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Foremost Seafood: Get the Most Out of Lent

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Talk about Fresh …

For many of you this is Lenten season. For many of you it is not.  But there is one thing both groups should know.  A sort of secret place called Foremost Seafood in Kettering sells the freshest fish in town.  With grilling season starting in a couple of months, the timing is perfect for us to share our little know gem once again.

The Food Adventures Crew has been enjoying the benefits of Foremost Seafood for about 12 years now.

We have enjoyed seafood from all parts of the world and the freshest fish you can get your hands on in Dayton.

What’s this place and why is everyone crazy about place?  Let us explain….

HERE’S THE SKINNY on FOREMOST SEAFOOD:

Foremost sometimes gets crowded, so call in your order !

— This little known gem is located at 1904 Woodman Center Dr in Kettering, Ohio.

— Opened in 1983 it is a true mom and pop establishment with two friendly Daytonians at the helm, Tom and Pam Patterson.

— The staff is very knowledgeable and some are trained chefs.  They trim the fish with excellent precision, allowing for great eating and grilling enjoyment.

— Foremost Seafood is the seafood supplier for many local restaurants and grocers.

Fresh Fish trucked in almost every day

Hours: Tues – Friday 9am – 6pm 
                    Saturday 9am- noon
                    Sunday – CLOSED
                    Monday – CLOSED

— Foremost also carries olive oils, seafood spices, seafood  and special local sauces

— Seafood ranges from frozen crablegs and frozen shrimp to live mussels, live clams, live oysters, fresh scallops and more.

Mussels Steamed in white wine

— Fresh fish is brought in daily.  It is bought from 2 day boats which means the boats are only out fishing for 2 days.  After shipping to Dayton, these fish are just out of ocean or freshwater source for typically 3-4 days.  The fish are kept whole and not cut until you order it.  This is done on purpose to stay true to the fish.  They go through the trouble to get 2 day boats, so they keep that freshness by not cutting it up and displaying it until it is ordered.  Thereby minimizing the deterioration of the fresh fish.  The result is the best tasting fish around.

Steamed Clams

— Our favorite specials from time to time include fresh Carolina Shrimp, and live Softshell Crabs… both a couple of days out of the water.  They are definitely “must eats.” 

What other suggestions do we have ?  …… Here is our MUST EATS !

 

MUST EATS:

Fresh Salmon on the Grill and one Tilapia filet

—THE LIVE SHELLFISH:
Foremost has an amazing collection of live clams.  they have different sizes of clams and all are sweet and delicious , and easily steamed at home.  Serve them with butter for a heavenly bite.  The Cherrystones are the big clams we love best.  Also the live mussels are incredible.  Cook them in some wine and garlic and you have a gourmet feast for cheap.  Like Oysters?  Get to shuckin, they have live ones here you can enjoy raw or cook them at home!  Get your own order, we won’t share, we are too shellfish for that.

 

— FRESH ATLANTIC SALMON:
There are numerous types of salmon offered at Foremost Seafood.  From Scottish to Atlantic, we tend to buy the Atlantic Salmon. Quick recipe, get a filet, top it with olive oil, oregano, basil and garlic powder.  Bake it on 350 degrees for 20 minutes and you should have a meal to talk about for weeks,  This fish is the best for grilling in our humble opinion, get it with skin on when grilling and grill skin side down, until the final grill mark flip.

Red Snapper oiled up and ready for the oven

— FRESH RED SNAPPER:
“How’s your snapper maam?”  Fresh here at Foremost Seafood!  An incredible tasting fish, great for baking, needs little more than olive oil to bake it .  The unmistakable scales can be seen if you order the fish with the skin on, which we do.  The skin can be eaten or discarded, and acts as a buffer, to prevent overcooking of the fish.  Wana live on the edge?  Shake some cajun seasoning on that filet and have our own little “hot” party.

 

— THE BIG BAG OF FROZEN SNOW CRAB LEGS:

Look at this bag of snow crab clusters !

It is a party in a plastic bag !  This big bag of crab usaally has 3 or 4 big clusters.  Price is based on weight.  Two ways to cook these legs 1) steam them in 2 inches of water or 2) bake them at 300 degrees  for 15 minutes on a cookie sheet.  Melt some butter and get to crackin’.  The sweet taste of snow crab can really make any day special.

 

— FRESH SCALLOPS:
Always ask for the largest ones they have.  The price is more, but worth it.  The large scallops are succulent and easier to cook. You can grill them or bake them or pan sear them.  All three methods are terrific using olive oil, and promise to bring out the sweet juiciness of the scallops.  Serve with some garlic butter sauce, and you and your guests will be doing the happy dance.

