Best of Boston

Everyone knows the motto—”If it isn’t fresh, it isn’t legal”—but did you know that Legal Sea Foods actually started out 50 years ago as a seafood company, not the chain of restaurants we think of today? In keeping with that tradition, Legal buyers don’t use brokers or middlemen, and they grab the choicest catch straight from the ocean. The two fish markets showcase anything you could want from the sea, and even offer ready-to-eat items such as clam chowder and fried shrimp. With its in-house microbiology laboratory and eight-step process that screens for bacteria, Legal guarantees the quality of its merchandise.