I grew up in Florida, taking the availability of fresh seafood for granted, and love a good fried fish sandwich as much as the next gal. When local fishmonger Kirsten Loesel reached out to tell me more about Presque Isle Fish and Farm, I knew it would be the perfect place to try for this Shop Local issue.
Right down the street from the Colony Plaza sits Presque Isle Fish and Farm’s retail space within a repurposed Arby’s restaurant. It has a fun, welcoming exterior that leads into a tidy shop with brightly colored signage and an impressive variety of fresh, refrigerated, and frozen selections. In addition to things you can take home to prepare, there are several prepared deli type items made in house as well as an impressive menu of cooked-to-order, take-out items.
We stopped in on a Friday evening and Loesel was there with a welcoming smile, working on signage at the large table in the middle of the shop that also serves as seating for cooking classes. She introduced Anthony Acs, who helped educate me about the fishing season, local catch, food preparation, and more as he prepared our dinners to go. Loesel and Acs explained that until the lake gets too cold to fish, owner Jim Shaffer (who they refer to as “The Captain”) would be out on the boat bringing in fresh local catch for the shop. Once it gets colder, the shop will host their cooking and tasting classes that, at $40 per person, always sell out…