Get Special From The Specialists: Short Ribs From Laurel Meat, Shrimp From Today's Catch

Shrimp from Today's Catch and short ribs from Laurel Meat Market

If you want something special, then you should start with the specialists.

The '34 Act Gourmet planned a special dinner, so he took the time to stop at some local spots for the main courses.  Short ribs -- bought from Laurel Meat Market.  Wild shrimp -- bought from Today's Catch in Columbia.

Shrimp and ribs with Korean side dishes

They're a little drive, but you should check them out for great food and a little advice.  Laurel Meat Market -- like the other local butchers like Boarman's in Highland and J.W. Trueth's in Oella -- cuts its own meat.  So you can talk to a butcher about special cuts like the chunks of rib that the '34 Act marinated and then grilled on his deck.

Those weren't thin-sliced Korean kalbi.  Those were fist-sized chunks that revealed bone as they cooked, then cut meaty and rich.  They were an exotic to me, and he went over the top by adding skewers of wild shrimp.

The '34 Act balanced the meat with some Korean side dishes that he bought at the H Mart in Catonsville.  The tang and spice of kimchi pairs perfectly with grilled meats, and it worked again here.  I completely over-indulged with an entire skewer of shrimp and three pieces of beef.

The local butchers and seafood markets provide special spots, a real chance to know your butcher or fish monger.  They get good stuff, and they will do special orders.  I need to update my guide posts, but the old ones provide a place for you to start.  Check out this 2009 post about butchers or this 2009 post about seafood markets.  But note that I don't update old links, so you may also want to scroll down the right column and just click on the labels for each market.

Herring At Today's Catch

Herring at Today's Catch

I know herring is a limited market -- so limited that half my house doesn't care for the pickled fish.

But it's a great snack if you're in the mood and shopping in Today's Catch in Columbia.  The fish market often sells small containers for less than $2.  You get delicious fish in a sauce that may have wine and mustard.  Great on a bagel for breakfast.  Great on a crack for a snack.

Fish Stock Made At Today's Catch: Frozen Stock, Piece Of Fish & You're 80% Of The Way To Dinner

Soup made easy by Today's Catch stock

Cod heads.  Today's Catch makes its own fish stock from cod heads.  I know because the owner showed me a head.  I should have snapped a photo, but it's so geeky to say "For my food blog."  I just froze up.

They freeze the fish stock too.  That's how it becomes a perfect helper for you.  Today's Catch in Columbia brings in dozens of fish, butchers out the steaks and fillets, then cooks down the heads with, presumably, some vegetables and spices.

You get convenience food based on that their work -- pints or quarts plucked from the freezer.

For two people, get a pint and a piece of white fish.  They recommended hake to me last weekend, and it worked beautifully.  I defrosted the stock in a small pot.  It has a light flavor, maybe a hint of Old Bay seasoning although I didn't taste that in the finished soup.

To make soup, I added a can of good canned tomatoes.  I poured in the juice and broke up the tomatoes with my fingers.  While that heated, I sauteed some mushrooms and onion in another pan.  I added those to the stock, along with salt and pepper.  You could do anything -- a little spinach?  Some other diced vegetables?  Another spice or herb?

Once I had soup that tasted good, I cut two three-inch slices from the thickest part of the filet.  The remainder of fish, I broke into pieces and stirred into the soup.  The two slices, I laid on top.  The pot was small enough that the soup came up several inches and just covered the fish.  I covered the pot and let everything cook until the fish was firm.

Then I made two bowls, each with a layer of vegetables and fish chunks on the bottom with the big slice on top.  I poured the broth over each.  That couldn't have been more than 30 minutes, and it tasted like hours of work.

That's the fun of a real fish market.  Today's Catch gives you really nice fish -- and you also get real advice and the benefit of real work like this housemade fish stock or the frozen clams for chowder.  This is the season for soup, so check it all out.

Clam Chowder a la Today's Catch -- The Secret Ingredient Is Clams That They Freeze In House

Okay, the secret ingredient in clam chowder can't actually be clams, but who knew that Today's Catch gets Chesapeake clams that it freezes in house?

