If you are looking for the freshest seafood to satisfy your cravings, go directly to Park Seafood Center in Whitestone, where treasures from the seven seas are sold every day.
Hee Don Park has been pleasing discerning shoppers for almost 33 years – he prowls New York’s legendary fish market in the wee hours of the morning, filling his store at 24-22 149th Street with the best of the best when the doors open at 8:15 a.m.
Faithful customers come from as far away as Port Washington to shop there.
You can purchase fish whole, cleaned, filleted or steaks – everything plump, fresh and iced.
What do you crave?
If it’s salmon, they have wild or farm-raised, Atlantic, Pacific and Scottish; King Salmon from Alaska, Arctic char and the distantly related brook trout – everything from A to Z – at least from anchovy to whiting.
Striped bass, tuna, branzini, mahi-mahi and more; traditional favorites like fresh sardines, gopa and codfish of course, fresh or salted – both baccalà and stocco.
If it isn’t finfish that you’re seeking, seek out Park, or son Roger, who’s been manning the helm “since I was a kid” when dad is taking some well-earned time for himself.
Live lobsters from 1¼ pound “chicks” to over-2-pounders await in tanks – claws and tails on ice. Shrimp from cocktail-size to the eye-popping jumbo Tiger shrimp abound.
They have head-on fresh shrimp, squid and octopus from Florida, Greece and Morocco; par-cooked scungilli and even fresh sea urchin. Oysters? Check. Mussels? Of course. Clams? Steamers or hard-shell, tiny vongoli, littlenecks, top necks and cherrystones.
Park Seafood Center features “steaming service” for those who want to leave the cooking to an expert. They offer prepared dishes like baked clams ready for re-heating.
And if the cooking is part of the fun, they stock dozens of spices, sauces and condiments – there’s even a basket of fresh lemons at the counter.
If it’s treasure of the sea that you seek, Park Seafood Center is your goal. It’s on 149th Street, just off Willets Point Boulevard, open until 7:15 p.m. Monday through Saturday, Sundays until 5:30 p.m. Call them at 718-961-2536 for more information.
