Wow... this looks awesome! Too bad it wasn't around for the 5 years I worked in that tiny sliver of Chicago between Park Ridge & Rosemont off of Cumberland.

Elfin wrote:Gary,
How was the charbroiled calamari?

It was octopus and it was excellent.

Finally stopped in today for lunch. Had the Catfish Lunch Special and was blown away.

Two whopping hunks of Catfish sitting on top of a huge mound of fresh cut fries, a cup of slaw, and a cup of the house made tartar sauce. The Catfish was farm raised, so the very soft texture was overwhelmed by the audible crunch of the batter. The flavor was just wonderful, though. The tartar sauce was really unique with an aggressive, but overpowering onion overtone. The slaw was fresh and crisp with a nice zing, and the fries were done nicely, too. Maybe not as perfectly as Rand Red Hots, but still a very good effort.

It's obvious these guys know what they're doing, and trying hard to make better on their few shortcomings. I'm a huge new England Clam Chowder fan. Based on what I've read in this thread, it seems like there might be room for improvement in that area so I'm looking forward to my next visit to see if they've done anything with that.

Buddy

One of the owners told us he was a partner in both the Melrose and Medinah so that's where the experience comes from. Cooked a lot of fish over the yrs and it shows.

G Wiv wrote:Grilled Octopus, Boston Seafood Market

That looks very good. I don't see it on the menu posted a bit above, though; was it a special or just something off-menu that you asked for?

It was on ice in the retail mkt so we just asked if they would and they happily obilged.

Jazzfood wrote:

Elfin wrote:Gary,
How was the charbroiled calamari?

It was octopus and it was excellent.

Yes, agree, the octopus was terrific.

Looks great, thanks for the beautiful pics. We're heading there today!

Does anyone know how/why they ended up calling themselves Boston Fish Market? When I first saw this, I was really excited. My husband is a transplanted Bostonian and on our yearly family visit I gorge myself on steamers and fried clams. I was seriously hoping for a New England Seafood Company sprouting up in the burbs!

jleblanc05 wrote: I was seriously hoping for a New England Seafood Company sprouting up in the burbs!

This is like that on steroids.

stevez wrote:This is like that on steroids.

May I ask what you mean by that? I haven't been to either (although I'm eager to do so). It sounds like they are the same concept - places where you can buy fresh fish to take home and cook, or buy cooked fish to eat on the premises. How do they differ? Are you saying that BFM is bigger, or has more variety, or has higher quality? I appreciate any comments that you (or anyone else) can make, comparing BFM to New England Seafood Co. TIA!

nsxtasy wrote:Are you saying that BFM is bigger, or has more variety, or has higher quality?

Yes. (Although in fairness I'm not sure whether they have proper lobster roll buns or not. I'd guess no)

All I can say about this place is...WOW!!!

Had lunch here yesterday with Mr. Jazzfood who turned me on to the amazing fried Lake Erie perch. Easily on the extreme shortlist for some of the most tasty fried fish I've had anywhere. Even the accompanying tartar sauce was a treat, being on the lighter side but still tasty as hell. The fries weren't bad either.

This place was so impressive, I had to take trix today just to see for herself. Today we sampled the perfectly constructed cod sandwich, busting with elegantly battered, ultra-fresh fish and served on a lovely pretzel roll. Amazingly enjoyable. We also ordered a well coordinated Greek salad as well and really enjoyed, believe it or not, the feta. Certainly not your typical variety being somewhat moist and having a bit of finesse to it.

Even though this is fairly straightforward fare, the attention to detail in the cooking for everything I've tried so far has blown me away.

Right you are PIGMON! Three weekends ago FlavorFool and I were caught off guard by the Greek salad - so fresh, so tasty! Before we left the shop FlavorFool urged me to pick up some of their deliciously fruity olive oil. I hesitated because the container holds 3 liters and I wondered if it would spoil before we finished it. Not to worry. We've made a significant dent in it already. I'm back to my old habit of dipping crusty bread in a saucer of olive oil that I have seasoned with black pepper and red chile flakes. Next time I'm in I'm going to see if they sell the feta and kalamata olives. Just like their seafood, these items are outstanding quality.



UPDATE: Saturday, March 6, 2013

Just got back from another lunch at BFM - Mike told me that the olive oil and the kalamata olives come from Louie's brother's trees and oil/olive business in Greece. They are sold only at BFM Cafe, not distributed. He also mentioned that Louie sources the feta locally but he didn't know where (I'm betting it's imported - I'll try to catch up with Louie on another visit).

