Via Mare and the saga of the accidental shrimp

I spent swaths of last summer improving my perfection with various medical procedures. After one encounter with scalpel and sutures, I stopped at Palermo Bakery* for an eclair and other soothing baked goods. As I was waiting to be served, a man walked out clutching massive bags of bread crumbs. Wondering if he was a birder or was planning on stuffing acres of artichokes, I asked what he was planning to do with all those crumbs. He explained that he owns a fish shop over at Addison and Oriole and he used the breadcrumbs on his fried fish. My lunch plans immediately changed, and eclair and I drove to the Via Mare Fishmarket.

Via Mare is a small corner place that does nothing to stand out or catch your eye. There's signage, but it's pretty obscure behind the streetlights & stoplights on the corner. Inside, the place has an iced display case with a very small quantity of fish laid out directly on crushed ice. [I assume that the quantity is small because the proprietors only want to have on hand what they can sell fresh, although I've never specifically checked this out]. On my most recent visit, there were about a dozen very fresh looking baby octopus, a handful of cleaned calamari, and 3-5 fresh skate reclined on the ice, along with some shellfish [clams?] and a few other white fish specimens. There are freezer and refrigerator cases off to the side of the store, with frozen fish, pizzas, and cold drinks. On the right side of the ice case the breaded items for frying are stored. And this is the point of origin for the best fried shrimp I think I've ever had.

Hagens' gets a lot of love here, and my Scandinavian side has urged me to love the place. But I've always found their fried fish items overly bready and not as fresh-tasting as I would like. [My stomach belongs to my mother's Sicilian people, apparently.] Via Mare's fried shrimp are very lightly breaded, taste very, very, very fresh, and have already had their tails removed, so there's no waste. The second and third times I went there I also ordered some fried calamari, too. The calamari was taken directly out of the display case, cut and prepared in the back. Rather that coat the calamari with breadcrumbs, it was lightly coated with flour before it was fried. It was also fried to perfection, like the shrimp: sweet, fresh, tender, flavorful.

On my most recent visit there, a couple was seated at the one table, chatting with the proprietor and another man [in Italian, thwarting my eavesdropping, darn them]. I thought they were just hanging out until two plates of very tasty looking grilled salmon came out of the back and were placed in front of them. The fish was as simply presented as possible: grilled, splashed with some olive oil and some fresh parsley. No sides at all. [Didn't notice any garlic, either]. I squinted at the menu board until I finally found where several grilled fish were listed; I hadn't ever noticed that part before. As I was leaving, I could see thru the back door into the kitchen, where the prep counter was decorated with a huge bouquet of fresh parsley. Sigh. Beautiful and tasty.

This place is the nearly perfect shrimp stop. My last visit fell that much short of perfection, though. My shrimp were from the bottom of the container, and more breading seems to adhere to the shrimp as they sit waiting to be fried. One of the women who works in the kitchen brought out a new batch of shrimp while I was waiting there, and these were the very lightly breaded variety I'd eaten before. And these last shrimp suffered slightly from being cooked in oil that is due to be changed. But, honestly, I'm quibbling here. Best fried shrimp I've had in Chicago. Maybe best fried shrimp I've had anywhere.

Giovanna

Via Mare Fishmarket
7601 W Addison Street
Chicago, IL 60634
(773) 625-3205

*Palermo Bakery doesn't have thread of it's own. It's mentioned in several Harlem Ave. & cannoli threads. Good sweet items, good breads, my absolute favorite version of pizza bread.

I eat here once a week. Show them some love.

One day they gave me several raw cannolini clams that knocked my socks off. Watch for them.

-ramon/m

Via Mare
Been going there for our christmas eve fish dinner since it was Washington Island. Never made it there other than then, guess I owe it a stop.
Palermo is my favorite bakery in the area. Great cookies and even better price. Hoping one day for my birthday my wife will suprise me with the big canolli.

I ate there a few times when it was Washington Island. It was OK, but not great. Then they changed owners and the one time I tried them it was awful. Now it sounds like they might have changed owners again so maybe it's worth another try. Unfortunately I'm sort of addicted now to Frank's Chicago Shrimp House. They have a location a little further east on Addison (never tried that one) and one on Franklin Ave. in Franklin Park. Their Chicago style shrimp has a touch of garlic and are huge Gulf shrimp. And their hush puppies are great.

Frank's Chicago Shrimp House
5439 W Addison St
Chicago
(773) 286-2533

and

9745 Franklin Ave
Franklin Park
(847) 455-1934

Good detective work and fine write-up, Giovanna. I don't think I can remember ever seeing this place, but will be on lookout now.

This place is a gem! I've had some friendly experiences there, but it is my dream to join the frequent long tables of men sitting around eating course after course of Italian seafood...in the middle of the day! It's like some weird episode of Tony Bourdain going on all the time. I am so envious.

They probably make the best seafood salad that I know.

You need to come on Wednesday to get the best selection of seafood brought in from east coast fisherman. By Friday, nearly all the fresh fish is gone for the week. Then, go for the locally (WI) smoked fishes, which are pretty top notch too.

Hmmm sounds like we need a shrimp shack shimmy (like a Shake Crawl, but a longer path?)

TBC, I don't think Via Mare's shrimp are all that note-worthy, though I and you should respect Giovanna op.

It should also be noted that this is a take away place only. Well, they do have one four top. And sometimes, miraculously, other seating appears.

I think its charm is its Italian-ness, its insider-ness, and its fresh-ness. When I want to cook fish for dinner, this is my neighborhood place to check first. I won't find a lot of choices, but what I will find will be aces for a fair price. Darn nice people too, though they can be quirky. Like you aren't ...

The location has been a shrimp shack for 30 plus years and gone through multiple ownerships / management. If you been here a long time ago, it ain't the same.

Now, I'd advise to look beyond the shrimp, though, and ask what is freshest and seasonal? What would they eat? The standard menu board items are just fine, but dig a little. Or not, and enjoy.

-ramon

Went there last night and picked up some grilled shrimp. Took about 15 minutes to get but worth the wait got the grilled shrimp and they were very very good. Fresh and sitting in a wonderful garlic, olive oil, lemon sauce, they also took the time to arrange them in the container nicely, not just thrown in. Its a five minute walk from my house and i will go back more than just for Christmas eve.Thanks

2146 north wrote:they also took the time to arrange them in the container nicely, not just thrown in. Its a five minute walk from my house and i will go back more than just for Christmas eve.Thanks

I am filled with admiration when I see shopkeepers make those small efforts that show they give a flying damn. At John's GAR last month, we picked up a Mother-in-Law to share, and as he was serving it, the guy behind the counter slowing wiped the styrofoam cup to pick up microscopic slops of sauce around the periphery. I really appreciated that.

It'd be interesting if Via Mare did some special Italianate Xmas seafood dish (unlikely, from what I've heard of the place, but interesting possibility).