 

Pan Seared Scallops

— FRESH SWORDFISH STEAKS:
 This is a nice presentation fish you can impress your friends with.  The fish is hearty, so it turns out well on the grill, baked or pan seared.  Lemon or fruit flavors pair well when cooking this fish.  People who like steak seem to like this fish.  The freshness of this fish can be seen in the color of the fish.

 

— FRESH LAKE ERIE PERCH AND WALLEYE:

We Baked this Swordfish with a Raspberry sauce


In the mood for some Ohio fish ?  Foremost is your hook up for Lake Erie Perch and Walleye.  These fish are great for fish frys and sandwiches.  Pan Sear the Lake Erie Perch and serve like sliders on dinner rolls with tartar sauce.   Or deep fry the walleye after dredging it using 2 packages Goldent Dipt all purpose breading and 1 Package Drake’s Crispy Fry Mix.

 

Pan Fried, Lake Erie Perch – we served it with seaweed

*****Here are a couple rules of thumb when buying fresh seafood.*****

First off, smell the raw fish you are about to buy.  If it is strong smelling it, means the fish is not fresh, dont buy it.  You want your fish to have that faint ocean smell, definitely not strong or sour.

Sometimes they have the whole fish on site for purchase.  If you are thinking of getting it, note that the clearness of the eyes is a sign of freshness, and the cloudy-eyed fish means it is not so fresh.

Fresh Shrimp

Don’t forget Foremost Seafood this Lenten and upcoming Summer. We have two tips when ordering
1) Get there early when you can , like when they open.
2) Call your order into 937-298-1986 in advance to avoid a line.

This Food Adventure feature as all about where to get fresh fish.  Take advantage of this special business.WE are lucky to have it in our community.

Are you a Dayton Foodie?  Join the 8,000 Dayton Foodies following Food Adventures on Facebook by clicking here to like our page.  Each week we present an exclusive feature article right here and only here on DaytonMostMetro .com.  Stay tuned for more articles !

Please feel free to browse our original photos below.

Outside Foremost Seafood

Frozen Lobster Tails

Dayton Original Sauce for Sale !

Clams and Crab anyone ?

They even have frozen oysters on the half shell !

Live Clams and Frozen Crab ready for the kettle

Glazed baked Salmon

Inside Foremost Seafood

Grilling time soon ….

Live Mussels

Seared Ahi Tuna

Shrimp and Salmon

Live Oysters

Scallops ready to be cooked

Fish fish fish Fish

Big Ragu’s Deep Fried Walleye

Blue Crabs – alive !!

How bout some crab legs ?

Steamed Clams

Baked Crab Legs

swordfish

Baked Red Snapper

Shrimp boiled in beer

 

 

 

Foremost Seafood: The Freshest Fish in Dayton

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Owner Tom Patterson with a fresh fish order

Hey seafood lovers, Food Adventures with The Big Ragu & Crew is about to change your world.  There is a little known secret that has been in the Miami Valley for 30 years.  It is called Foremost Seafood, and it’s located at Woodman Center Drive in Kettering.   It is a seafood distributor, that has a retail store open to the public.  What’s the big deal?   Foremost gets daily shipments (not Sundays) of fresh caught seafood from Boston, Virgina, Florida and Alaskan suppliers.  This allows Daytonians access to an incredible variety of nautical fare and ensures the freshest seafood.  This is the type of access that is usually only found in mega cities.

It started with owner Tom Patterson, who in 1983 was typically listening to music like David Bowie in the basement of his parents home.  From that house he sold his first shipment,  fifty pounds of shrimp to the meat manager at Dorothy Lane Market, Helga.  He still provides seafood to Dorothy Lane Market to this day.  Over the years he has quietly built and empire and runs the buying for the business.  This is important because he is an expert.  Tom has a degree in marine biology from South Florida University.  He worked on shrimp farms in Ecuador in the late 1970’s.  During this time he also was setting trends in Galveston, TX by helping develop new shrimp farming technology.  His knowledge is Dayton’s gain, as this hometown boy is now a successful businessman, bringing quality eats to the Foremost faithful.  And they are faithful, most of his business is from customers that have been visiting the retail store for over a decade.  Today, deliveries from Boston and Virginia arrive by truck the next day, while seafood from Alaska and Florida are flown in specially to Dayton airport.

***HERE’S THE SKINNY:

Live Softshell Crabs are available in season, at Foremost Seafood

— Foremost Seafood is NOT a restaurant, it is a storefront to buy fresh seafood.  Think of it as a mini seafood market.

