I will never get tired of fried national food holidays, nor seafood national food holiays! So National Fried Shrimp Day is a real treat. Whether steamed, baked, or scampi-ed, shrimp is a tasty, high-protein, low-fat seafood treat, but frying the shrimp makes the little buggers especially good. There’s an art to great fried shrimp that one’s gotta master in order to really love cooking–and eating–seafood: a special blend of herbs and spices in a breading mixture, the perfect cooking time to get a crispy breaded exterior…but not too much to overcook the delicate shrimp. And when you find some great fried shrimp…you’ve got to share the wealth!
One of the best plates of fried shrimp in New York City doesn’t come from a high-end restaurant, or even a seasoned, salt-of-the-earth fishing hole…it comes from the back of a truck. (When did you ever think that “seafood out of the back of a truck” would sound mouth-wateringly good??) Fishing Shrimp Food Truck–playing off the old order of “fish & shrimp”–has been chugging along around the Brooklyn neighborhood of Ditmas Park for about a year, and they’ve made a name for themselves as some of the best fried seafood in the area. Offering old pub favorites like battered fish & chips, they’ve gotten a lot of buzz from food truck blog darlings New York Street Food and Midtown Lunch. Their fried shrimp are one of the most popular plates on the menu, because of their light breading and juicy, plump shrimp. And don’t expect Luke’s Lobster-level prices on this food truck: the most expensive item on the menu is fried Bahamian conch, which is still only $15 a plate–which is the same price as the cheapest seafood on Luke’s menu. A plate of shrimp and “chips” (a.k.a. French fries), fried to perfection, will only set you back $11–a more-than-reasonable price for a seafood lunch. Track them down in Brooklyn if you can, or wait for the special days when they make the trek up to Midtown for your fried shrimp fix.
Fishing Shrimp Truck
http://fishingshrimp.com
“The shrimp were lightly breaded, which meant each bite was mostly sweet, succulent shrimp with a little breading. I hate when you order fried shrimp and it’s all breading. That was definitely not the case here.”–New YOrk Street Food
“I’m curious to try some of their other offerings, particularly the shrimp basket and the ($15!) Bahamanian Cracked Conch. Hopefully this truck will put midtown in its regular rotation, as decent deep fried seafood is always a welcome addition to the neighborhood.”–http://midtownlunch.com/2012/01/18/the-new-fishing-shrimp-truck-is-back-in-midtown-today/”>Midtown Lunch
“The breading was light enough on the shrimp that it didn’t overwhelm the flavor at all. The shrimp was delicious, and surprisingly sweet, which complemented the fries very well. The fries themselves were occasionally soggy, but the vinegar gave them a delicious flavor (I’m a big salt and vinegar potato chip fan). In the end the meal was a very satisfying lunch, and the sauces were a perfect addition to this fried meal. Fishing Shrimp was also much less oily than I expected from a meal that was deep fried. I’ll definitely be eating from Fishing Shrimp again, and I’ve already got my eye on their conch fritters.”–Daily Food To Eat
“I stopped by last week to check out their fish & shrimp & chips combo. The fish, lightly battered and fried, is whiting (ordered fresh every day from a local vendor) and the fries are cut very thin, shoestring style. You can load your basket at will with a choice of several condiments lined up under the window. The night I went (as on other nights I’ve seen them around), they had a crowd of almost a dozen people at their window. Stephenson and the woman at the window, Danielle, barely had a second to chat. Despite the dinner-time crush, though, both were extremely helpful and friendly. Just don’t ask about the batter. According to Stephenson, “It’s a homemade secret.””–Ditmas Park Corner
Some reviews from Yelp.com:
Cortelyou Road is kind of a random location for a food truck, and I was skeptical of the notion that a truck would serve fresher fish than a bricks and mortars restaurant. However, the offerings of the Fishing Shrimp Truck proved me wrong. I’m not usually a fan of fried shrimp, preferring it grilled, sautéed, scampied, or rendered in cocktail form; however, the bulk of the offerings here are fried–fish and chips, battered shrimp, etc. The fried shrimp I tried here were among the best I’ve had from coast to coast–plump, sweet, fresh, lightly battered, crispy, and not in the least greasy.”–Lisa D.
“Fishing Shrimp was on point! I ordered the fish and shrimp combo, there were no fries available at the time. I assumed it would be an extension of the fish and chips that I would get from a Fulton Street fish market, Wrong! The fish was perfectly salt and pepper battered to taste and the portion was large, I was unable to eat the entire basket. The shrimp was the best that I had in a while, it was a sweet and salty combination that mixed well with the tartar sauce.”–Mia K.
Make sure you check out the updated NYC Food Holidays Map to find this most recent holiday!
National Food Days in New York City 