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Pescadeli (Formerly A&H Gourmet & Seafood Market) - Santi Zabaleta's Iberian Foodstuffs on Bethesda Avenue


cjsadler

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A&H in Bethesda reeked, and that made me nervous about buying anything.

That's the salt cod. I worry about what that does to his business, because it probably turns a lot of people off. The fish is actually very fresh-- never had a problem. They supply a lot of restaurants in the area.

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Stopped into A&H yesterday. I'd forgotten what a gem this place is. The seafood is high quality and very reasonably priced (like half the price of Whole Foods), plus there's assorted Spanish olives for $3.99/lb (!), chorizo, cheeses, etc. They seem to have added some new products, including black jarred truffles for only $8 (I'm curious how they are). Worth the trip if you haven't been.

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Completely agree. I am a regular there and love the fact that you can find very random interesting items from Spain that you cannot get anywhere else, such as: horchata in the summer (and still), dried beans from Tolosa, squid ink, etc. The fish is fresh and cheaper than WF, but if you get there too late, you may be out of luck on certain items. Get there early on thursdays for the merluza (I think this is hake).

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The brothers A&H have sold their business to a young Spanish chef--I was told once but cannot remember where he cooked--maybe Taberna?--where he got to know them via fish deliveries. The older brother is battling cancer. A&H still own the building, which includes the Bethesda Crab House. But the store is much better organized, cleaner and less stinky now, and there are new items available for sale.

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Stopped into A&H yesterday. I'd forgotten what a gem this place is. The seafood is high quality and very reasonably priced (like half the price of Whole Foods), plus there's assorted Spanish olives for $3.99/lb (!), chorizo, cheeses, etc. They seem to have added some new products, including black jarred truffles for only $8 (I'm curious how they are). Worth the trip if you haven't been.

I wonder if those are similar to the jarred summer truffles we picked up in Germany a few weeks ago. I tried them in something simple, like mashed potatoes. Tasted like clods of dirt and smelled like....nothing at all. Disappointing.

But, baccalao, on the other hand....mmmmmmm.....that is wonderful stuff. All the usual stuff like stew and fritters. My dad used to make fish curries with salt cod until my mom put her foot down, on account of the house smelling for days afterwards.

Anyone know if A&H has a reasonable steady supply of fresh sardines? WF gets the Portugese and Spanish ones, but only periodically during the spring/summer. I noticed some from the Dominican Republic at Super H but the quality wasn't the same.

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Anyone know if A&H has a reasonable steady supply of fresh sardines? WF gets the Portugese and Spanish ones, but only periodically during the spring/summer. I noticed some from the Dominican Republic at Super H but the quality wasn't the same.

YES! go maybe on thursdays, but usually fridays, they are portuguese/spanish and very good

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Among the new products on the blackboard are de-salted bacalao (pre-soaked and frozen, but not de-scaled), foie gras, several kinds of American caviar. Iberico ham has been available, sliced to order for quite a while. And in the cheese case: Torta del Casar, one of my favorite cheeses, for $24.95 for the whole round, which is how you want to buy this. At this price, it is so much cheaper than anywhere else--I just saw it for $32.95 at Georgetown Whole Foods the other day. I bought some of the bacalao and put it in my freezer (thanks again LauraB) for a future meal.

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My last visit was maybe ten days ago, but big changes are afoot at A&H. The store has been expanded into what was the rear fish-prep area, with a new floor put down. They've relocated the cheese and charcuterie refrigerator case down to the new area, but may move it back and swap it for the fish case, so that people will have to go past it to get to the fish. Also planned are new shelving units along what is now a blank wall, a new open refrigerated reach-in case, and a food prep area with a few tables.

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Had crab bombs from Pescadeli for 4th of July! Oh my! 7 oz. They said bake 'em at 350 for 15 minutes, but I did that and they weren't done, so I raised the heat to 375 and did another 10-15 minutes to get brown.

Order online ahead for curbside pickup for now across the street at sister store Butcher's Alley, but there's walk in too.

Also had nice red snapper there recently. Fresh!

Is anybody getting their lunch paellas to go? I want to try that!

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