Where to buy fresh raw seafood?

[Dirtracer49]

Where is the closest place to buy fresh shrimp and seafood near the Villages?

[JSR22]

Lighthouse Seafood on 466

[Madelaine Amee]

Where is the closest place to buy fresh shrimp and seafood near the Villages?

We buy fresh seafood from Sam's Club. I have tried everywhere else and find they still have the best selection and price. However, they are not cheap. I have purchased from Publix which is very good, and also Fresh Market. I have also tried the stand aloe fish markets and found them to be extremely expensive, but the variety of fish available is excellent.

I also buy frozen specialties from Aldi's. This past week they had frozen Canadian Wild Caught Lobster tails and Black Tiger Shrimp and that is going to be dinner tonight.

[raynan]

I buy fresh swordfish at Winn Dixie and Publix when they have it available on sale.

[tophcfa]

Another vote for lighthouse seafood on 466. It’s just a little east of Morse Bullivard on the Westbound side of 466. They have very good seafood.

[retiredguy123]

How do you know it's fresh, and not "previously frozen"? Where does it come from?

I heard advice that you should always buy frozen shrimp instead of previously frozen because it will be fresher when you thaw it out yourself.

[JSR22]

Lighthouse seafood market's fish is fresh. They have another store on the coast. I only buy fresh shrimp and fish. I would never buy any farm raised fish or shrimp. I do not buy and fish from Asia. The royal red shrimp are excellent at Lighthouse Market.

[Madelaine Amee]

We had, unfortunately no longer with us, a friend who was an international buyer. He traveled all over the US, Canadian Provinces (Lobsters) and the Netherlands and he recommended always to buy frozen on the ship where it is caught, anything else is several days old, unless you can buy it right from the guy pulling it out of the water! He also recommended only Florida Pink shrimp.

[VIN574]

Either the Lighthouse Seafood on 466 or Sam's club.

[graciegirl]

How do you know it's fresh, and not "previously frozen"? Where does it come from?

I heard advice that you should always buy frozen shrimp instead of previously frozen because it will be fresher when you thaw it out yourself.

I have wondered myself WHERE the fresh seafood comes from in Florida. We have miles and miles of sandy beaches, but I have never seen a fleet of fishing boats in Florida in all of the whole life time we have visited here. I have seen them up North in Massachusetts and in Maryland, but never here. I have become very squeamish of Talapia.

The best fish I have purchased here is the frozen Cod at Walmart. WITHOUT the breading of course. I just tried the frozen unbreaded Cod at Publix, (and I love Publix) but we both thought it was fishy, not nearly as good as Walmart's frozen unbreaded Cod, on the top shelf in the freezer case. It is often sold out. It is cheap AND good.

I am not really used to eating a lot of fish that coastal people are familiar with but have enjoyed good Catfish which they no longer serve at the Lighthouse. AND if you have not had catfish it is very mild, not fishy, has a firm flesh much like cod and can be either baked or fried.

I don't like to buy stuff from people in parking lots with Styrofoam coolers. But that's just me. AND a lot of "fresh fish" I have purchased at Fresh Market and Publix have been disappointing and fishy.

[retiredguy123]

Just to clarify the term "fresh" seafood. The Food and Drug Administration is charged with ensuring that seafood labeling is not false or misleading, but the agency has no definition of “fresh,” and has no standards or criteria for using the term to sell seafood. The seafood industry says that almost all shrimp is frozen on the ship where it is caught. A more descriptive term to look for when buying any seafood is "fresh-never-frozen". But, even that term is not regulated by the FDA.

[Chatbrat]

All shrimp from Sam's is farm raised, the Admiral bought some fresh Florida shrimp from Winn Dixie, they were soft and mealy compared to Sam's frozen Asian farm raised shrimp--they might have been fresh in name only

The frozen Florida shrimp from Publix is OK

[retiredguy123]

I believe that all the shrimp sold by Publix is labeled as either frozen or previously frozen, which is appropriate labelling. But, to me, it make no sense to buy the previously frozen shrimp when you can buy their frozen shrimp and thaw it out in a few minutes under cold water. Even though it is correctly labeled, Publix must know that some people are confused into thinking the thawed shrimp is somehow better than the frozen shrimp. It's just the opposite.

[Chi-Town]

Stokes in Leesburg. A true seafood market.

Stokes Seafood Market & More! (http://www.stokesseafoodmarketandmore.com/)

[UpNorth]

It's not a problem ............ if he was able to read and comprehend what he reads, he would have realized that a fish expert states there is no such thing as fresh fish unless you buy it right o the dock.

I would agree. Freezing stops the fish from deteriorating. Unfrozen fish is generally not as "fresh" as the product that gets frozen on the boat. Good refrigeration helps, but is no match for fish frozen soon after it is caught. It would be nice to buy fish right at the dock, but I don't happen to see any fishing boats around here.

[tophcfa]

I would agree. Freezing stops the fish from deteriorating. Unfrozen fish is generally not as "fresh" as the product that gets frozen on the boat. Good refrigeration helps, but is no match for fish frozen soon after it is caught. It would be nice to buy fish right at the dock, but I don't happen to see any fishing boats around here.

Our freezer is full of Red Snapper that I caught last July off the coast of St. Augustine. It was vacuum sealed and frozen the night it was caught. Totally delicious, can't wait to get to our Villages home and grill some up out in our birdcage : )

[Oneiric]

I have gone into Sam's Club and many times have smelled fish when I entered the door. I think we know what that means.

