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M. Slavin & Sons, Seafood on South Glebe Road


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Slavin.  Glebe Road at I-395 in Arlington.  Rarely will I get it anywhere else unless desperate or far from Arlington.

I have been spoiled by Slavin as well. I will buy fish at Whole Foods if I can't get to Slavin. I've also gotten amazing mussels at Wegmans in Fairfax. Their fish is mostly cut in 6-oz portions, which just doesn't sit well with me, but the mussels have been great.

Scottee (my first post)

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Slavin.  Glebe Road at I-395 in Arlington.  Rarely will I get it anywhere else unless desperate or far from Arlington.

I can't believe I never updated this story after what happened to me at Slavin.

It came to mind this morning when I was with an area chef-type who was explaining to a group of folks why he thinks Slavin is crap. It had to do with a lack of freshness. And after what happened to me a number of months ago, I think he's absolutely right.

I bought some snapper fillet there. I keep a cooler in the trunk of my car and drove it home in that....with a bag of ice in there along with some of those gel freezer packs. I only live about 15 minutes from there, but it was late summer and I'm extra careful when I shop for meat, fish, dairy, etc. Now my wife, who has a very perceptive sense of smell, seemed to think something was fishy when I put it in the car. She said to me that it smelled off. I told her it couldn't possibly be bad. I've bought here all the time, they're reputable and for cryin' out loud it just came from the case. I shoulda listened to her.

When I opened the fish up to cook later that night it smelled foul. I mean, completely to the point that it had to have been turning when it was in the Slavin case. I immediately wrapped that paper back up, put it in a ziploc and threw it in the freezer. I was going to take it back for a refund at a later date.

When I did return, I brought the fish with me and told the folks behind the counter that the fish they sold me a couple weeks ago was bad. They couldn't believe it. They though I was so full of shit. Nevertheless, I insisted and they said they'd get the boss.

Well, the fucker makes me wait around in the store for probably a half hour before he finally comes out and starts with the "What can possibly be the problem" routine. I told him the story and he, too, thought I was completely full of shit. "As IF we might sell something that wasn't perfectly fresh," was the attitude. Eventually, reluctantly, and solely to just get me out of the store, he took one of his business cards (turns out he was either the owner or partner or some such thing) signs the back of it and writes a dollar figure on the back of the card to be my credit. No apology, no nothing. The guy was a complete dick.

I went back a few weeks later and spent the credit, being sure to more closely examine what I was buying. I've never been back since. So when I heard that dude this morning tell a story so similar to mine I immediately realized it's a smart thing to stay away from there. And now, even if I see a Slavin truck in front of a restaurant for a delivery, I avoid eating fish there.

One place the guy this morning mentioned was some Swedish market with great fish in Arlington. Does anyone know more about that? Wilson Blvd. at 10th Street or thereabouts?

Anyway, bottom line is, there's something seriously fishy at Slavin. I'd be very wary if you wander in there.

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You get the fish, fail to look it over, decide it sucks, freeze it and then trot back to the store days (weeks?) later and demand a refund and you're amazed that they didn't fall all over themselves to throw money back at you?  I'd be a little skeptical, too, if I was management. 

I have never heard of that either. If I get something that's off and can't get back to the store immediately it's just a loss.

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You get the fish, fail to look it over, decide it sucks, freeze it and then trot back to the store days (weeks?) later and demand a refund and you're amazed that they didn't fall all over themselves to throw money back at you?

That's EXACTLY what I'm saying and I say so unapologetically. The only freshness test I didn't give it was smelling it. Frankly, I had such a good track record with them that I had faith that if they took something out of the case and thought it was off, they wouldn't sell it to me.

Yes, then I decided it sucked and I froze it. Sure, I could have just thrown it out. But when I went back in for a refund and I had no evidence I even purchased anything? That would surely cause more skepticism than what I did. They saw exactly what I bought, when I bought it and what I paid.

And the fact that I waited before I returned it? I don't see what the problem is with that. Many people do their food shopping once a week. I'm one of them. So I return it to them next time I'm at the store. And Heather, I'm sorry but I disagree. I'm not going to make it my fault just because I can't get back there the next day. It was frustrating enough to get home and find my fish was bad. So I'm then supposed to take the time out of my schedule to rush back just because it would be kind to their sensibilities? I dealt with it immediately on my very next "scheduled" round there.

But the problem is not so much the fact that the fish was bad. It can happen. But I'm not in the business of trying to rip off business owners, which is exactly what their impression was. And it's not like I ever had a complaint about anything there before. I was not a problem customer who had "regular issues." But making me wait for half an hour to talk about this? That's downright rude. And if he was really that busy in the back, couldn't he have at least apologized for making me wait so long, no matter whether or not he wanted to apologize for the fish? It's because of their treatment of me that I hold such disgust for them.

