The Original Fish Company Restaurant Seafood Market

Opening in 1981, The Original Fish Company has remained solo. Their
philosophy is fresh, as fresh as possible, paying premium prices for the last
caught fish. The seafood is packed in extremely cold ice and flown to LAX
from various locations around the world. Oysters are harvested from fast
flowing cold waters in government regulated oyster beds. They're inspected
under the supervision of a certified microbiologist, sealed, tagged and
shipped to the Original Fish Company. I certainly enjoyed the trouble. We'd
been meaning to come here for a several years at the urging of my
husband's secretary, who absolutely loves the food here. We stumbled
upon it on our way to a family gathering and thought we'd stop in for a quick
drink since we were a half hour ahead of schedule. I promptly ordered up a
bubbly French Mimosa, a wonderful mix of champagne, Chambord and fresh
raspberries. It was the magical potion I needed to help me capture a bit of
Christmas spirit. With an indulgent sigh and a look at the menu, we knew it
was going to be a struggle to save our appetites for the family potluck. We
succumbed to temptation ordering the Baked Oysters Rockefeller which
came six to an order and were served on the half shell, broiled with fresh
spinach, parmesan and hollandaise sauce, and were they ever good! Funny
thing is, oysters were my most dreaded food since childhood, but every now
and then I go out on a limb at places that I trust and find a new
appreciation for them. We so wanted to go crazy here, and needed to leave
right away or we were going to. I was already filling up on their delicious
fresh baked bread. Frustrated we left, knowing we had to come back...

Our second trip left us impressed with their creamy New England Clam
Chowder. We struggled to decide between the Idaho Rainbow Trout and the
Mesquite Broiled Chilean Sea Bass, which turned out to be so melt-in-the-
mouth tender, that it was nearly too tender for my taste. The Avocado
Stuffed with Crab had beautiful chunks of king crab laid on an avocado half
which was set on a bed of greens with a choice of dressing, and though I
enjoyed a sampling of the Creamy Italian Dressing as well as the Balsamic
Vinaigrette I thought this salad was best with just a squeeze of fresh lemon
and a sprinkling of salt. The highlight on this visit though, was an order of
their Steamed Little Neck Clams, so amazingly tender, served in a pot of
delicious broth, accompanied by a couple of slices of buttery garlic bread.
These were the best steamed clams I've had yet! The menu is so large
here, and I hated to leave so many things behind. I only wish more places
put this much importance on fresh.

The Fish Market is open daily at 9:00 a.m. while restaurant hours are daily
from 11:00 a.m., closing at 10:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11:00
p.m. Friday and Saturdays.

The prices are reasonable with many entrees around $10.

Located at 11061 Los Alamitos Blvd. in Los Alamitos.

Telephone (562) 594-4553

Website: www.originalfishcompany.com