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Following the Fish

Gene Ikeda of Seattle's Mutual Fish Co., makes his restaurant deliveries to restaurants around town, something the Rainier Valley seafood shop has done for decades. Here he delivers to Vios Cafe on Capitol Hill.
Nancy Leson
Gene Ikeda of Seattle's Mutual Fish Co., makes his restaurant deliveries to restaurants around town, something the Rainier Valley seafood shop has done for decades. Here he delivers to Vios Cafe on Capitol Hill.

Ever wonder how your favorite restaurants make sure they have the freshest seafood ready to serve to you? Dick and Nancy take you on a journey from the boat (and the airfreight cargo office) to the table, and follow one of the regions top seafood proprietors on this week's Food for Thought.

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kplu/local-kplu-937694.mp3

To hear Nancy and Dick's conversation, click on the audio arrow above.

Once you could find the freshest catch on city waterfronts. While you'll still find vendors there in Seattle, much of the commerce has moved to airport freight terminals at SeaTac. But some stalwart local businesses that have practiced the craft of fine seafood prep and handling are where the action is.

Nancy followed the daily delivery route of Gene Ikeda with Mutual Fish Co., a family-owned and supported seafood palace in the city's Rainier Valley. From north to south around town, Nancy finds its Ikeda's hands that deliver your fish to the city's top kitchens.

Nancy will introduce you to more of the top names in fresh fish on her Seattle Times' blog, All You Can Eat.

Dick Stein joined KNKX in January 1992. He retired in 2020 after three decades on air. During his storied radio career, he hosted the morning jazz show, co-hosted and produced "Food for Thought" with Nancy Leson and wrote and directed the Jimmy Jazzoid live radio musical comedies and 100 episodes of Jazz Kitchen.
Nancy Leson is an award-winning food writer, radio personality, cooking instructor and public speaker who learned much of what she knows about food during her first career: waiting tables. Seattle readers know her as the mouth that scored — for the better part of two decades — as restaurant critic and food columnist for the Seattle Times. These days, when she’s not chatting about recipes or interviewing makers and shakers in the food world for KNKX, she helps end hunger, one loaf at a time, as the Edmonds hub coordinator for the Community Loaves project. Find her @nancyleson and at nancyleson.com.