Here’s what I’ll be snacking on this weekend:
– Half Pound of Baked Kippered Salmon
– Quarter Pound of Pastrami-Style Smoked Salmon
– 4 Ounces of Sliced Smoked Nova Salmon
– 3 Ounces of Sliced Smoked Norwegian Salmon
All of this for the rock-bottom price of $15.20 at Acme Smoked Fish Corporation, which is hidden away in the industrial district bordering Greenpoint and Williamsburg on Gem Street, near North 15th.
Specializing in everything smoked fish, from packaged salads and peppered lox to hot-smoked hunks of tuna and pickled herring fillets, Acme opens their wholesale warehouse outlet to the public just once a week, from 8am to 1pm, for what they call “Fish Fridays.” It’s a small shopping window for out-of-towners and, really, somewhat of a haul at an inconvenient time even for New Yorkers, but smoked salmon-loving area locals like myself flock to Acme as often as possible for both the selection and the bargain prices.
The nondescript entrance is easy to miss–it’s the first door on Gem just past the big Acme sign, above–and once you’re inside it’s not immediately clear where to go. On my first visit, I just followed the guy in front of me as he clambored up a steel staircase just inside the warehouse space. He finally turned around and pointed me back down the stairs and around the corner to a refrigerated room, where I found a long line of shivering people eyeballing cardboard boxes full of pre-packaged smoked salmon and a tasting table laden with slabs of smoked sable, pastrami-style smoked salmon, smoked trout, and other fresh fish. Free samples are available for each one, and there’s no minimum order.
For something sweet to chase your smoked salmon with, follow the scent of fresh baked goods around the the block to Angel’s Bakery, a commercial bakery that sells individually packaged cookies, muffins, and other goods to the public out of a small room at 29 Norman Street. Everything here is (dangerously) cheap, like cookies for $1 and slices of pound cake for $0.75.
Acme Smoked Fish Corporation
30 Gem Street (at North 15th Street)
Brooklyn, NY
718-383-8585
Fish Fridays: 8am – 1pm
Angel’s Bakery
29 Norman Street
Brooklyn, NY
718-389-1400
Monday – Friday 9:30am(ish) – 5:30pm(ish)
