Personal Service And Quality Product

Make The Fish Guy A Popular Choice

For the very freshest in seafood, customers of The Fish Guy (formerly Elliott Seafood) know that a restaurant or supermarket is not the place to go. Rather, patrons of Anton Gonch’s mint green seafood truck rely on the long established “itinerant vendor” to supply them with seafood so fresh they would have to take it off the hook themselves to beat it.

 “As the business has grown, I’ve learned to supply whatever people want,” said Mr Gonch, who has been involved in the fish business for 18 years.

He has also expanded the areas covered by his fresh seafood company. The Fish Guy trucks are now found throughout the region, in Woodbury, New Milford, and since March 2012, in Redding/Ridgefield, and Mahopac, N.Y. He hopes to provide service in either Oxford or Newtown in the near future. A bright blue sandwich board at the roadside, with a swimming salmon, makes the trucks easy to spot, wherever they are parked.

The Fish Guy carries seafood as diverse as mussels from Prince Edward Island to four kinds of salmon (two wild caught and two farmed), grouper from Florida, oysters from the North Atlantic or other world sources, or even Mediterranean sea bass (bronzini). “Since the 1970s, when Stan Elliott started, the world has shrunk,” Mr Gonch said, “and I can get fresh fish from anywhere in the world.”

The standard supply of fish at Elliott Seafood comes from regional sources, though. Cod, sole, flounder, and lobsters are from Maine, as are haddock, halibut, and farmed salmon. Bluefish out of Boston is available year around, as is swordfish. Scallops come from Maine or Boston. Fresh tuna, never frozen, is available seasonally from fishing waters of the United States and Canada. Mr Gonch takes great pride that all of the fish sold, other than one variety of deveined and shelled shrimp, is never a frozen product.

Mr Gonch sells wild caught South African hake, a mild, white-fleshed fish that he prefers to tilapia, and another affordable fish, striped pangasius, a farmed fish from South Vietnam. “[Striped pangasius] is farmed in a cleaner environment, giving it a good, less muddy flavor than tilapia,” Mr Gonch said. It is less expensive even than boneless, skinless chicken breast, he said.

For customers who like fish but do not always have time to cook, Mr Gonch is now carrying locally made salmon cakes, as well as a cognac butter. “They ease the cooking burden, and the butter makes people feel like they are cooking like a first-class chef,” Mr Gonch said.

He has developed a rapport with his clients, watching families grow, from young couples with newborns to harried parents of first-time drivers. “I know most of my customers by their first names,” Mr Gonch said.

Customers appreciate the high quality of the fish purchased from The Fish Guy, said Mr Gonch. And at The Fish Guy, Mr Gonch is happy to hand out free advice on the best way to prepare a purchase. “One of the best things about my truck is sharing recipes back and forth with my customers,” he said.

At his website, www.thefishguyllc.com, customers will find examples of the many items available, contact information, location information, “lobster tales,” and more recipes from the heart. Special orders can be placed at the website or call 860-210-0571 one week before delivery (leave a message with Jennifer, Mr Gonch’s wife, and they will return the phone call to confirm), or customers are welcome to place special orders in person.

Mr Gonch travels early each Wednesday morning to Boston and to Maine in order to meet the day boats and purchase fish from them. Seafood is replenished at the trucks three times a week.

The Fish Guy is located in Woodbury on Main Street South, near John’s Café, Thursday 7 am to 6 pm; in New Milford on Route 7 at Layton Fuel, Friday from 8 am to 6 pm, and Saturday from 9:30 am to 6pm; in Ridgefield/Redding on Route 7, 235 Ethan Allen Highway, near Redding Veterinary Hospital, Friday and Saturday, from 9 am to 6 pm; and in Mahopac, N.Y. at the Mahopac Farmers Market, Route 6, Wednesday, from 1 pm to 6 pm. The truck is only not onsite in Woodbury on Thanksgiving Day. For “fish news,” specials, or seasonal availability, visit thefishguyllc.com. MasterCard, Visa, and Discover cards, cash, and personal checks are accepted.