Monday, February 15, 2010

Starfish Gluten Free Frozen Fish - Review

I look through the Price Chopper ad every week before I go grocery shopping, and last week (the 2/7 ad) there was a large section about a new product: Starfish brand gluten free fish. They carry three types of breaded frozen fish: Cod, Haddock and Halibut. (There is a difference in price -- last week Price Chopper had an AdvantEDGE sale on these fish: Cod was $3.99, Haddock was $4.99, and Halibut was $7.99). Well, not only are my husband and I always interested in trying new products, but convenience foods are a must in our household. On the nights I have class, my husband's either on his own or we're throwing something together with five minutes to spare -- and trust me, the limited gluten free fast food options we do have tend to get old pretty quickly.

So anyway, we picked up two boxes of the Starfish fish - we decided to try the Cod and the Haddock (figuring that if we liked them, we'd try the Halibut at a later time, just based on the expense). This evening we tried the first box, the Cod. And I have to say, it was pretty darn good! When I bought the boxes I was assuming the fillets would be larger -- kind of like what you'd see on a fish sandwich -- but they were a little smaller than that. (I suppose they'd make good sliders, if you want a frame of reference). I baked them -- alongside, we whipped up some tartar sauce to go with the fish and had fries and peas.

The batter was really good -- crunchy, but not overdone, and definitely not soggy. You definitely needed tartar sauce with it for flavor, but they're more satisfying than Ian's fish sticks (which have been our only option for quite some time). I'm looking forward to trying the Haddock next time, and when I go back to Price Chopper I'll definitely be picking up more of their fish and trying the Halibut as well!

Let's just hope that the Starfish fish sticks around and doesn't suffer the same fate as Bell & Evans gluten free chicken (which we still dearly miss).

5 comments:

Kat said...

Oh -- and a "real" serving is approx. 300 calories (1.5 servings on the box, but enough for a good dinner).

mnms said...

We still have Bell and Evans in Massachusetts Market Baskets. Is it just your local store that discontinued them? Bell and Evan lists the GF chicken on their website. Those chicken nuggets are a Friday night tradition for my children so I hope it is just your local store and that you will find another store nearby that carries them. Our newest thing is the coffee cake recipe from the back of Pamela's baking mix. Can't tell it's GF! Love your blog and follow it in google reader.

Kat said...

Mnms, thanks for the comment! :)

Our local Price Chopper used to carry Bell and Evans gluten free chicken but they discontinued it sometime last year. We sorely miss it!

Thanks for the tip on Pamela's baking mix. I'll have to try making their coffee cake -- it's one of my husband's favorites!

Unknown said...

I asked the Niskayuna Food Coop to start carrying the Bella and Evans GF Chicken and they did!
So you can get it there. It is :The Niskayuna Consumers’ Cooperative, Inc.
2227 Nott Street
Niskayuna, NY 12309
518-374-1362
Granted its a little pricey but worth it for those nights you just need a quick fix. Three of us have Celiacs in my family.

Kat said...

Thanks for the tip Vincent, you just made my day!