After Six Decades, Caldwell Seafood Still the Big Fish

There's nothing fishy about Caldwell Seafood Market & Cafe, but the 62-year-old business is making waves with a $6 lunch menu.

"They have great food," my neighbor said to me, and she doesn't say very much. 

"Yeah, that place is cool," someone mentioned at the Ringside. 

Was it all just fish stories? It was time for a visit.

Decor

The dining area is small, but not cramped. About 12 tables take up most of the area, with the kitchen in the back—it's open, but not totally viewable.

The left wall (from the front) and back walls are stone-faced from the floor to halfway up, where there is a painted aquarium scene.

Menu

The $6 lunch menu offers a wide variety of things to choose. Items are divided among the appetizer, wraps, platters and pasta categories. There's something for everyone looking to eat light or like King Neptune.

Selections include fried calamari (that's an appetizer), grilled salmon, crab cake, fried flounder (as part of a sandwich) and much more. Again, every item is $6, the entry-level rate for a fast-food combo meal these days.

Chowder (New England or Manhattan style) is also offered for another $2.

In addition to that lunch menu, there are two other separate menus. One is a "new" wraps and salads menu, which also includes a soft shell crab sandwich for $8.95. The crab can be beer battered or sauteed and is served with lettuce, tomato and a creamy chive dressing.

The main menu is also available at all times. Appetizers on it include oysters, clams, mussels and shrimp. An order of the swordfish platter ($12.95) floated by me on the way to a table, and is served with fries and coleslaw.

In addition to those options, there are food events like "Lobster Night," with $18.99 pound-and-a-half lobster dinners and "Shrimp Lover's Night" on Wednesdays when everything on the menu that contains shrimp is discounted. Finally, there are the old-fashioned "regular" specials as well.

Browsing the categories, I selected the shrimp scampi pasta. Shrimp is served in so many different types of restaurants, with the garlic treatment being popular.

It was a nice portion—I counted six large shrimp on top of a medium serving of linguini. The balance of both ingredients was good—the shrimp weren't buried in the macaroni.

The "scampi" part was interesting. The sauce was more oil-based than creamy, and some of the ingredients were visible on the plate—minced garlic and red pepper flakes.

The garlic didn't overpower the overall taste impact—it was more "complete" tasting, like a white clam sauce.

Overall, the scampi wasn't skimpy, tasted good and was priced beyond right.

Aqua, Man

My beverage was this writer's frequently selected sparking water. It was nice to see the Mountain Valley brand arrive at the table. 

As a side note, it may be an obscure fact today, but the brand was one of the first, if not the exact first, commercially successful brand of bottled water in the United States. In fact, Elvis Presley drank the stuff by the gallon.

Meeting the Big Fish

After my meal, owner and operator Tom Austin sat down at my table to talk about Caldwell's long-standing business.

"The store has been here in Caldwell for 62 years," he said. "I worked for the previous owner for seven years, when it was at 380 Bloomfield Ave. It was really small and more of a 'market.' Times changed. Less and less people were preparing fish at home, but wanted to go out to eat it."

Hence, the current restaurant version of the business.

Austin was "born and raised in Caldwell," and after graduating James Caldwell High School in 1975, he began working in retail, but was then selling things for feet, and not with fins.

"Before entering the seafood business, I managed Kinney Shoes, where Chipotle is now," he pointed out.

Ah, Kinney Shoes. That former Mecca of footwear in West Caldwell, where Chipotle has been located, but not just where that quasi-Mexican restaurant is—the shoe store took up that whole building. 

Being retro-minded, I indulged him. He spoke fondly of his days at the former national shoe chain, saying, "I had a great education in management theory."

"In 1979, it was one of the most successful stores [in the chain]," Austin said. "I was gung-ho, a rookie manager, and the place caught on like fire."

When Kinney was eventually snuffed out by the mid '80s, Austin hoofed it to uptown Caldwell.

He heard that the then-current owner of Caldwell Seafood, Rudy Alcide, was looking for someone to not only work for him, but learn the overall business and eventually buy it. It was smooth waters from then on.

Austin officially took over in 1999, and has worked been at the restaurant every day since.

"All the time—except for trips to the Fulton Fish Market [in New York]," he said. "I was there at 1 o'clock in the morning today.

"Everything here is hand selected by the owner—me. That's our niche."

Address: 390 Bloomfield Ave., Caldwell

Phone: 973-226-2031

Website: www.caldwellseafoodnj.com

Serving: Tuesday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. (store); 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (restaurant).

Cost: $—Affordable

Liquor: BYO

Recommended: Shrimp Scampi

The Bottom Line: Caldwell Seafood offers fast and different lunch options at excellent prices.