Lunch consisted of a small (in name only) Greek salad, grilled octopus and deep fried lake perch with slaw and fries (all pictured up thread and all wonderful - the lake perch was actually sweet!!!). There was plenty to take home. While ordering I told Mike that I loved eating crusty bread dipped in their olive oil. While we were munching on our salad and waiting for the fish - Bam! - Mike lands a plate on our table full of chunks of warm crusty bread splashed with olive oil and dusted with Greek herbs! That was heavenly! Especially good for hoisting bites of nicely charred octopus or soaking up the liquid on the octopus platter. Did I mention these people are NICE . . . Wow!

Brought home 3# of Gulf Red Snapper fillets and a pint of kalamata olives. We'll charcoal grill one fillet tomorrow evening and freeze and vacuum pack the other two for later. Grouper we purchased three weeks ago, froze and thawed before grilling two weeks later, came out better than anything we can buy at our local Sunset Foods or Whole Foods fresh or frozen.

Went back for lunch again last week and had the perch and like others have said it was excellent. The table next to me had grilled scallops that looked really good. Next time I am going to buy some things to take home and cook- Everything in the case looked super fresh.

I traveled all the way from Palos Heights because of the great posts ;I wanted to see for myself.
Wow ....my new favorite place.
4 people ,greek salad.Ceaser salad , table full of wonderfull grilled fish and you were right about the Greek olive oil ;that is a beautilul thing.

G Wiv wrote:Grilled Octopus, Boston Seafood Market

This. Went there for lunch today and asked for half a pound of grilled octopus and got the equivalent of the above if you swap out the olives for peppers and onions. It was fantastic, the most satisfying lunch I've had in a long time. I really like their fried offerings but I need to start checking out their grilled and charbroiled stuff, too. I'll probably be back tomorrow to try some more.

Mid afternoon snack, fresh lake perch Boston Fish Market.

I met some LTHers for lunch there today and was thrilled that I did. To me, Boston Fish Market is a little Santorini meets Lake Michigan fish shack (sure, a few other regions of the world witnessed too). I recall sitting by the water at Amoudi Bay in Oia (Santorini), taking in the stunning views and watching them grill fresh octopus at nearly every waterside restaurant. The octopus was charred, served simply with olive oil, lemon and some fresh oregano, and magnificently tender. While Boston Fish Market's octopus was missing some of that lovely char, it was still beautifully tender, perfectly cooked, and very lightly treated with salt, olive oil, some fresh herbs and olives. I can see myself returning everyday for this octopus.

What separates the Greek salads in Greece from the Greek salads in Chicago is the quality of the produce, and I'm even more reluctant to order a Greek salad in Chicago in April. And yet Boston Fish Market delivered again. The tomatoes not only looked pretty, they tasted pretty good too. No, not like the ones you'll enjoy in August, but still flavorful and not mealy. On top of that, some pretty damn good onions, beets (I know - Greek salad), pepperoncini, olives, red peppers, terrific feta, dried oregano, and terrific olive oil balanced perfectly with acidity. It's been a long time since I enjoyed a Greek salad this much.

Then there were the perfectly cooked sea scallops. If I'm going to complain, I'll say that I would have preferred just a little more char. But these scallops were so perfectly cooked, so tender and flavorful, and again, very simply prepared. They were served with a tasty rice, which if I recall correctly featured some of the very same flavors of olive oil, lemon and perhaps a little oregano.

Moving a little more than 5,000 miles west from Santorini brings you to the fried perch and smelt. Both were outstanding. The perch was perfectly fried - delicate, crisp, moist, flavorful. The smelt were about as good as I've had. Usually I find them terribly overcooked, sometimes overly-breaded. These were so lightly breaded and perfectly fried. You hardly need to dip the perch and smelt, but there is malt vinegar and house-made tartar sauce should you wish. The tartar sauce was fine, although I prefer mine tarter and with dill.

There was also a nicely grilled salmon which I enjoyed, although I'm not sure I'd say it stood out. Finally, a shrimp poor boy. The star of the sandwich was the beautifully fried shrimp. However, that's about the only compliment I can bestow upon this sandwich. I'm rarely a fan of pretzel buns, and I thought the bun was especially wrong here. It's too dense to eat with delicate shrimp and it obscures the shrimp's flavor. No problem, I ate the shrimp separately. We also were hoping for some fried clams, but no luck today.

As you may have read in this thread, yes there are fries and there is cole slaw. The slaw is the standard mayonnaise based slaw - ordinary, acceptable, not worth wasting time with however. For a place that fries fish so perfectly, I'm surprised they can't dish out a better batch of fries. These were well seasoned and not really greasy. But they were just limp enough and just overcooked enough (barely overcooked really) to make them not so great. I suspect the oil's a little too hot too because they weren't entirely cooked on the inside, but dark on the outside. But really, after you get done with the fish and salads here, you'll forget that you were even served fries.

