Mermaid’s Garden, 644 Vanderbilt Ave., Prospect Heights; 718-638-1910; mermaidsgardennyc.com
This inviting Brooklyn market is known for small-boat, traceable seafood that you don’t often see on restaurant menus. Think Maine smelt, available around Christmastime, and Rhode Island tautog, in stock in summer or autumn. Co-founder Mark Usewicz is a French-trained chef, and he’s responsible for the store’s ever-changing menu of prepared foods, including plump steelhead cakes and insalata di rinforzo (a tangy Italian salad), as well as pantry goods that suit any budget. On the higher end are tinned delicacies, like whelks (sea snails) in Camelina oil from Quebec, kelp chile crisp, and single-barrel-aged miso. Regulars often sign up for the shop’s weekly fish share, which features a rotating cast of fresh mid-Atlantic and New England fillets, including delicate American plaice and squid that has arrived directly from Rhode Island. The most popular spot in the shop is likely the case of pristine whole fish and prepped seafood. Nate Adler, owner of Gertie, says Mermaid’s Garden is unparalleled in New York, noting that it almost always has fish collars, a part of the fish that’s often thrown away but tasty and inexpensive. And Elyssa Heller, the owner of Jewish-comfort-food restaurant Edith’s, adds that during Rosh Hashanah, the shop has fantastic gefilte fish. Wine Enthusiast editor Rachel Tepper Paley recommends the panko-crusted fish sticks.
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