Now more than ever we need our markets. They not only provide us with food but also with the comforting fact that they're still around. That's the case with Plaza Seafood in Miami. It's a hub of activity , with it still selling different kids of fish to loyal customers. It's a comfort shop to homes chefs.
The New York Times Food section provided a pictorial for this well known market in yesterday's New York Times Food section. Regular contributor Brett Anderson interviewed the various shoppers while Scott MCIntyre took a variety of interesting photos. Plaza is a small market but's it;s constantly packed with a never ending stream of customers.They come not just for the filleted fish and conch, the last popular in Florida and the Caribbean but also for fried fish, conch soup, and seafood empanandas .These are similar to what the owner, John Pitaluna ate growing up on in Havana. His family moved to Hialeah Gardens, north of Miami in the 1980's and he kept the recipes going strong. Now they can be passed down to his son, Adrian, 21 who also works at Plaza. He's been keeping tabs on what sells the most. It's conch , meat from an over sized sea snail, mainly from Turks and Caicos along with the Bahamas.it can be put into chowder like clams and fried like oysters. Yellowtail from the Florida Keys and Mexico is also popular.
Miami, like any other city , is full of different neighborhoods. Inhabitants find out about Plaza and come, bringing their need to the Allapattah section also called Little Santo Domingo. It was a neighborhood where there was always affordable rents and everyone was welcome. That's fading now thanks to the area gentrifying. Yet Miami's diversity is still strong as seen in the customers. There is Haitian Carline Saintlimond who bought shellfish for a seafood boil along with buying red snapper and grouper. Haitians use all sorts of fruits and spices to flavor. Chinese born Yang Zhao and Wendy Liu came from Orlando to buy lobster tails that they'll grill along with shrimp and bream steamed in garlic and soy sauce.There are also loyal customers like Arnita Pace drove half ah hour for yellowtail snapper, live blue crabs and Gulf shrimp. For her it's also a family thing because her sisters also buy their food at Plaza.Plaza Seafood also helps family in times of grief too. Eccleston Aitcheson and his sons, Angelo and Michael, bought king snapper and yellowtail for Jamaican escovitch,a fish dish that's spiked with Scotch Bonnet peppers , onion , carrots and vinegar sauce. It was going to be made in honor of his dad Talmon who died December 30th. It was his favorite dish.
Plaza Seafood is one of those comfort stores that we need right now. It's a staple in Mimai, but it could be a fishmonger in any city in this country or anywhere in the world. It gives regulars a sense of security while providing delicious fish.,
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