I only ended up in Today's Catch's freezer because I couldn't find large clams at the local seafood markets.  I had a recipe that called for six pounds of clams and steaming them to start.

Why bother?  The market in Wilde Lake village center sells $10 containers of enormous clams -- shucked and raw, ready to make whatever interests you, and ready to store a bit in your freezer if you take them straight home.  They buy them fresh, then package and freeze them in the Columbia shop.

Last weekend, I had a car full of chowder ingredients like cream, bacon and potatoes, but no clams at Frank's Seafood Market in Jessup.  I had to take a risk, and it paid off in a flavor strong with salt water and clams.  No grit.  No fishiness.  I augmented with a can of Chincoteague sea clam juice, and I adapted a recipe from The New Best Recipes.  Basically, I cooked the clams in a tiny pot, then followed most of the recipe along the way.

Shrimp From Today's Catch In Columbia

Shrimp should make for easy cooking, but it's hard to find seafood worth shelling out the money and popping in my mouth.

In theory, shrimp should be a perfect food.  Quick to cook.  Healthy to eat.  Easy to pair with all kinds of cuisines.

In reality, I have been burned by too many shrimp deals where my meal tastes like cardboard.  I tried supermarkets.  I tried frozen from Trader Joe's.  I already carry images of fetid shrimp farms, so I don't want to risk pesticides and a tasteless dinner.

The recent success was Today's Catch in Columbia.  The small fish store in Wilde Lake village center has been my place for scallops -- or for the trimmings that they often sell for $10/pound and that can make great fish stews.  But I risked shrimp two weekends ago, and it paid off.

Today's Catch shrimp were firm and sweet.  I basically simmered a large can of Muir Glen tomatoes with sliced garlic and shallots.  Then I stirred the peeled shrimp in the pan when the timer rang on my pot of linguine.  The pasta gets drained and swirled into the sauce as the shrimp turns pink and opaque.  Served up with slices of Jim Lahey's bread.

That's dinner.  That's easy.

Where else do you get great seafood?  Frank's Seafood in Jessup is my spot for crabs, oysters, fish and more.  They are way bigger than Today's Catch, although both offer people who can answer questions and recommend how to cook their wares.  Laurel Meat Market often has crab meat, shrimp that they say is wild, and scallops that they say haven't been injected.  I like these places, but I remain really suspicious of seafood -- mostly because I don't know how to check anyone's claims.

Today's Catch Seafood Market: Fish in Columbia

Let Today's Catch make you believe again in scallops!

Mrs. HowChow loves the sweet bivalves, but I have bought too many supermarket treats that I tasted flat. Nothing special about them except the exorbitant price.

The Today's Catch Seafood Market in Columbia made me believe again. The clerk told me that they don't always have the bay and sea scallops, but when they do, they're "dry" scallops - which means that they're just scallop. Never been treated. Never been injected with saline solution or however else the wholesalers extend their profits. Today's Catch's scallops were beautiful, a half-pound of sweet, firm flesh sauteed in nothing but butter and the juice of a lime.

Today's Catch has a minimal feel. Fish on ice, fillets in coolers. There is a small freezer and a display of spices, but mostly, it is a few clerks, a few fish and you. The smell is right,

more sea water than fish. The selection runs from mild tilapia and cod to sushi-grade tuna and strong-flavored mackerel. The clerk talked up wild salmon, whose season runs through August. Call ahead to see if Today's Catch has any in stock because supplies have been low. And ask questions. I asked what the clerk recommended for fish tacos and ended up with a mix of tuna, swordfish and other chunks, the left-overs from their fillets that made an exotic array for $10/pound.

Check out other great markets -- organic, ethnic and otherwise -- around Howard County.

Today's Catch Seafood Market

10451 Twin Rivers Road

Columbia, MD 21044

410-730-6600

NEAR: It's inside the Wilde Lake Village shopping center. The center is in central Columbia near the mall. It's the shopping center with a Bagel Bin, the Melting Point restaurant and David's Natural Market (and a KFC).