What kind of fish would you tell a fish newbie to eat?

Right now, in Baltimore, go to Frank's Seafood Market in Jessup and buy some local yellow perch or striped bass. Both will have been harvested within the last day or three in the Chesapeake Bay. Get them filleted on the spot. Take them home and prepare them simply. Baked, broiled, or fried with minimal seasoning (e.g. just a bit of Old Bay). You really can't go wrong, both are amazingly good. Fish is a bit unforgiving for a chef. Cooking them through, but not past that point, is important. Lucky for you, this could not be easier with fish. They start out sort of translucent, but become opaque when cooked. Just keep checking them...

Definitely swordfish.

Tuna steaks. Salmon wildcaught. Cod is nice and very plain tasting and the traditional fish stick filler but very nice in not stick ways too. The most important part if fresh, what ever you eat needs to be fresh, older fish tastes and smells fishy. I'm from Australia so I would recommend Barramundi as an amazing eating fish, so yummy not very strongly flavoured, I have seen it in the US from time to time. Pretty much any shell fish or crustacean is delicious. Raw oysters are supposed to taste like the sea and that is why I love them (but it's not for everyone), cooked oysters on the other hand have a lovely creamy texture and flavour like most other shellfish.

Oh! I also have a tip for simple broiled fish fillets; it involves preserved lemon, which you can either buy in some of the fancier food shops or make yourself. In fact, preserved lemon is really easy to do yourself, and it comes in handy as a basic pantry staple, so lemme hit you with that recipe: You need a clean pint-size mason jar, a good amount of kosher salt, and about 6-7 lemons. Quantities are going to be approximate here, because a lot of this is eyeballing and "it depends. What you do is: quarter about 3 of the lemons. Then put a layer of lemon quarters on the bottom of the jar; you may only need about 3. Then sprinkle a couple tablesooons of salt on top of the lemons. Then add another layer of lemons on top of that - press down a little to start gently squeezing the juice out. Then add another layer of 2 tablespoons of salt. Keep alternating lemons and salt like that, gently pressing the lemons in each time to squeeze juice out, until the jar's just about full (quarter another lemon or two as you need it) Add one more layer of salt. Then, juice enough of the remaining lemons to make enough juice to cover the lemons inside the jar. Put on the lid and just leave it out on your counter for a week or so - give things a shake a couple times a day to make sure the salt and lemon juice circulates through everything. Then put it in the fridge. Presto. Now -- what you can do with those preserved lemons for fish is: you'll need a couple of fish filets, a little oil, and a sheet pan. Preheat your broiler, drizzle a little oil on each filet, and lay it in the pain. Fish a quarter of lemon out of your preserved lemon, and mash it up (if you've had them for a while, it'll be easy; you can scrape the pith out of the rind and throw the rind way, or just use the whole thing). Spread that lemon-mash on your filets. Broil it for just a few minutes. You're done. I actually find this works especially well for bluefish, which has a repuation for being "fishy" - the lemon and salt counters that nicely. (Getting really fresh bluefish helps with the "fishy" bit too, of course.) But it could work with just about any mild fish as well; the lemon and salt is simple enough, and that's a seriously easy preparation.

Sea bass or tilapia. Oh god, the pleasures my mouth has enjoyed with a plate of steamed sea bass or tilapia with ginger and scallions. As a seafood lover, I second all the suggestions above (sigh, what I would do for a lifetime supply of rock scallops), but definitely get on the sea bass or tilapia train (though I hear the Chilean Sea Bass is overfished... sad).

Trout is not hardcore. Trout is closely related to salmon! There are lots of different types of trout and they all have slightly different tastes, but it's still a meaty fish that works nicely with lots of different flavors. If you have a favorite cuisine, like Mexican or French or Indian or Italian, try trout cooked in the way that cuisine would cook it. Crustaceans are amazing but if you're just getting used to them, yes, let other people do the work for you. Think about it; all forms of meat come with packaging that has to be dealt with - bones, skin, bits - it's just that with crustaceans the bones are on the outside. So you're in Baltimore? Obviously there are many trustworthy places to get crab. Any crab shack worth its yelp reviews will have a "lazy" option, which will probably be crab that's been picked of its shell and mixed with some flavor and breadcrumbs and maybe some cream and baked until golden delicious. Or, try any version of the -roll, as in lobster roll, shrimp roll, whatever roll. That will be a tasty bread roll heaped with the relevant seafood, maybe a little mayo and paprika, and some lettuce. As it's in sandwich form, all the hard work will have been done for you.

Trout is inoffensive. --- http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/29/dining/29united.html It's whiting. And the reason why you might find it a little hardcore is because it's cooked with the bones inside. Tilapia is probably the mildest fish around. It has almost no fish flavor (or flavor at all, for that matter). Catfish is another mild white fleshed fish. It's good batter fried. Shrimp, either batter fried, or served lightly boiled with cocktail sauce, or in a fiery hot spaghetti sauce. Clam chowder, or any kind of fish chowder. If you're daunted by a whole lobster or crab, try a lobster or crab or shrimp bisque. Or go for a lobster roll -- all the great taste of chunk lobster without the work.

posted by jimmythefish at 3:34 AM Eponysterical . . . ? Loving the replies. Thanks -- but do feel free to keep 'em coming! :-)

Lots of helpful replies here. Thanks!