Fresh Seafood

The Wall Street Journal - online

Cooking the fish connoisseurs crave with a top chef; first catch of a four-week season
By KATY MCLAUGHLIN
May 26, 2007

I've cooked plenty of fish. But today, my hands nearly tremble as I try to cut into a $34.50-a-pound fillet of Copper River king salmon from south-central Alaska. It's from the season's first major supply of fresh wild salmon and one of the most expensive, exclusive and hyped fish on earth.

My instructor is chef Tom Colicchio. Owner of acclaimed restaurants in New York and elsewhere and head judge on Bravo's "Top Chef" television show, Mr. Colicchio is known for letting pristine ingredients' flavors come through. He appears slightly annoyed at sharing his kitchen with an amateur. I fumble his instructions to cut the salmon "without pushing down on the flesh," so he takes over and slices effortlessly. "This is good fish," he murmurs as he handles the bright orange flesh, stoking my fear of ruining it.

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Messenger Archives - April 2006

April 11 will be Sol Amon Day in Seattle. Amon, celebrating 50 years as owner of Pure Food and Fish, is commemorating his golden anniversary with cake and balloons at noon. Amon is donating the day's proceeds to the Market Foundation.

His dad Jack Amon came to the Market in 1911; "Solly" has been here ever since, through it all. Nearly 25 years ago, Sol became the first Market merchant to support the Foundation's efforts to fund the Market's services for low-income people. Today, he's the Market's longest-tenured merchant, and has been proclaimed the 2006 "King of the Market." The pragmatic Amon is still here most days. Modestly, he says, "our job is pretty simple. We sell fish seven days a week, and it's the best and freshest you can find anywhere."

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03:31 PM PDT on Friday, May 11, 2007
By ALLEN SCHAUFFLER / KING 5 News

Nobody has been in business at the market longer than Sol Amon.
"In this location 51 years," says Amon.  "I bought this market in 1956 with my dad."

Video

Sights, sounds of Pike Place Market

The man behind Pure Food Fish has so much fun he can barely call this work and has more than half a century here.

"This is the best the market's ever been right now," said Amon.

We all know the things that make Pike Place Pike Place Market: the sidewalk musicians, the flying salmon, the flowers, the produce, the original Starbucks, that iconic sign and the superstar bronze pig named Rachel, the hustle and bustle of commerce and community that has been a fixture downtown since onion prices soared out of sight in 1907 and civic leaders invited farmers to the corner of First and Pike to sell produce direct to city folk.

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For the discriminating foodie, three shopping meccas by Ronald Holden

A fundamental truth underlies everything about food: unless you grow it, raise it or catch it yourself, you need a marketplace in which to find it. Even if you bake your own bread, you still need to buy flour; if you raise tomatoes in the backyard or a pot of herbs on the windowsill, you still need to buy salt and pepper.

One of the reasons Seattle has become such a great food community is its abundance of raw materials: seafood, mushrooms, fruit, clean water. Add to that the hardworking farmers, fishermen and foragers, and the well-established networks for getting the ingredients of their goodness into the hands of buyers. In short: we've become a city of great marketplaces.

We'll look at traditional, small-scale farmers' markets in upcoming issues. For a start, though, a stroll through three of Seattle's biggest and most colorful.

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Sunday, July 07, 2002, 12:00 a.m. Pacific
Permission to reprint or copy this article or photo, other than personal use, must be obtained from The Seattle Times. Call 206-464-3113 or e-mail resale@seattletimes.com with your request.

Job Market

By Lisa Heyamoto
Seattle Times business reporter

Veteran vendor Sol Amon has seen a lot from behind the counter of his fish shop at the Pike Place Market.

He’s seen the days when he had to have ice hauled in to keep his fish fresh, the days before ice was made by machine.

He’s seen the Market nearly go under and rise again to unprecedented popularity. But mostly what he’s looking at now is a whole lot of tourists.

It’s summertime, and the foot traffic is bumper to bumper as shoppers — window and otherwise — pack the market for a sample of its wares.

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Tuesday, April 11, 2006, 12:00 a.m. Pacific
Permission to reprint or copy this article or photo, other than personal use, must be obtained from The Seattle Times. Call 206-464-3113 or e-mail resale@seattletimes.com with your request.

By Erik Lacitis
Seattle Times staff reporter

DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Sol Amon dons the apron of Pure Food Fish Market, which he has operated for 50 years at Pike Place Market. Amon, who goes by "Solly," has become an institution at the Market and, at 76, has no plans to retire. "I need the business more than it needs me," he says.

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Pike Place Market News – April 2006

From now until eternity, April 11 will officially be Sol Amon Day, throughout Seattle. Amon, celebrating 50 years as owner of the Pure Food and Fish, also the 2006 King of the Market, is commemorating Pure Food & Fish’s golden anniversary with ceremonious cake and balloons, at high noon, on April 11. The public is invited.

To mark this special day, Amon (a.k.a. “The Cod Father”) is generously donating the day’s proceeds to the Market Foundation, to fund the Market’s Clinic, Senior Center, Food Bank and Preschool. Marlys Erickson, Foundation executive director, says Amon is as much of an icon in the Market and the Market is an icon of Seattle. His dad, Jack Amon, came to the Market in 1911 and ‘Solly’ has been here ever since. (Fish is so much a part of him his name is similar to salmon.)

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Travel & Outdoors: Thursday, December 27, 1990
Emmett Watson

The most recognized physiognomy in metropolitan Seattle may not belong to Jean Enersen, Mike James, Wayne Cody or Mayor Norm Rice. That honor, if an honor it is, could belong to a tall, angular, gray-haired, slightly bald Seattle native named Sol Amon.

``Who?'' you ask.

The one and only - Sol Amon, a Sephardic Jew of Turkish descent, who is known and recognized all over the world. He has appeared on many local TV shows and some national ones, featuring Charles Kuralt and Willard Scott, the ``Today'' show's bumptious weatherman.

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How to Cook Mussels

Mussels must be thoroughly cleaned and rinsed several times before cooking. Mussels purchased from Pure Food Fish Market will have already been cleaned, so a quick rinse before cooking will suffice.

Once the mussels have been thoroughly cleaned, remove and discard any shells that are open or broken.

Mussels only need to be steamed in a tiny amount of liquid, due to the fact that when they open up during cooking, they release their own liquid, which makes a tasty broth or sauce. If there is too much liquid, the flavour of the mussels' own liquid will be diluted and completely lost. Take care when seasoning the broth, as the liquid from the mussels is quite salty and does not need too much more salt.

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How to Cook and Prepare Alaskan King Crab Legs

Quick Cooking Facts and Tips

• You should allow frozen crab to thaw in your refrigerator overnight before cooking and/or consuming.
• The majority of crab cooking processes require a brief re-heat time of 5-10 minutes because our king crab has already been cooked.
• King crab should be added to stews and soups around the last 5 minutes of the cooking process.

Cooking Frozen King Crab Legs
Most frozen crab legs are already pre-cooked so they will just need to be heated. When cooking frozen crab legs, we recommend that you place them in a colander or steamer over rapidly boiling water. The pot should be about one-third of the way filled with water. You will need to cover the pot and steam your frozen crab legs for about ten minutes or until they are completely heated.

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