I recently received an email from a Copley couple, owners of their own seafood delivery company, who were inquiring as to how they could let North Olmsted residents know about their home delivery of fresh seafood. My first step was to visit their web site and give their operation the "once over" from the safety of my Internet connection. They have a nice looking site and the pictures of their seafood were quite appealing but then again, I've never really ever eaten any pictures of seafood so I was still unconvinced. Perhaps I should mention that years and years and years ago, I was trained to run hotel kitchens by European chefs. No stranger to elegant food, or fancy fixin's as they're known in some parts of Ohio, I was going to be a difficult person to impress. Nevertheless, I gave them a call and explained that we'd be happy to write a story about their business and we'd publish right here in The Advocate.

Cindy Dziorney accepted my offer to write the story and we set a time for our Business Editor to visit with Cindy and her husband John to interview them about their company, John's BayLobsters & Seafood. Shortly after setting the appointment, I received a telephone call requesting that we postpone the appointment for a week as they wanted to send along some seafood for us to try before we wrote the story. Now, I've always had a high regard for companies willing to "put their money where their mouth is", but this was the first time I had come across a company willing to put their seafood where my mouth is and I have to admit, it sounded interesting. A few days later, a sturdy Styrofoam box containing ice packs and seafood arrived at the front door followed shortly by a dash to the kitchen and a flurry of pans.

Inside this mini insulated chest were a container of fresh sea scallops and another of fresh calamari. We immediately opened the scallops and were delighted to discover the remarkable absence of any type of "fishy smell" whatsoever. Contrary to my experiences at the seafood sections of various local supermarkets, this lack of odor confirmed that these scallops were indeed as fresh as Cindy and John had promised. I melted a generous dollop of butter in a sauté pan and added a clove of fresh garlic. As the fragrance of the minced garlic began to permeate the air, I added the scallops, a pinch of salt, and a healthy dash of freshly squeezed lemon juice. While the scallops began to cook, I discovered just how long twelve minutes can be, particularly when you're filled with anticipation. As these gorgeous morsels from the sea approached the final stages of cooking, into the pan I tossed in a wee bit of freshly chopped parsley and an ounce or so of a dry white wine. We eagerly parceled this delicacy onto plates and the room went silent as first bites were taken. Within seconds, everyone in the room collectively regained their vocal abilities and the air was filled with a chorus of, "Mmmmmmmmmm, this is really good!" When we had finished eating, I guarantee those plates looked as clean as they did when taken from the shelf!

At this point, I could continue to regale you with tales of the following evenings' Calamari adventure, but rather than telling tales of the excellent fresh seafood we're now eating, allow me to introduce you to John Dziorney as he explains how you can get some for yourself!

I had been delivering seafood to restaurants in Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Columbus, and Lancaster since 1988. As I made my deliveries, I would be approached by people wanting to know if I could get live lobsters and other fresh seafood for them. They told me that they couldn't find good seafood in Ohio. As a result, my brother and I started Nick the Fish Guy in 2001 to provide Northeast Ohio residents with home delivery of the absolute freshest seafood in the country. Our business grew so large that we split the company in half, each of us having our own territory, and I opened John's BayLobsters & Seafood in December 2003.

John's BayLobsters & Seafood offers live lobsters, scallops, walleye pike, perch, swordfish, tuna, Chilean sea bass, salmon, and king salmon. We have sea weed salads, clam chowders, lobster chowder, and we can get just about anything that swims in the ocean. Within twenty-four hours of being caught, it's delivered fresh to me from Boston and then to your home. It's the freshest seafood you can get, even fresher than the seafood found at most seafood restaurants.

I buy my fish from Steve Connolly Seafood in Boston, the nation's leading supplier of fresh seafood. By only purchasing the very best seafood available, we guarantee our customers receive seafood that is consistently fresh and deliciously appetizing. Every Wednesday morning, Steve Connolly's buyers are at the docks by 2:00 a.m. to purchase the fish as the boats arrive. They take the fish back to their processing facility where it's cut, prepared, iced, and boxed. By 2:30 that same afternoon, it's shipped out of Boston and I receive it the next morning at 8:00 a.m. Within hours of receiving the shipment, I have this beautiful, fresh seafood delivered right to your doorstep. The only way you can get fresher fish is to catch it yourself!

Most of our seafood is caught at the edge of the Continental Shelf, 150 miles from the shore, amidst deep, unpolluted waters. In addition, Steve Connolly's fish is always "top of the trip". The fishing boats go to sea for eight to ten days and, as the fish is caught, it's iced and stored in the hold with each day's catch being placed on top of the previous day's catch. Steve Connolly's buyers are at the docks early to make sure they receive the fish that was caught on the final day as the boats were coming back to shore. This fish is the freshest fish in the entire boatload of fresh fish. Naturally, they pay more for the privilege of getting the best fish on the boat, often several dollars a pound more than other fish companies are charged for fish that is several days old. The difference will be immediately obvious to you when you receive seafood from John's BayLobsters & Seafood. You can tell just how fresh this fish truly is by the firmness, the color, and the absence of any "fishy" smell. Fresh fish smells fresh, and old fish, well, it just smells.

At John's BayLobsters & Seafood, we don't maintain an inventory. We ship all of our seafood within hours of receiving a delivery to make sure you always receive the highest quality possible. When we tell you it's fresh, it's really fresh and has never been treated with brines, fungicidal agents, or other preservatives. We'll ship however much or little seafood you want with the minimum order being one pound or one fillet. Many of our customers even purchase our seafood a pound or two at a time. If you want the freshest fish available, we'll bring it to you, no matter where you live in North Olmsted and we'll deliver it right to your front door!

There's little I love more than good food, so when I tell you that John's BayLobsters & Seafood has the freshest, most delicious seafood available, that's the opinion of an expert. Call John's BayLobsters & Seafood today and don't forget to tell them that The Advocate sent you!