PrintHoliday Price Gouging...
I called a local seafood place (**cough, cough Ward's Seafood**) to make my Christmas Eve fish order. They have been around FOREVER and most locals swear by them.
Q: "I need 14 whole, live lobsters. How much do you get for lobster?"
A: "$18.99 a pound."
Me: "That's obscene."
Clerk: "That's been the price for six months and it's not even locked in for the holiday."
Me: "So I can show up on Monday morning and it can be more?
Clerk: "Yes."
Go online... Superpages "Fish Market, Clearwater."
Find another place: Harr's Surf & Turf.
Call Harr's.
Q: "What do you get for lobster?"
A: "$12.99 a pound."
Me: Get someone on the phone who can take an order.
I escaped gouging by the skin of my teeth. You?
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7 Comments:
Around here, I've seen lobster close to twenty dollars a pound.
Luckily, we have Maryland Blue Crabs. They make for a less impressive entree, but you can't beat a summer crab feast.
KarynMC at 11:35AM on 12/26/07
This happened to me. I went to get some crabmeat in MD (right on the Chesapeake Bay) and was told it was 21.00 per pound (Dec 22) and I said ha and walked out. I went to Costco and got it for 10.99 per pound.
I wanted to make crab cakes. I want to know who in their right mind would pay 21.00 for canned crab meat, the fresh was INSANE at almost 40 bucks a pound.
JerzeeTomato at 11:56AM on 12/26/07
JerzeeTomato - For canned crab meat, I wait for Weis sales. They sometimes do two cans for ten dollars . . . .
KarynMC at 12:28PM on 12/26/07
A butcher close to where I live normally sells whole, untrimmed beef tenderloin for about $8 a pound -- not too bad if you're willing to do the work yourself. They didn't have any out, but happily brought me two from the back -- with a price tag of $16.99 per pound! This being what they usually charge for trimmed chateaubriand, I asked if there was a mistake and was met with, "Well that's the going rate." Luckily, the same store had a whole strip loin on sale for $3.49 a pound -- a much better deal for a good piece of meat.
Dominic
the zen kitchen
dvchurch at 12:53PM on 12/26/07
@Karyn - I envy you. I was able to have a wonderful, steaming basket of garlicky blue crabs exactly once since moving to FL in 2002. And pffffft to not making an impressive entree - they certainly make my mouth water!
@Jerz - Andrews or Blue Star Canned Crab - you absolutely cannot go wrong. Gorgeous chunks of pristine crab in the can (either brand) and always refrigerated. They are sold at Costco for sure but may also be at Sam's Club. BTW, if you're using it for stuffing, the claw meat is just as good and usually lower in price. (Those are the only 2 brands I trust. I hate that Kitty Food Aisle Canned Crab used by the likes of Sandra Lee!)
@Dominic - holy cow! (And it must have been holy at that price! Good move on the whole strip.
Believe me, I will remember that conversation and I will not spend another penny at Ward's. Their loss and certainly not mine.
chiff0nade at 1:46PM on 12/26/07
@Karen ah you live close by. I buy fresh whenever I can often from a grovery store right in MD. But this time I went to a seafood place that was just within MD right on the bay and was horrified. I often buy canned because I usually throw it in pasta sauce or make crab cakes with it.
@Dom I usually find a place where it is on sale and then ring the bell and ask for a bigger roast. Or I get 2 smaller ones. The roast I am serving New Years day was bought on sale for 3.99 per pound and it is over 7 pounds and I was glad for that. It is a somewhat trimmed beef loin.
JerzeeTomato at 6:02PM on 12/26/07
I'm sorry - had a brain short circuit. It's PHILLIPS crab meat that's great and I don't know why I keep seeing "Andrews" in my head. My apologies.
chiff0nade at 6:04PM on 12/26/07