem said:TarponChaser said:94chem said:Houstonians are mostly afraid of sushi, which affects the fresh fish industry on the Gulf Coast.Ag_07 said:
With our proximity to the coast I think we're severely lacking on quality mid-high end range seafood options.
If you wanna slum it Gillhooley's in San Leon but if dirty nasty dive bars with bad as food isn't you're deal Pier 6 in San Leon is a good option.
Say what?
Given the number of great sushi places you're going to have to provide proof to back up your assertion.
No commercial sushi operations in the Gulf. The market won't support it. Have to go to CA or Japan. Many have tried. The fish are plentiful, but the Gulf Coast won't support it.
That's likely more because the most popular fish in sushi aren't exactly prevalent in the Gulf of Mexico. At least not on a commercial basis.
No salmon. And I don't believe there's bluefin tuna. We do get yellowfin and blackfin but I don't believe hamachi (yellowtail) is common at all. Plenty of Gulf-caught snapper goes for sushi though. Makes sense considering Japan is in the north Pacific and the traditional sushi species are more cold-ocean species than the Gulf.
Freeport did everything they could to shut down their wharfs and shrimping industry, now you have to go down to Matagorda and further south. to get anything fresh off the boat. A couple of places in Keemah, but none are major hubs. There was Boyd's in Texas City, but not sure if they really do a lot of off the boat business or if they are more of a wholesale market.
Galveston has a couple, but not many. One of the problems here is that the commercial fishing industry has done everything possible to control every aspect of the market, so places like Katie's Seafood won't ever get my business personally.
Excellent points.
I know some folks who frequently do snapper trips with Guindon's outfit. The folks at Circle H Outfitters work with Katie's too. I forget all the ins & outs but it's not a typical guide trip under state & federal regulations because these operations are purely commercial. So these folks go out and hammer the snapper. You might have 5 people fishing and they're bringing back 100 snapper. I think the hook is that they say you don't pay anything for the trip but you have to buy a certain amount of the catch from Katie's at whatever their price might be.
It's a completely BS end-around of the spirit of the regulations and fcks recreational fishermen while Guindon and his cronies lobby against recreational fishermen being able to do more than 2 snapper per day for a very short season.
Anyway, my overall objection was about the idea that "Houstonians are scared of sushi" when there's clearly a massive demand based on the restaurants.
Good discussion. This is the kind of stuff that the Houston Post used to write about. Local interest politics. I miss newspapers...
94chem,
That, sir, was the greatest post in the history of TexAgs. I salute you. -- Dough
That, sir, was the greatest post in the history of TexAgs. I salute you. -- Dough