It’s easy for Eastchester Fish Gourmet to claim they have the freshest fish around: Two doors down is the EFG Market. Here home cooks can pick up filets or steaks, raw shrimp and crab cakes, too.
Rick Ross, who founded the restaurant in 1981, buys his fish whole at the New Fulton Fish Market, and it’s cut in-house. If the restaurant runs out of, say, the yellowfin tuna in the middle of service, Chef Arsenio Flores (who’s been at EFG more than 10 years) can let himself into the market and get some. If a guest wants something that’s not on the menu but is in the shop, the restaurant often will accommodate that, too. Favorites here include signature fish and chips, seafood risotto, and the Parmesan-encrusted cod. Specials are indeed special: Monday night is dedicated to lobster. Thursday, clams and oysters on the half-shell are $1 and $1.25, respectively, and jumbo shrimp are $1.50 apiece. What you won’t find is an oyster special that’s limited to Bluepoints; rather, whatever oyster is in is on special. Ross wants customers to experiment; he wants those oysters to offer an education.
Catch This: Monday nights the restaurant serves 1.5-lb lobster at a special price, depending on the market.