J & P West Coast Seafood, Inc.

Fish Tales

     One of the greatest pleasures in visiting our Long Beach Harbor Area Farmers market Sunday mornings at the Marina is personally connecting with the vendors who come to sell their goods each week.  The colorful personalities of the merchants reflect the radiance and gusto of their products.  Santiago, selling his hearth greens andplacing a bunch of lavender in your palm as he kisses your hand, or the beaututy behind the herb cartthat promises to teach me how to affix false eyelashes like hers.  Each has learned that the most valuable lesson in sales is about creating relationship with your clients. 

     When I first started going to the market, there was one vendor in particular whom I found to be the most captivating.  Each week I would stand in the distance and watch as onlookers fell into a trance as they stepped forward into his line to buy fish.  The line is always wrapped around his truck.  Who is this king of fish who casts his spell on fish lovers near and far?  His name is Peter, and he is one-half of the partnership of the celebrated J&P West Coast Seafood. 

     "Real fish eaters only buy fresh fish," Pete tells me in his distinct Chicago dialect.  After moving from Chicage to sunny southern California, Pete and his father chose the harbor area of San Pedro to establish J&P West Coast Seafood twenty-seven years ago.  Rooted deep in their Italian heritage and work ethic, the two set forth to  bring the southland the freshest fish available and create lasting relationships.  Working with fishermen form Morrow Bay and distributors form our local surrounding areas, Pete only buys a seasonal selectiion of fish to gurantee the best quality, consistancy, and flavor.   

     Most restaurants and grocery chains buy their fish prefiltered to keep costs down, which compromises the quality.  By keeping the fish whole, as J&P does, the excellence is maintained, yet it requires the committment and several caf'e lattes to jump start the process of filleting on site.  Pete is up at the crack of dawn to meet the fishing boats that bring in whole fish for him and his staff to fillet.  Fish are beheaded, gutted, and cut just hours before they arrive at the farmers market for purchase. J&P only purchases fish caught within twenty-four hours.  The best way to select your fish is to check the moisture - the more mositure the better.  If its dry, it's been sitting for too long.  This is often the fate of supermarket purchased fillets. 

     "Great foodis the key to ambience," Pete says.  "Make sure your readers understand that."  His selection is plentiful, and included beautiful ahi tuna, which he recommends to buy oily if you are making sushi.  He also sells the "god of broiling fish": moist and thick sea bass.  The jumbo shrimp are so big it appears they may just jump off his truck and walk themselves back to the beach.  Their biggest seller is the limited Copper River salmon.  This years Copper River salmon, which many contend is by far the most flavorful, are still swimming.  Their usual season runs about four weeks; it has been very abundant this year, and slamon lovers are ecstatic that J&Pare still selling it after six weeks.  Another favorite is the lingcod, which is a perfect match for fish and chips.  The petrale sole is the best sole you can buy, and Pete recommends wrapping the sole around a lump of crabmeat and baking it in the overn with some butter and lemon.  If you want to make it a bit meatier, try what Pete referrs to as the "tropical swordfish."  Making its way from Hawaii, the opah is a heavyweight contender, grill it only on one side and serve it with tropical flavors only.

     Bob Zarelli, a client for twenty years, sums J&P up best.  " I came for the fish and made a good friend, Zarelli says.  "It's the quality and the friendship that keeps me comming back."