That means not only the arrival of the pepper-and-egg sandwich at your local beef stand, but also a focus on seafood. Our Food Guy Steve Dolinsky says there’s a pair of suburban fish markets where they sell wholesale and retail, plus serve their catch in a casual restaurant.
With the season of Lent now underway, many Catholics turn their attention away from meat.
That means not only the arrival of the pepper-and-egg sandwich at your local beef stand, but also a focus on seafood. Our Food Guy says there’s a pair of suburban fish markets where they sell wholesale and retail, plus serve their catch in a casual restaurant.
Old School fish markets like Hagen’s on the Northwest Side or Calumet Fisheries down south will see a bump in business over the next few weeks. But so will an importer with two suburban locations, who’s been in business for more than 30 years.
The name of the business might be a little confusing, until you understand why the owner of Boston Fish Market – with locations in Wheeling and Des Plaines – decided to keep it.
“Originally I was in Boston, and I was fisherman back in Boston in the 80s,” said Louis Psihogios, owner of Boston Fish Market.
13 years ago, they added a restaurant, which just got a massive addition last year, making it a sunlit, yearround patio. The advantages of running a wholesale business in back and a restaurant out front are pretty obvious.
“Anything that swims, we have it. And always fresh,” he said. “We import from Japan, we import from Greece, Spain, Europe, Alaska, Hawaii,” said Psihogios. “Also, I have my own boats: Canada for freshwater fish – walleye, whitefish, lake perch, smelts.”
Enormous tuna from Hawaii, wild salmon, Branzino, mountains of calamari. And with Lent underway, Psihogios says he notices a major bump in business.
“Lent it increases about 20 to 30 percent. That’s huge. Every day you can see it now, every day the same thing – they buy the fresh fish, they put together at home, dine-in,” he said.
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Butter-poached lobster ends up in pretzel buns; a kitchen sink of mussels, calamari, king crab and lobster are served over a bowl of pasta, but you’ll need an army to tackle it. Same goes for the gumbo. Crab cakes and cod come out of the fryer and there’s always a bowl of chowder available. The options are only limited by your imagination.
“We can grill it, sauté, fry, Cajun…you name it, we make it,” Psihogios said.
The Wheeling location also has retail and a restaurant attached. They also have a specials board posted letting you know what they just got delivered from O’Hare, usually within 48 hours of being pulled out of the water.
1225 E. Forest Ave., Des Plaines
847-296-1111
412 N. Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling
847-243-3700
