Fresh Catch of the Day

August 14th, 2008 by A World Vacationer

From our Win a Trip Contest
A travel story by - M.Windhorst

Being from the Midwest, one of my family’s favorite things to do on a beach vacation was to scope out the local fish market, first thing, to insure a steady fill of fresh seafood during the visit.

Sure enough, the first afternoon of a family vacation to Gulf Shores, Alabama in 1996, the four of us wandered into the perfect local market where we found an entertaining fishmonger who offered up the day’s ‘fresh catch’. We made an ecstatic purchase of 5 lbs of fresh shrimp at the great price of $2.99 per pound. It didn’t really matter all that much that the shrimp was in pieces, some head’s on and some not and there were other not-so-identifiable fish included in the bag. We were just thrilled to have gotten such a great deal on fresh shrimp. For the next day and a half, we ate shrimp nearly every way imaginable; sautéed shrimp, shrimp salad, shrimp cocktail, shrimp scampi – you name it! And we savored every bite!

The second day at the beach, my husband began to develop a very itchy rash. Assuming it was from the sun, no see-ums, mosquitoes or some other unknown; we went about our usual vacation business of sightseeing and beachcombing. Paying not so much attention as he nonchalantly scratched away at his armpits (and a few other areas that should remain unspoken).

As our entire extended family was along on this vacation, we decided that the shrimp deal needed to be shared so we invited all to our vacation condo for a scrumptious shrimp meal on about the third or fourth evening there.

My daughter and I were chosen to be the market-runners. So, after a full morning at the beach, off we trekked to pick up another 10 lbs of shrimp for our meal. When the two of us arrived at the market, there were 2 tubs of ‘fresh catch’ shrimp. One tub was still marked $2.99/pound and the other was marked $3.99/pound. When it came to our turn to place the order, I asked the amiable fishmonger with fresh fish scales clinging in her hair, what the difference between the 2 tubs was. In her delightful southern drawl she replied, “Well, ‘em’s bait (pointing to the $2.99/pound tub) and ‘em’s fer eatin’ (pointing to the $3.99/pound tub)!

Now, what you must understand is that my husband is a very frugal sort. I actually stood at the counter and for a split-second thought about buying from the $2.99/pound tub! However, common sense prevailed and I bought the ‘eatin’ kind. Back to the condo we went with our much fresher ‘catch’.

Upon our return and while prepping for the evening’s meal, my daughter and I told our little tale about the market run, the amiable fishmonger and her delightful southern drawl. Imagine the look of realization as my husband scratched away!

It seems that the ‘deal’ on the first shrimp purchase was no deal. Not only was it from an early catch, it was also considered bait. The concentration of iodine and other impurities that had collected on the fish all day caused my husband to develop an immediate allergic reaction to shrimp. To this day, he can no longer eat shrimp. And while it could have had very serious results, the, “Well, ‘em’s bait and ‘em’s fer eatin’!” tag line has since gone on every vacation and in every local fish market the family has visited since that most memorable one to Gulf Shores. It always generates a good round of giggles to us before we ask more questions about today’s catch.

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