Wellfleet
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Dugan makes up the menu, which changes monthly, emphasizing pristine prime ingredients like sturgeon caviar, sushi-grade fish, Kobe beef, and Kurobuta pork. Though not a trained chef himself, he’s picked up plenty from working with chefs over his 30 years in the fish industry. “That’s really how I learned everything,” he says.
At the time Dugan was already acquainted with chefs Charlie Trotter, Jean Joho, and Eric Aubriot, and he quickly established himself as a supplier for high-end restaurants like Spiaggia and Tru. He decided to expand into retail in 1997, opening the Fish Guy Market the following year. The wholesale arm of the Fish Guy Market is still driven by restaurant business: Dugan’s clients include Schwa, Tru, Alinea, and Moto. Matthias Merges, chef de cuisine at Charlie Trotter’s, relies on him for such hard-to-find ingredients as codfish tripe, monkfish cartilage, and gooseneck barnacles.
On Monday through Saturday the Fish Guy Market offers carryout soups, fish sandwiches, and lobster rolls for lunch. Dugan says he’d like this side of his business to continue operating on the q.t.: “I’m a fishmonger, not a sandwich maker. That being said, we make awesome sandwiches.” (Customers are asked to phone in orders ahead of time.) And if you see something that looks especially tasty in one of the refrigerated cases, Dugan says, “Let us know, and if we don’t have too many customers waiting, we’ll cook it up for you right there.” –David Hammond
