FRIDAY FORAGING: FRESH FISH?

Foraging Friday documents Kitchen Toro's exploration of New York's diverse restaurants, neighborhoods, stores and their ingredients and flavors.



At left you can see the new awning which has appeared over this shuttered storefront a few blocks from my house. I don't know when Fish Eden will be opening but if it's quality stuff I can't tell you how happy I'd be being able to pick up fish on the way home to make dinner.

The location is one of those corner spots that should make for a successful business. It used to be a cramped but successful flower store (buying flowers there on Mother's Day was a horror) until they moved to a larger place across the street. Then it was a deli, which didn't make any sense at all as we already have the Polish-American deli (more on that some other day) across the street run by Sam who stays open very late and to whom the neighborhood is pretty loyal and two other delis on the two blocks to the left and right of the storefront. It was clean and nicely done but ultimatedly doomed.

When I passed Fish Eden a few days ago the shutters were up and there were some construction workers in full demolition mode inside. It'll still be some time before I'm mulling over what we'll be eating for dinner but this is already much more promising than what was there before.

Besides the two local (and pretty sad) Greenpoint supermarkets, the other nearby fish alternative until recently was a guy standing outside the Polish barber shop (right) on top of the metal pavement shutters with styrafoam containers of ice and sad little fish. Of course, this was only on those days that either he or some other guy wasn't selling used shoes in the same place.

Yeah, ahem, they're closed now too.