A Lobster Trap and a Family Tale

A lot has changed since the Darien Seafood Market’s early days, but the dedication and passion of the Frate family remains the same.

In 1974, when Roger Frate Jr. started to sell the clams, oysters and lobsters that he and his fisherman family pulled up Long Island Sound, he did so from a truck. “Frate’s Lobster Truck” was parked on the Post Road, next door to the family’s liquor’s store. In that same shopping strip was a dry-cleaning store that the Frates took over in 1982 and converted into the Darien Seafood Market. In 1996, both the market and the liquor store burned down, and up went the new and larger Darien Seafood Market that we know today: a giant step up from the truck that started it all.

Roger Frate Jr., Chef Tom Coffey, and Roger’s life-long pal Bob Greenwood (an alumn of Frate’s Lobster’s Truck) continue to provide Darien residents and visitors with a small town fish market that offers the best fresh-catch seafood New England waters have to offer. Deliveries are made daily, and that’s not just a tag line. Darien Seafood is the real deal.

“Seafood, compared to most any other food product, can and should only be sold and consumed at its freshest,” explains Chef Coffey. “We do such a large volume here that our seafood never spends much time on ice.”

That “large volume” is due in part to the sale of fresh fish, prepared foods, daily lunch service, and corporate and private residential catering. It’s also due to the relationships that the Frates and Chef Coffey have with local fisherman and suppliers.

Roger Frate Jr. is President of the Long Island Sound West End Lobstermen's Association. His knowledge of the practices and state of the Long Island Sound fishing industry is impressive.

“The state of the lobster industry hasn’t been the same in years,” said Frate. “The fear of West Nile disease and the insecticides used along the waters had a major impact on the lobsters.” Many lobstermen believe that the chemical sprayed in storm drains to fight the mosquitoes that spread West Nile is deadly to lobsters as well.

Frate went on to explain that lobsters and insects are distant biological cousins, which may account for their similar reactions to insecticides and the subsequent decline in the lobster population. He hopes that efforts like the V-Notch Program, which intends to increase the number of egg-bearing female lobsters in the Sound will help put many lobster trappers and fisherman back to work.

At Frate's market, a bi-level lobster tank greets you at the door, and shelves of nautically themed serving pieces, artwork, gifts and accessories line the right side of the market. These one-of-kind items are hand-picked by Roger’s wife Joan who scouts out the pieces throughout her travels. A small produce area is brimming with local vegetables, and the shelves are filled with seafood accoutrements such as marinades, seasonings, breadcrumbs and batters, crab cake and dip mixes, dressings and my favorite: Blue Crab Bay Company munchies.

But Chef Coffey says to keep it simple when it comes to preparation.

“Fish really just needs a little salt and pepper in preparation and shouldn’t hit the heat for very long,” Coffey said. 

Here are some more tips and suggestions straight from the source:

• Season and flour your more delicate, white flaky fishes (lemon sole, grey sole, flounder, halibut). Sear in a pan with butter and olive oil, and finish the cooking process in the oven, being careful not to over cook. Add herbs and spices to taste. You can also apply this to thicker, meatier fish to seal in the juices.
• Take advantage of your summer grill. Throw meatier tuna, swordfish, and cod on a hot grill after basting. Let grill marks set in and flip only once to finish it off. Let stand for a few minutes, just as you would for meat.
• Try throwing clams on the grill. Once the shells open, drizzle with seasoned butter.
• Fold thinner ends on an otherwise thick piece of fish under to prevent uneven cooking.

If preparing fish at home is not your bag, no worries. Chef Coffey keeps the market well stocked with freshly prepared chowder; salmon cakes with leeks and dill; sole Francaise with lemon, capers and butter; meaty poached white shrimp with spicy cocktail sauce, and fresh-from-the-oven fruit pies for dessert. Still hungry? The lunch menu features tempura-battered cod, crispy whole belly clams, lobster rolls and (for all you fish haters) hamburgers.

Check out the Darien Seafood Market. Live Longer. Eat Fish.