CANNED TUNA....BEST BRANDS??????????

I carry lots of cans with me when I return from Italy and Spain....am wondering about others' opinions about canned tuna.....(what are the best brands...arugula/ tuna combo salads... white bean/red onion salads...etc.)
Where can I pick up good canned -in -olive -oil- tuna here in NYC for a good price.....or should I keep shlepping those cans???!!

On a vacation a few summers ago we stumbled on Katy's Smokehouse in northern California. They sell a fabulous canned tuna as well as great smoked salmon and amazing smoked oysters. They say the tuna is roasted in the can. It has no oil; just the natural juice of the fish. Believe me; this stuff doesn't need oil. It's great. None of it is cheap, however, but is is very easy to order on their website, www.katyssmokehouse.com

I like the products from Dave's Albacore in Santa Cruz, CA. -- particularly the Gourmet Albacore Fillets with Olive Oil (in cans) and the Homestyle Albacore Fillets (in glass jars). They are available at most Whole Foods and lots of smaller markets. They also sell their products on the web. Here's a link:

Link: http://davesalbacore.com/index.cfm

A couple years ago, Saveur 100 featured A's do Mar, a portuguese tuna that I can find in some local italian specialty delis (that has been labeled in Italian) for about $3.50-$3.75 a 7 oz can. It blows away all the competition, including A's do Mar, which I don't think is that much superior to Genova to be worth the extra bucks (although it does have larger chunks for a nice salade nicoise preparation).

I don't have the Saveur, but I'm sure they had a mail order source for it in the 100.

I'm sorry -- I don't understand your point. Could you rephrase? Thanks very much.

Please. write it again...Pastosa Ravioli in Brooklyn sells the small cans (small single serving) of A's Do Mar for $1.69.....

Sorry, I meant it is superior to Flott.

Geisha brand is good for general use. Nice big chunks of tuna.

I love canned tuna and agree with the flott rec though there is another brand called something like cento I think that is also good. Given the choice of pastene and genova, I choose the latter - it's a texture thing. I find the pastene too mushy. There have been other tuna discussions in the past (but at least several months past) so you might want to search around
to hear more choices. And as I've said many times - the prices on arthur av at teitel bros or casa di mozzarella are infinitely better than manhattan for all of the mentioned tunas including flott (which is still pricier than the others but...)

The saving grace in italy is that canned tuna comes packed in extra virgin oil which can really send a tuna lover to paradise. I love rio mare which is sold most anywhere I've been in italy and usually lug home or beg friends to send. You can get extra virgin packed tuna from sicily on esperya.com. It's not cheap and I actually prefer the rio mare but it certainly exists as a possibility when the need is great.

That's great..very helpful, thanks...

Definitely Flott. Great for salade nicoise.

A few times, I have taken leave of my senses, and bought the $5 a can Flott, Tuna belly in Pure Olive Oil, or Ventresca di Tonno, Produzione Limitata, handworked in Sicily...(I'm not making this up, I kept the box..) (g)

It's pretty amazing; melting, mild, the distinct flavor of sea salt overlaying it...It really reminds me of the oil-cured tuna from Lupa....Anyway, if you can load up on THAT stuff at a reasonable price, it would seem worthy of the resulting back ache...

Trader Joe's sells Genova Tonno - solid light Yellowfin tuna in olive oil- for $1.49 per can. On close inspection of the label, it is distributed by Chicken of the Sea International and claims to be "dolphin safe." I think it's good. There may be better tuna in olive oil out there, but not as inexpensive as this. Whole Foods/Fresh Fields sells the same brand at a much higher price.

I agree...

For the money, Trader Joe's tuna is fabulous. (That said, I've never tried one of those $5/can alternatives!)

funny you should ask now. this mornings chicago tribune had a small column about a tuna fisherman in seattle named joe malley, owner of st.jude fishing vessel. he apparently cans his tuna and sells it locally and on his website. i havent checked it out yet, but intend to, so this isnt a recommendation, just info. Because bigger fish, according to some scientists, have higher mercury residues, malley says his fish is also healthier as he fishes for 4-5 year old, 15lb. fish, rather than the commercial fishers' 8-90lb tuna.
his website is www.tunatuna.com, phone [phone].