Remember the days of going to a steakhouse and picking out a lobster to be boiled just for you? That practice is mostly a thing of the past, though you can still take advantage of tanks in the dining room at Chinese restaurants such as Hong Kong Pearl Seafood Restaurant in Falls Church.
Picking out live seafood for a meal may not be the dining-out attraction that it once was, but if your goal is the freshest flaky fish, cooking at home could be the way to go. The teams at these markets will happily snatch up a dinner for you from one of their many tanks.
99 Ranch Market
The staff at this Asian supermarket will clean or cut your live seafood however you request and will fry fish and steam shellfish to-order. 10780 Fairfax Blvd., Fairfax
Crosby’s Crab Co.
Live crabs and lobsters are the name of the game here, but you can also pick up oysters and many varieties of pre-cleaned fish. 14718 Bristow Rd., Manassas
Good Fortune Supermarket
The large variety of fish offered here includes tanks with colorful crabs, eel, and more that are favorites of the Asian community. 6751 Wilson Blvd., Falls Church
Great Wall Supermarket of Virginia
The crawfish and crabs are ready to crawl right into your bag at this supermarket chain. The team will fillet or slice your fish however you choose. 11264 James Swart Cir., Fairfax; 2982 Gallows Rd., Falls Church
H Mart
A sign at this chain says the seafood is delivered fresh from New York’s Fulton Fish Market every morning — all the better if you’re craving king crab. Multiple locations
Lobster Maine-ia
You’ll have the freshest lobster rolls on the block when you select these live Maine lobsters. You’re also likely to find scallops, mussels, and clams from the Pine Tree State. 4280 Henninger Ct., Chantilly
Lotte Plaza
Our favorite location of this omnipresent chain is in Chantilly, where the seafood section has included underwater denizens such as fluke shipped straight from Korea. Multiple locations
Feature image of Lobster Maine-ia by Amie Otto
This story originally ran in our July issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
