Ask Metafilter is trying to get to the bottom of one of the most pressing questions of our time: is it really a bad idea to eat fish in NYC restaurants on Mondays? The quick answer appears to be "maybe"-- it depends on the quality of the restaurant. Some responses:
I've worked in four restaurants all in the NY tri-state region. Only one recieved a fish order every single day of the week, and the place specialized in seafood, particularly local. The fish came from the town docks and from an indie wholesaler. The other three received fish orders twice a week.
My grandfather used to swear by this truism, or so I have heard (he died before I was born.) I can't believe that restaurants are still getting fish deliveries the same way they did in the 40s. Nothing else is the same, why would the fish delivery schedule have remained constant for over 50 years?
Honestly, if there's any chance that Monday's fish has been lying around for four days, we'd probably err on the side of caution. Especially after reading this famous quote from Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential:
"You walk into a nice two-star place in Tribeca on a sleepy Monday evening and you see they're running a delicious-sounding special of Yellowfin Tuna, Braised Fennel, Confit Tomatoes and a Safron Sauce. Why not go for it? Here are the two words that should leap out at you when you navigate the menu: 'Monday' and 'Special'.
"Here's how it works: The chef of this fine restaurant orders his fish on Thursday for delivery Friday morning. He's ordering a pretty good amount of it, too, as he's not getting another delivery until Monday Morning. All right, some seafood purveyors make Saturday deliveries, but the market is closed Friday night. It's the same fish from Thursday!
Almost totally unrelated: McSweeney's has an amusing list today-- My Rejected Cooking Show Ideas.
