Fresg Fish UWS

Citarella, Whole Food, Fairway.

It's well worth the schlep to Chinatown for fresh seafood.

Citarella's seafood dept is a cut above Fairway's. Just look at the sourcing of the fish, they way they wrap it, the knowledge of the counter guys and the number of times per hour they spend cleaning whole fish for clients. You might also want to check out Lobster Place" at the Chelsea market, but then your leaving the UWS.

Look at the way Fairway has the cooked shrimp right next to the raw shrimp, often piled so high over the (symbolic) plexiglass divider that they're touch-dancing all over.

Citarella is known to be much better, but I think they too are coasting on reputation. Mussels I bought from them had the same dead/fail rate as those of Fairway, about 50%, totally unacceptable. Chinatown mussels are something like 5% dead. Even though it's even further from PEI.

Also if you live in a doorman building, this is a great source. Comes packed in dry ice.

http://www.fishex.com/

We like Joon, which is our local store (we're in the 90s). Fairway Uptown has pretty nice fish too, and I like it better there than the Fairway in the 70s.

Citarella hands-down.

Citarella: Seafood to impress the boss, when money is no object.
Whole Foods Market: Very good value if you stick to the week's specials.
Joon (98th & Amsterdam): Nice clean place, nice people, good stuff.
Kim's (104th off Amsterdam): Like Chinatown, without the schlep.

Fairway at 74th is a good place to go after retreating from Citarella with sticker shock. Good selection, fair prices.

Yet another vote for Citarella. Simply the best and worth the money.

>>Fairway at 74th is a good place to go after retreating from Citarella with sticker shock. Good selection, fair prices. <<

From sticker shock to shell shock. That place is pure pandemonium.

Bramstar: Fairway 74 has been less crazy since Trader Joe's opened on 72nd. Even during peak hours, you can get in and out pretty fast if you qualify for the express line. And there's seldom much of a wait at the fish counter. Of course, you still have a good chance of being rammed by a shopping cart in those so-called aisles.

Try going to some farmers markets, like Union Square or TriBeCa on a Saturday. There you can buy fish just caught in the waters of Long Island and cheaper than the stores. But it's far better. Nothing like freshly caught fish. The one in Tribeca is highly recommended by Zagat.

Don't think the TriBeCa one will open until Memorial Day weekend.