A Bit More Info on DeKalb Farmer’s Market Potential Expansion
Decatur Metro | April 17, 2012Creative Loafing’s Thomas Wheatly writes on CL’s Omnivore blog…
Several weeks ago, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Blazer, the New England native who founded YDFM in the late 1970s, and his wife Barbara, who also co-owns the market, in their offices overlooking the store. Among a wide variety of issues, our conversation covered the market’s future. Robert, an engineer by training, hoped to one day expand the store to give customers more room and accommodate the various activities — baking, cooking, fruit ripening, warehousing, and much more — that go on behind the scenes. (“Customers only see half the place,” he told me.)
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Looks like they deleted a first reference to Robert Blazer in the CL blog item, unless he’s now going by a single name.
Has anyone had any issues with the fish there? Got some Salmon and it had worms!
RE: fish with worms. Yeah. I’ve had that, too. Tuna. Really nice looking tuna until I turned the fish over and found a worm. GROSS.
Yuck. i’m more of a shellfish than fish lover anyway and now I may never be able to eat fish again.
Worms in fish are not that uncommon. If they are killed via thorough cooking or hard freezing, they won’t hurt you. (Home freezer likely won’t do it — needs to reach internal temp of -4 degrees for at least 7 days.) This does not gross me out nearly as much as thinking about commercial meat and poultry operations.
more info here: http://seafood.ucdavis.edu/pubs/parasite.htm
I’ve never had a complaint about fish from YDFM, except a time or two was pretty sure what was billed (and priced) as fresh had actually been frozen. And the last time I bought oysters there, had two bad ones in a dozen, very irritating. They don’t keep the fresh oysters iced properly — they should all be buried completely in ice, keeping just a handful on top for show (and those particular ones shouldn’t be sold).
I bought steamers there once that were inedible. Most were DOA (I had rowdy kids with me and neglected to check what was there first). The shrimp is usually very good, and the fishmongers do a better job than the butchers, who are consistently mediocre. They can’t seem to cut steaks/chops/etc. right. The only good stuff is the stuff that arrives at the store pre-cut, like the ribs. A huge advantage at YDFM is the turnover–most stuff doesn’t stay out long enough to go bad.
Does anyone know if the company is still run by The Forum… uhhhhh… organization, which used to be EST (Erhard Seminar Training)? I still shop there regularly, but if the owners are still affiliated with that outfit, I may cut down my YDFM shopping.
I’ve also heard some scary stories about security, but I didn’t get much to back it up.
Fuddy Duddy,
You are correct. I deleted a first reference to Blazer and forgot to correct the rest of the post. Thanks for the heads up.
If you buy anything whether seafood, meat, etc. you should look at all sides I don’t care which store or market you are shopping. You should also ask to smell any fish before it is purchased. Worms naturally exist in certain fish. I have never found anything like this in seafood I purchased from DFM and I have been buying fish since they started selling. Not saying Too Cool didn’t experience this but …
Parasites of this nature most often occur in farmed salmon or in older fish.
There are also sinews in the salmon that look just like a thin white worm.
As long as the fish is properly cooked there will be no harm.
I know worms are natural and harmless when cooked but the idea grosses me out anyway. Truth be told, I love shellfish (which can have cholera, I know), but not fish so it’s easy to dissuade me from eating the latter. Now, with shellfish, I have to use all my will power to not open the clams/oysters/mussels that stay shut after steaming even though I know that’s a sign of a bad ones.
We don’t eat that much meat anymore between finicky eaters, the price, and the health consequences. So when we do, I don’t want to waste money at the supermarket on prepackaged meat which is pink on top and yucky where you can’t see. So it’s worth it to pay more at Oakhurst Market or Sawicki’s and be assured of decent quality.
Nearly all meat grosses me out and I eat very little of it. But then we have the really high quality meat from the smaller markets where the owners care about what they sell. That can be very good!
My biggest problem with DFM has been that they won’t allow you to return anything…bad or otherwise. I’m not going to shop somewhere that won’t accept returns on food they’ve sold that is out of date, bad, rancid coffee, etc., all issues I’ve had with them in the past. But, since I haven’t been there in a year, does anyone know if they’ve changed this policy? I shopped there for many years before I gave up on them.
A “no returns” policy depends on the manager on duty having a harder head than the dissatisfied customer. I’ve returned something at YDFM in the past year, for full credit.I didn’t even know they had a “no returns” policy until seeing it mentioned on this board, after the fact. Then it made more sense that they were so resistant. Had to dig in my heels until I’d spoken with three people, but I prevailed.
I operate on the assumption that if I pay for something and am justifiably dissatisfied, then I deserve my money back. In many cases, it is not worth the time/energy to persist with a distant corporate entity, which means if I can get face to face about it, I channel all that unspent momentum.
#1: Robert Blazer has brought more good to our community than most individuals.
#2: Maybe I am strange but I love going to the market when it is fully stocked and crowded. I have met wonderful people from all over the world.
This is truly a World Market that I am proud to say that I have experienced since Medlock
It was Robert who helped with the very first Decatur Fourth of July event on the Square. He donated water melons, ice, drinks, etc. I will always have a warm place in my memory for that.
I agree about checking out your seafood purchase no matter where you buy it. My sister brought home fish from Whole Foods before with worms in it. They do have special lights in the back that they can use to check the fish. The difference between Whole Foods is that you can return your purchase.