Roadside Shrimp

[The Dude]

Check this shit out…go to most intersections in Miami and you’ll invariably find someone selling some food or drink in a plastic bag: oranges, mangos, lychees, coconuts, pineapples, limes (Jesus, they LOVE to sell the limes), even bottled water….and shrimp.

Yeah, that’s right shrimp…seafood…outta a plastic bag.

Now you’d never find me buying much of anything, much less seafood, what a wetback or boogie is hawking out on the street, especially a guy walking around on 441 with a bag over his shoulder in 144 degree weather. Get that fucking shit away from me.

I am being a snob here or just being a sensible white man?

[TheWagesofSin]

stupidest snack ever



(in other words, I've never had roadside shrimp. Never even knew it existed. Here in LA we have "Freeway Offramp Oranges".)

[The BYP]

Only if their being sold by hot chicks in thong bikinis like the hot dog vendors in Miami, otherwise no.

[djb]

I wouldn't buy fresh shrimp in the summer heat. Back in the late 70's I used to buy frozen lobster tails from an oriental guy in a Datsun 510 wagon parked on the side of the road. They were actually pretty damn good. The packaging said they were from Thailand and you'd get 6 medium tails for around $10.00 which was a good price even back then. I must have bought 20 bags from him in a year's time.

[Franks n Beans]

Only if their being sold by hot chicks in thong bikinis like the hot dog vendors in Miami, otherwise no.

You know, I never did see those "Vendors"

[djb]

I wouldn't buy fresh shrimp in the summer heat. Back in the late 70's I used to buy frozen lobster tails from an oriental guy in a Datsun 510 wagon parked on the side of the road. They were actually pretty damn good. The packaging said they were from Thailand and you'd get 6 medium tails for around $10.00 which was a good price even back then. I must have bought 20 bags from him in a year's time.


This is a real report one should read before eating "roadside shrimp"....
http://www.citizen.org/cmep/images/ChemicalCocktailCover.jpg

[Spooner]

No on "shtrimp," but hells yeah on lobster tails (like DJ). I've only scored 'em in Oxnard, CA on the way back from fishing trips off of the beaners, so at least... ya know... they *seemed* close enough to the ocean. Always frozen, though. Always tasty, always a massive deal. Christ, I just remembered I've got two in my freezer now (but from Safeway). Tails w/melted butter, garlic, & fresh dill tonight, negroes!!

[PeggyLove]

Here in Maine we have the seafood roadside vendors. They actually have a great reputation around here because they are the ones that catch the fish and then sell it for competitive prices.

There's this one guy in Rockland who is ALWAYS by the side of the road and does great business because the quality and price are great.

[Dr. P]

Hells yeah, I'd buy it. I've bought it in Asheville! The guys drive it up daily and it's in giant coolers on ice, though. The shit is very fresh, there are even little crabs and stuff in with them. If I were closer to the coast and it was packed on ice, as long as it didn't have an odor, I wouldn't think twice.

[TheWagesofSin]

Christ, I just remembered I've got two in my freezer now (but from Safeway). Tails w/melted butter, garlic, & fresh dill tonight, negroes!!

Billy...what's the least gourmet-type meal you and your "dolly" eat on a semi-regular basis? 'Cause you usually seem to eat pretty damn well, but there's gotta be nights were your dinner consists of something at least somewhat white-trash...I mean, come on...

[The Dude]

The way you guys tell it, I might take a chance on some of the stuff that you are describing. However my experience is different 'cause most of the Julios who sell this shit are walking up and down the street with these bags, waving them around, trying to entice buyers in their wares. So these shrimp haven't even seen ice or cooler in a solid 20 to 30 minutes...or longer. So the poor sap who buys that bag is fucking screwed.

And so that's the basis for my question...and that kinda jades me to the whole unregulated roadside seafood industry.

[PeggyLove]

From what you described in your area, Dude - I voted NO b/c it sounded very gross.

[Dr. P]

I'm the lone "yes" vote, but I assumed they had to ice it. They'd smell like DP's pap smear after an hour in the hot sun, how can they possibly have any buyers?

[Spooner]

Billy...what's the least gourmet-type meal you and your "dolly" eat on a semi-regular basis? 'Cause you usually seem to eat pretty damn well, but there's gotta be nights were your dinner consists of something at least somewhat white-trash...I mean, come on...

You've got a waning memory, Wedge; remember, I was the guy who turned you onto Lawry's white-trash spaghetti. In the food threads, I usually mention loads of white-trash dinners I like. We usually go out for dinner three to four times a week (or takeout) and then home cookin' is mostly the gourmet shit, with about 35% white-trash mixed in (e.g. last night I fixed my mom's old-school tacos w/plain old ground beef & taco seasonings on prefab shells, where other nights, I'd actually do that with a shredded skirt steak and deep fry it in the skillet, along with the shells, King Taco style). :tipofthecap:

[TheWagesofSin]

Hey BTI (and sorry for hijacking this thread, The Dude), my sister's visiting me tomorrow and I want to take her to lunch in Toluca Lake before I go to work. Got any recommendations for nearby joints? I get a 25% employee discount at Acapulco's, but she's kinda picky and might not want Mexican food (she's turned her back on our heritage).

[CommunistaCow]

Dude, I'd hold out for the roadside oysters.

[TedBellLover]

Just say NO to roadside crustaceans. Like Nancy Reagan. BTW- someone tell me- where is WE? Haven't seen him post for ages.

[Dr. P]

WE died. Please stop asking.

[TedBellLover]

Russle, tell me you are kidding.

[Belasco]

Roadside Shrimp is a great name for a rock band.

[Heap]

This thread is as good as any to post this question, I guess...

I'm going to buy some seafood next week but don't plan on cooking it until the next day. Should I freeze it overnight? Or is it generally cool to keep it in the fridge for a day or two?

[The Show Monitor]

What kind of seafood and how is it packaged, Heap?

[Dr. P]

Check the expiration date, and to be safe, put it in a bowl of ice in the 'fridge, covered with plastic wrap. You'll be fine.

[CommunistaCow]

This thread is as good as any to post this question, I guess...

I'm going to buy some seafood next week but don't plan on cooking it until the next day. Should I freeze it overnight? Or is it generally cool to keep it in the fridge for a day or two?

Heap, it mostly depends upon what kind of seafood. Personally, I prefer fresh off the boat. But, since there are limitations to that, here are a few ideas fer ya'.

Shrimp - keep on ice or in the freezer, they thaw quickly and don't burn easily

Clams/Mussels - only cook fresh

Fish - mostly depends upon type, but don't keep in the fridge more than 24 hours

[Franks n Beans]

Just smell it. If it make you wanna hurl, then it's no good.

[Heap]

Thanks for the help, guys. I haven't really decided what I'm gonna get, I'm kind of wingin it, at this point as far as deciding. More likely than not, I'm going to pick up some shrimp, and kind of a toss up between some white (dunno if that's a correct term) fish like a tilapia, maybe some crab legs or lobster tail.

Edit: Beans, yeah there's nothin worse than funky fish.

[Industrial Trackfooter]

Edit: Beans, yeah there's nothin worse than funky fish.

Funky potatoes.

[The BYP]

Funky potatoes.

You got that right, a bag of potatoes fell behind a cabinet in my garage. I had to literally move everything out and pressure wash the whole garage to get rid of the smell. I spent days looking for a dead animal.