Fins and Tails Gourmet Seafood Store

Local Gems of Syracuse is a series of posts designed to highlight the unsung heroes of our culinary life.  Each of them, in their own way, elevates the food scene of Syracuse.

When I was growing up in Brooklyn each weekend my mother and I would buy our groceries for the week on Smith Street.  What is now an uber-chic restaurant row was, at the time--30 years ago--a street where one could find candy stores, a butcher, and a fish monger.  Though big-box supermarkets such as Wegman's have made shopping for seafood more convenient they have, in many cases, removed the knowledgeable fishmonger with access to the best seafood our oceans have to offer from our communities.

Lucky Syracuse.  Tom Farmer and Margaret Ringler of Fins and Tails provide fabulously fresh seafood, an array of locally-produced and hard to find gourmet foodstuffs, freshly made hot dishes and refrigerated prepared foods, and the expertise of people who know their fish.  Despite the fact that they are located on busy Erie Boulevard, Fins and Tails manages to feel like the neighborhood place--customers chat with each other, Tom remembers to ask about one customer's book project, no one is in a great hurry to leave.

Every time I visit Fins and Tails I come out with an unexpected treat.  This week it was fresh off the boat Nantucket Bay scallops.  These were as sweet as Tom promised they would be.  Sad to say, but I had never purchased or cooked scallops before.  But a fellow customer recommended a simple and quick preparation of scallops sauteed in butter and garlic.  I put them on top of some organic field greens from Tierra Farm and I had a meal on the table in minutes.  But though I resisted picking up a jar of the American Spoon lime kiwi salsa, I did grab one of Morning Glory's baguettes.  Morning Glory, based in neighboring Fayetteville, is another (recently discovered) gem of Syracuse that will be written up at a later date. 

In addition to the fresh seafood in stock, Fins and Tails has the ability to order just about anything that lives in water, from anywhere in the world.  Just ask Tom and he'll search it out and get it in.  The market price may be high but if there is something you really want he'll get it. 

Fins and Tails does a brisk business in catering too.  One look at their prepared foods case and its no surprise:  various seafood and pasta salads, crab cakes and salmon cakes, and heat and serve lobster quiche to name a few all vie for your palette.  I had the lobster quiche last month and it is out of this world.  If you can't wait to heat up your food, Margaret creates a changing menu of hot items to take out.

If you have to choose between a place like Fins and Tails and your neighborhood supermarket fish counter here's more food for thought:  you will be hard pressed to find a person who is as knowledgeable and passionate about seafood as Tom Farmer. 

Between ringing up other customers, Tom is more than happy to take the time to talk about things like the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the oyster market.  Even though he gets his oysters from Maryland, the damage in the Gulf means that pressure will be put on the oyster market nationally and drive the cost up.  He delights in explaining how fishing is similar to farming in that weather like the wind and the rain from last week will make it harder to get ground fish such as Haddock and Cod this week due to the difficult fishing conditions.  He obviously cares about the food he carries and enjoys sharing his knowledge.

Fins and Tails is a special place and is worth putting adding to your weekly shopping rounds--whether or not you are a seafood lover.  If you live near Syracuse University and can't make it to Fins and Tails, stop by the Syracuse Real Food Co-op.  As of this week they are carrying a limited selection of Fins and Tails' products including fresh seafood, shrimp salad, and that divinely decadent lobster quiche.

Fins and Tails Gourmet Seafood Store, 3012 Erie Boulevard East, Syracuse, NY 13224, 315-446-5417.
www.finsandtails.com

Comments

[Stefanie Noble]

This is sad, but I always thought that was a pet store (as it's hard to stop and read signs well on Erie Blvd.).

[Mercedes]

Thanks for the heads up! As a "transplant" to the area from the west coast I've been dying for some northwest salmon from either my native home of Washington state or Alaska but so far had not been able to find it until I called Fins and Tails this morning!

[Pet Store]

Looking from those foods made me hungry. However, the burning issue is as what Stefanie said... :( Sad.