Kim's fabled fish route

Remember the good old days when milk was delivered? Probably not—but it was convenient. If you're lucky enough to live on Boston's North Shore, Kim Bartlett will deliver fresh fish right to your door! Kim's fabled fish route starts in West Gloucester, and runs through Essex, Ipswich, Hamilton, Wenham, North Beverly, Prides Crossing, Beverly Farms, and ends in Manchester… by the sea.

Here's how it works: you order your 'fish wish' by Tuesday evening by contacting Kim either by e-mail or telephone, then in the wee hours of Wednesday morning—way before you are awake and thinking of dinner, never mind fish—he buys his fish from the largest and best-kept vessels fishing out of Gloucester, via a fish distributor called Ocean Crest Seafoods. This fish is gorgeous and as fresh as it gets—shiny and briny! Kim weighs out the fish, packs it into individual bags sorted by weight and kind, and places it into coolers in the back of his Toyota truck. Then he cranks up the jazz music and sets off to deliver the fish to "the iceboxes of the beautiful ladies of the North Shore!" He's a charmer, that one.

Kim has been doing this sui generis sea-to-door fish delivery routine for over 35 years! It all began when he was a writer and stay at home dad who needed to get out of the house one day a week. Oh, and did I mention that this New Englander is also a carpenter, makes gorgeous hand carved bowls, and is a published author!? Ayup. You can buy a copy of his published book, The Finest Kind, about the lives of Gloucester Fishermen on Amazon.com by clicking here.

Kim's delivered fish service is a fabulous deal! You get the absolute freshest fish for a very good price, and it's delivered right to your door with a bright and happy smile. If you aren't home when he delivers you can leave a cooler with some money for him, or arrange something else. He's very trustworthy and so some folks just leave their door open for him, they way they would for a plumber or carpenter, which makes for fun stories...

One day years ago Kim was delivering to a home on Argilla Road in Ipswich. He had another customer in the woods directly behind that house, so he would park at one house and walk through the woods and around the back to get to the other house. This particular day, a landscaping crew working on one yard saw this stranger (Kim!) sneak into a house, sneak out, then disappear. Of course, they called the Ipswich cops who roared in, raced into the house, paused, opened the fridge door, shut it and announced to the landscapers: "It was just the fish man!" 

To order:

e-mail   kimbartlett1@gmail.com

phone  617-595-8886

What's your fish wish?

Kim's fresh fish
Haddock — $12. per lb
Salmon — $12. per lb
Flounder / Sole — $12. per lb
Scallops — $16.50 per lb

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Fresh farm eggs
$2.50 per dozen

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Kims very own maple syrup
quart — $25.
half gallon — $35.
gallon — $50.