[David Lloyd]

466 west of Rolling Acres

[neelie]

Danny’s Seafood Lighthouse on 466 near Santa Fe just after Morse Blvd

[omimom]

Here is an interesting article on commercial fishing from the University of Florida
Seafood | Panhandle Outdoors (https://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/nat/category/seafood/)

[butch69]

I agree. Their Jumbo Shrimp is the best we've ever hand. Pricy but worth it.

[butch69]

All I can say is if you like Atlantic Salmon with Teriyaki Sauce you can't beat Walmart's Sam's Choice Frozen Skinless Atlantic Salmon Portions, (24 oz $15.94) with P.F. Changs Teriyaki Sauce ($3.38) you'll really enjoy this. Try it by grilling over med heat 4 minutes a side. It's terrific.

[Clydles1]

You can’t go wrong at Lighthouse. They get their seafood directly from reputable sources and will be happy to tell you how to prepare it. They are more expensive but we’ll worth it.

[mikeritz53]

We like Fresh Market on 466.

[rickaslin]

Where is the closest place to buy fresh shrimp and seafood near the Villages?[/QUOTE]

19th Wholesale sells frozen seafood(cod, flounder,shrimp,salmon) great prices and delivers for free with a 6 pound purchase. 772-812-7608

[BeetleBailey]

Wife & I have tried them all in our 17 years here in The Villages. Danny’s Seafood may not be the cheapest, but we feel it’s the best. You get what you pay for. Never smells fishy. Every thing in their coolers is fresh, although they can special order frozen fish. Wide variety of fresh fish.

[mrbgull]

:bigbow::bigbow::bigbow:Without a doubt, Light House on 466. This IS FRESH fish. Best here by far, and I'm from the North East. Danny does a great job

[THUNDERCHIEF]

Downtown LEESBURG FISH MARKET ON MAIN STREET. MARKET IS AT THE NORTH END OF TOWN ON MAIN

[Laker14]

What about the fresh seafood sold at Brownwood on Saturday mornings?

[JSR22]

What about the fresh seafood sold at Brownwood on Saturday mornings?

Not the same quality as Lighthouse Seafood Market on 466

[TimeForChange]

Where is the closest place to buy fresh shrimp and seafood near the Villages?


Lighthouse on 466. Slams Club has it but I would not trust where it came from.

[tophcfa]

What about the fresh seafood sold at Brownwood on Saturday mornings?

We used to buy very good fresh seafood from the Farmers Market in SS before it was cancelled. Is the seafood vendor in Brownwood the same that used to be at Spanish Springs? They sell their fish out of a boat filled with delicious fish on ice. If it is the same vendor it would be worth the long golf cart ride to Brownwood.

[Aloha1]

We used to buy very good fresh seafood from the Farmers Market in SS before it was cancelled. Is the seafood vendor in Brownwood the same that used to be at Spanish Springs? They sell their fish out of a boat filled with delicious fish on ice. If it is the same vendor it would be worth the long golf cart ride to Brownwood.

Yes, it is.

[CFrance]

Wow! Fresh Market, Lighthouse Seafood, and swordfish.

Our visiting son loves fish. I'm a scaredy cat cooking fish, unless it's baking salmon. I went to Fresh Market today, looking for Chilean sea bass. They had none, but they had swordfish steaks. "I'll take the swordfish," I said. The guy behind the counter said, "You don't want that." What do I know, so I didn't buy.

Then I went to Lighthouse; their swordfish looked fabulous. I could tell the difference from Fresh Market just by looking. I asked them how to cook it. I'm thinking grilled, but the lady said, "Keep it simple, salt & pepper, very lightly dust with flour, pan sear in olive oil and add a knob of butter at the end to baste." I have a 12-inch cast-iron frying pan, so that's what I did. It was a good inch thick (1.37 lb piece). I used salt & pepper and dusted very lightly with Wondra flour. I heated the oil on medium, cooked the fish 6 minutes on one side, turned, added a tbs of butter, 4 minutes on the other side & basted with the butter/olive oil mixture. At $16+/pound, I was a bit nervous, so I cut into it after six minutes when I turned it & cut a minute off the cooking time for second side. (I've heard 11 minutes per inch for fish.) It was sooooooo good.

Our son said it was much better than what he makes at home, but he buys frozen from Kroger. I really think the quality of the fish was so good and the cooking method so simple that I could only mess it up by overcooking. Kudos to Fresh Market's honesty and Lighthouse's quality.

[Nucky]

We split the order for Christmas Eve between Stokes in Leesburg and The Lighthouse. The Lighthouse wins by a Dorsal Fin.

Truthfully everything from both stores were great, no complaints here. The Snow Crab Legs were perfect and the Lobster and Scallops were great to!

CFrances meal has my mouth watering but it's Italian night tonight over here!

[CFrance]

We split the order for Christmas Eve between Stokes in Leesburg and The Lighthouse. The Lighthouse wins by a Dorsal Fin.

Truthfully everything from both stores were great, no complaints here. The Snow Crab Legs were perfect and the Lobster and Scallops were great to!

CFrances meal has my mouth watering but it's Italian night tonight over here!
"wins by a dorsal fin..." lol :)