On top of the great food, you can't help but be impressed with the friendly and helpful service, which included delivery of our food to the table and prompt busing of tables. I'm looking forward to many, many visits to Boston Fish Market. Way to go Willie!

Lunch today:



Boston Seafood Market keeps getting better with every visit. This behometh 2.5 pound-ish red snapper was dressed classic Grecian style (lemon, oil, parsley, and oregano) being perfectly grilled and moist as hell. At $21, this could be the single greatest value around.

Took a co-worker who'd never been here for lunch earlier in the week and we had great meal. Ran into Dave148, too . . .


Greek Salad (small)
Interesting the variations in this salad, not only over my few trips to BFM but also as pictured in this thread. On this day, we were treated to scallions, anchovies and beets but no eggs, which was fine with me.



Fried Clams
Lovely stuff. A little funky and nicely crisped.



Lake Perch
One of my favorite items at BFM.



Grilled Octopus
Very tasty but maybe a wee bit overcharred on this particular visit.



Grilled Scallops
These meaty wonders were tender and sweet, and the charring was just a perfect accent.



Grilled Bread
Every bit as good as it looked and I appreciated having a vehicle to sop up the multitude of juices on our plates.



The One That Got Away
The owner stopped by our table briefly on the way to serving these awesome-looking, whole, grilled snappers to the regular customers behind us. Next time for sure . . .

I really love this place because the goods are supremely fresh-tasting and prepared very well. The staff and owners happen to be remarkably friendly, too. The variety of choices is almost overwhelming. It's hard, especially when eating with someone who's never been there, whether to go with known favorites or try new stuff. This time we mixed it up with both and ended up with quite a few leftovers. The fact that it's less than 15 minutes from my office makes it pretty much the best lunch place within easy striking distance. I feel fortunate to have it so nearby.

=R=

This place sort of fell off my radar. Thanks for the reminder that I need to get back in, pronto!

...and you can dine with the LTH North Lunch Group on 5/30.

Boston Fish Market continues to amaze, first of the season soft shell crab $2.75 per. Not huge, but impeccable and very tasty.

Soft shell crab sandwich with radish salad with mint and pistachios.

You bastard. I can't believe I didn't see them there today. I'd pout but I'm still too full of perch, gr snapper, calamari, greek salad and chowda. All but the soup were wonderful. Soup was fair but who cares, so I won't eat hot soup in the Summer. Remains among the best c-food avail in Chi.

Jazzfood wrote:You bastard. I can't believe I didn't see them there today.

They weren't in the case, I called this morning as I knew the season was starting.

Had another stellar lunch at BFM last week that included a couple items I'd not had before . . .


Greek Salad
Ok, so I'd had this before but the baby corn and hearts of palm were new.



Fried Smelt
Very tasty, though I think I like the lake perch a tiny bit better. Still, I'm glad I tried them.



Black Sea Bass
This was just awesome. It was moist and flaky, was cooked perfectly from head to tail, with an irresistably crispy skin. The lemon and olive oil with which it was garnished were right on the money. I cannot remember ever having a whole fish cooked any better than this. Just sensational.

This was the first time I'd had lunch at BFM on a day when I was going home after work, so I also took home a couple of pieces of mahi mahi, which I grilled over lump charcoal on my Weber kettle. This fish was fantastic -- meaty, moist and really fresh-tasting. I'm so glad to have this so near my office. It really is one of the very best places in the area.

=R=

First time there we had both smelt and perch. No contest, the perch killed it. Reminded me of childhood, both real and next's version. The grilled octopus was wonderful as well. Since then I've had a whole snapper that was also cooked perfectly. Some of the most impressive fish I've had in Chicago. Don't waste valuable stomach real estate on the chowder though. The only avg thing I've had here.

Jazzfood wrote:First time there we had both smelt and perch. No contest, the pearch killed it...The grilled octopus was wonderful as well. Since then I've had a whole snapper that was also cooked perfectly. Some of the most impressive fish I've had in Chicago. Don't waste valuable stomach real estate on the chowder though. The only avg thing I've had here.

Ditto.

Even if you love a good New England style chowder, beware. This one's a flour bomb.

ronnie_suburban wrote:
Black Sea Bass
This was just awesome. It was moist and flaky, was cooked perfectly from head to tail, with an irresistably crispy skin. The lemon and olive oil with which it was garnished were right on the money. I cannot remember ever having a whole fish cooked any better than this. Just sensational.

The black sea bass is my favorite thing I've eaten at BFM on my four or so visits there. Again, ditto above.

Our first visit to this place but not our last. We were going out to dinner so we only tried the perch but it was perfect. We will be going back with a large group and bring some wine like the the group sitting next to us. I was told that they will be staying open now until 6:00 on Friday and Saturday.

PSA:
Boston Seafood market is open today, Memorial Day, until 5pm