Best source for fresh Sardines for grilling in the Eastbay?

[Mission]

Best source for fresh Sardines for grilling in the Eastbay?

Thanks for your feedback.

[tranewreck]

I saw really fresh beauts (and at $1.99/lb reasonably priced by local standards) at Berkeley Bowl West this past week, but don't know if this is a regular thing.

[alanbarnes]

I always get my anchovies and sardines (mixed; you don't get to pick) from the live bait receiver at the end of K dock in the Berkeley marina. They don't get any fresher than that.

Unless you're in a boat the best bet is to bring a wheeled ice chest. A half scoop of bait is about five pounds of fish.

[escargot3]

saw them yesterday (Sat) at Verbrugge's on College Ave and they looked bright and shiny.

[Leadbelly]

Here is some actual feedback:

Hudson Fish, which sells at the Thursday and Saturday Berkeley Farmers' Markets, sometimes has local sardines, but I think you need to be on their email list to know for sure. They do run out quickly when they have them, plus I would recommend getting there early just to avoid getting sardines that have been thrown around a lot. They are always fresh, but when I have picked them up later in the day, they have been sitting at the bottom of the cooler for awhile and are a little banged up.

Tokyo Fish Market also frequently has them--they are usually pretty pristine. You may also check with Monterey Fish--I haven't seen sardines there in awhile, but I could be just missing them.

[Robert Lauriston]

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/626767

[rworange]

Those continue to be all good suggestions. One place that rarely gets mentined is Hapuku Fish Shop in Rockridge.

First of all, I don't shop enough in that area to really be familiar with it and the prices are high. Not that sardines are rare, but Hapuku always seems to have some fish I don't usually see often elsewhere. Once they had a tank of live Alaskan king crab. I do know I usually see sardines there.
http://rockridgemarkethall.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=36&Itemid=169

Another place that doesn't get mentioned is JP Seafood in Alameda. They seem to get really high marks on yelp, fwiw. Do they have sardines?
http://www.jpseafood.com/

[JasmineG]

I sometimes shop at Hapuku -- not often, because their prices are high, but their fish is always of great quality, and there are always things there that I don't see elsewhere.