— Foremost provides seafood for most of the upscale, locally owned restaurants in Dayton.

— The fish they sell were caught on ‘day boats’ (only 1 or 2 days at sea).  Translation: these are the freshest fish available and were not sitting in a ship’s cooler for two weeks.  Only the highest quality is the rule at Foremost Seafood.

— The fresh fish is not displayed, it is kept whole and sliced only at the time of the order.  The reasoning is to keep air and light from deteriorating the meat of the fish. “Be loyal to the fish” is their mantra.  You order from a price list of fresh fish, they trim the fish and bring your order out for the ‘ok’ before they wrap it.

— Locally owed since 1983 by Tom Patterson and his wife Pam.  Another true mom and pop establishment.

Fresh Carolina Shrimp – Never frozen

— Experts handle the fish once it arrives in Dayton.  People like Chef Tony Coletta who worked at Garstkas and Chef Nate Young currently at the Oakwood Club

— Foremost offers over 300 varieties of fresh and frozen seafood specialties.

— Hours are a little tricky: Tuesdays – Fridays 9am -6pm, Saturday and Monday 9am-noon, Closed Sundays

 

***MUST EATS:

Fresh Carolina Shrimp:  Caught just a couple of days ago, these huge shrimp run about $14.99/lb and have never been frozen, which in Ohio is practically unheard of.   Taste the freshness without having to travel to North or South Carolina.  These shrimp are usually the 21-25 count per pound variety, and are absolutely incredible.

Scottish Salmon: Foremost usually offers 4 types of fresh Salmon, but The Big Ragu & Crew recommend the Scottish Salmon for some killer grilling this summer !!

Chef Tony Coletta & the Big Ragu holding a fresh, Wahoo fish that was recently caught in Hawaii

Cherrystone Clams:  Yes, they are alive.  You can shuck them and eat ’em raw, but our favorite is to steam them then dip them in butter.  Either way, be prepared for a fresh taste of the ocean!

Sushi Grade Tuna:  This tuna is super-high quality and can be sliced and eaten raw.  If sushi isn’t your style, consider coating the tuna with red pepper, sesame seeds or any spicy rub.  Then pan-sear it on all sides (even the edges).  We tried it both raw and cooked and loved it all.   Check out our photo album below where we cooked lots of Foremost items and holla’ at your foodie boys.

 

Fresh Tilapia:  You can still see the knife marks on the filets where it was carved.  Talk about fresh!  This mild fish is a favorite, even for the pickiest eaters.  Try it baked for 20 minutes at 350degrees.  Use your own spices, Don’t ask us, we aren’t chef’s we are just two guys that love to eat !  Check out their table of free recipe cards.

Soft-Shell Crabs: This delicacy is for serious eaters!  They are alive.  You can’t get any fresher than that.  The most popular way to cook these are breaded and pan seared.  They are also used in local sushi houses stuffed into ‘spider rolls.’  Softshell crabs are consumed entirely.  That’s right, eat the whole thing, shell and all.  Only for true Food Adventurers, and The Big Ragu, Chef House, and Hungry Jax  say they are delicious ! 

Crab Dip:  This slightly spicy dip is so addicting, you will have to lock the refrigerator.  Get some wheat thins or melba toasts and go to town on this stuff.  Made from a mixture of pseudo-crab sticks and cream cheese, it is perfect party snacking.  Food Adventures will not be held responsible for brawls over the last scoop.

What are you lookin at? Fresh Red Snapper

A couple of side notes:  With the demand for fresh seafood, (over half of it coming from Boston),  once in a while they run out of items.  It is the nature of fresh offerings.   But there are so many other choices like Blue crab from Virgina, Snow Crab legs, live oysters, the list goes on an on.  Fresh fish that we have been buying for years include Red Snapper, Grouper, Wahoo, Bronzini and Halibut.  Also, special orders such as live lobsters need to be pre-ordered.   They even offer do it yourself fish frys where pricing is based on pounds of fish purchased.

For years, The Big Ragu, Chef House and Hungry Jax have been hitting up this place for our party food needs, cookouts, or just a craving for some fish at home.  It is truly one of our favorites.  Foremost Seafood’s philosophy is simple, freshness and being loyal to the integrity of fish in regards to handling.  Owner Tom buys the best and sells the best.

Now you know about yet another Dayton gem.   Our city is lucky to have access to this fresh food.  Don’t forget to visit the free recipe table. Whether you want to eat healthy, or just love fish, get yourself into Foremost Seafood and see for yourself.  There is nothing fishy here.

Check out our stunning photo album below and “like” Food Adventures on Facebook HERE.  Come on, don’t be shellfish….

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