So, yeah, I was amazed at their response. Clearly the way Zora described how Blacksalt handled a similar issue with a customer who didn't even bring back the fish shows that my expectations are not out of line. My problem is that I thought Slavin would have responded like Blacksalt.

ETA: Just to note that I didn't go in there with an attitude or chip on the shoulder, either. I was respectful to everyone involved.

Edited by CrescentFresh
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And Heather, I'm sorry but I disagree.  I'm not going to make it my fault just because I can't get back there the next day.  It was frustrating enough to get home and find my fish was bad.  So I'm then supposed to take the time out of my schedule to rush back just because it would be kind to their sensibilities?  I dealt with it immediately on my very next "scheduled" round there.

No big deal, Paul. It had just never occurred to me to do that, or that a store would refund under those circumstances. Your experience sounded really bad.

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Q: What do chicory, endive, and CrescentFresh have in common?

A: They're all bitter.

Hey, imagine how I felt when I bought a cooked bottle of Taylor 20-Year Tawny Port (yes, Port can be heat-damaged) at Total Wine, and after about two weeks of being too busy to return and having lost the receipt, decided to pour it out rather than feeling like a slum-ball walking in with 3/4 of a bottle that had long-since turned brown. Worse: about ten years ago, a buddy of mine opened a bad bottle of 1945 Latour for his wedding anniversary, and ended up using it as Drain-o.

So be glad it was only a stinking little piece of fish!

Rocks

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Q:  What do chicory, endive, and CrescentFresh have in common?

A:  They're all bitter.

Hey, imagine how I felt when I bought a cooked bottle of Taylor 20-Year Tawny Port (yes, Port can be heat-damaged) at Total Wine, and after about two weeks of being too busy to return and having lost the receipt, decided to pour it out rather than feeling like a slum-ball walking in with 3/4 of a bottle that had long-since turned brown.  Worse:  about ten years ago, a buddy of mine opened a bad bottle of 1945 Latour for his wedding anniversary, and ended up using it as Drain-o. 

So be glad it was only a stinking little piece of fish!

Rocks

Dude! It has nothing to do with a stinking piece of fish. It was the lousy treatment from the place that got me so pissed off.

And we all know how I can tend to fly off the handle from time to time when I get rolling, don't we? :lol:

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Mr. S went out yesterday in search of softshells. He returned, triumphant, with 4 beautiful, fresh and declicious crabs from Slavin's. They were $5.00 each, and he had the 10% off coupon from the Wednesday Post. He reported that he'd been to another place, where some of the softshells in the display case looked like they were no longer alive. At Slavin, there were a few in the case, not looking their best, but when he asked if there were fresher ones, the four he then purchased were brought from the back.

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At Slavin, there were a few in the case, not looking their best, but when he asked if there were fresher ones, the four he then purchased were brought from the back.

I grew wary of Slavin some time ago. And to think that they were proud to keep product that wasn't looking its best in the case is just another reason why I'm glad I avoid them. I think you may be on to something for when you want to shop at Slavin. Make a decision on what to buy based on what's in the back and not what's in the case. :)

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I grew wary of Slavin some time ago. And to think that they were proud to keep product that wasn't looking its best in the case is just another reason why I'm glad I avoid them. I think you may be on to something for when you want to shop at Slavin. Make a decision on what to buy based on what's in the back and not what's in the case. :)
When I lived just 2 exits from Slavins, I bought my fish elsewhere. Why? Because Slavins stinks. A well-run seafood store should not smell of old fish.
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I'm sad. :blink:

Here in (to use the vernacular though generally its not something I'd be likely to say in day-to-day conversation :o ) southwestbuttfuck Virginia the only place to get seafood is from the supermarket.

And it is grim. :( Very grim.

Oh I almost forgot. There's a Fresh Market an hour or so away.

(Be grateful ye city-dwellers for the pleasures of the metropolis.)

:(

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Any recent reports? I am looking for head-on shrimp, and don't feel like driving all the way out to VA for crappy product.

I don't doubt the veracity of the reports here of poor treatment at Slavin's, but I've been a long time customer and never had a problem with anything I bought there. In fact, I'm going there tomorrow to get a clam bake; the wife and I have been doing that as our Valentine's Day tradition for several years now and it's never been anything less than stellar.

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I just read in Arlington Now that Slavin's closed its doors. aside from the user unfriendly parking lot/location, we always had good luck there. Prices seemed reasonable, and fish was good. Now where?????

I thought that Slavin's had been going downhill for quite some time. If you live in Arlington/Alexandria, you might want to try Balducci's in Old Town. The fish is more reliably fresh than Whole Foods, especially if you make friends with the fishmonger. Farther afield, but superb, is the Black Salt Fish Market on MacArthur Blvd. in the Palisades.

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