I was about to file this under the “too good to be true” category, until I realized that making a reservation with VillageVines isn’t free. Booking a reservation through the site (for $10), which features restaurants in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., San Francisco, and Chicago, will land you a discount ranging from 25-50% off your entire bill, depending on the restaurant and day of the week.

I noticed some overlap with Groupon, though depending on the restaurant and the size of your party, you’ll save much more by booking the same restaurant on VillageVines, and you can cancel up until two hours before your reservation for a full refund. I’ve purchased Groupons in the past for at least one VillageVines restaurant — The Orchard — and was unable to use the Groupon before it expired (clearly part of Groupon’s business model). If I had booked on VillageVines, I could have waited to purchase until I knew I’d be going to the restaurant, likely saving even more than I would have with the Groupon.

Many of the NYC restaurants listed are restaurants that I’ve dined at or have been intending to visit — including Wall & Water, Chinatown Brasserie, BONDST Lounge, Le Cirque, and Dinosaur BBQ — so we’re not talking hole-in-the-wall Chinese-owned Mexican joints here (you’d be surprised how many of those exist in Midtown East). Here’s hoping that VillageVines can tide me over until restaurant week!

There may not appear to be anything spectacular about the sushi plate I’ve just presented before you, but this platter of raw fish represents more than just a great meal. My SUteiShi dinner (disclaimer: that wasn’t all for me) was far better than I had expected, given that the restaurant both offered a significant coupon (50-percent off, via Groupon), and that it was located at 24 Peck Slip, which those familiar with Lower Manhattan will be quick to peg smack-dab in the middle of the South Street Seaport — perhaps the city’s biggest tourist trap after Times Square. The food was awesome, however. And the service was sufficient (one of my friends had his water glass refilled a dozen times during the meal, mostly because there was never any need to wait for a pitcher).

Top to bottom, the Under the Sea roll consisted of spicy scallop, scallions, tempura bits, and gold tobiko on top, for about $15. Then, just below that, the King of NY roll featured king crab (it’s not often that you find real crab in a sushi roll), avocado, mayo, and flying fish roe on top. The rest of the rolls included tuna and avocado, spicy tuna, California, and spicy salmon — each $5-7. There’s no shortage of great, relatively inexpensive sushi restaurants in the city, but I can’t say the same for the Financial District — the neighborhood I’ve called home for over a year now. I often trek 30 minutes to the Upper West Side to get my fix, but in the future, I might be willing to supplement those journeys with visits to SUteiShi.

There’s nothing overwhelmingly unique about the Noryangjin Fish Market, but if you like fresh seafood, you can’t do much better than the restaurants on the second floor of the market — customers haggle for fish at the market below, then head upstairs to one of dozens of restaurants eager to fry up your catch for a fee.

Click the “read more” link for more photos from the market, including some aggressive crabs and one of the best fried fish meals I’ve ever had.

You’ll find countless species of mollusks on the market floor, including a variety of octopuses.

There are plenty of baby octopuses available as well.

Sushi (sashimi, to be more precise) is also a big hit, though you won’t find any spicy tuna rolls here.

Several vendors sell stingray sashimi, bizarrely enough.

Crabs — packed live in cardboard boxes with sawdust — are a big hit at the market.

The crabs appeared agitated when removed from their boxes — not surprising, considering that crabs tend to feel more at home swimming in water than packed tightly in sawdust.

Yup, that’s blood.

This vendor set up her lunch in the middle of the market floor, chowing down on kimchi, not seafood.

I assumed that this cat would be eating raw fish, but nope — that’s kibble in its bowl.

A vendor prepares our fish, which we negotiated down to about 20 bucks.

The finished product … I think the preparation came to about $15 or so, including beers and typical Korean side dishes of tofu and quail eggs. I didn’t love the sides, but the fish was incredible!

I was first introduced to the Jumbo Floating Restaurant when I saw a poster of the unique venue hanging on the wall of a Chinese restaurant in Columbia, Missouri of all places. When I arrived at our rented apartment in Hong Kong, I noticed the restaurant in a guide book, and made plans to visit.

My Hong Konger friend explained that the restaurant was mainly a tourist attraction (duh), but the meal was great (Peking duck, fried rice, and sauteed Chinese vegetables) and I doubt I’ll even forget the experience.

Click the “read more” link for more photos!

The market is brimming with seafood, produce, and craft vendors, and happened to be the only attraction in the city where I actually saw tourists.

The only objective of the Seattle leg of my All You Can Jet month was to try some awesome seafood — Washington is known for its locally caught salmon and halibut (my favorite fish). I had an awesome halibut lunch ($29) at Steelhead Diner, located at 95 Pine Street, adjacent to Pike Place. That fish was definitely worth the trip!

The tasting featured a variety of appetizers and entrees, including Lobster Bisque and Caviar from The Russian Tea Room (definitely one of my favorites), Sunchoke Veloute Smoked Salmon from Gilt, Long Island Duck from Rouge Tomate, a Braised Pork Belly, Peanut Butter & Jalapeno Jelly Sandwich from Blue Smoke, and a Kanpachi Tiradito from Sushi Samba (its neutral flavors made for the perfect palette cleanser before moving on to dessert), just to name a few. Some of the desserts included a killer Peanut Butter & Jelly Bread Pudding from Dovetail, and Carrot Cake Macarons from Aureole (by far my favorite dessert), with many other petits fours available as well.

The mood at the event was generally upbeat, though some guests and former Gourmet editors appeared emotional during the “Golden Fork” presentation, as one of the food industry’s most recognized publications closed its doors. It was an honor to be able to attend tonight’s event honoring these colleagues; I wish the Gourmet staff the best of luck, and hope that they land on their feet, ready to take on a new challenge in our battered, yet still hopeful industry.

Rovers like Schnitzel and Things usually offer the most unique menu items, have highly educated (c-list) celebrity chefs, and are often no more expensive than their anchored competitors. The schnitzel at S.A.T., “a hand pounded, lightly breaded thin cutlet fried to golden perfection,” was fantastic and filling. My cod schnitzel platter included two sides (I chose cucumber salad and fries) and a condiment (pesto mayo for me) for $9, with cheaper options, such as the $5 bratwurst on ciabatta, also available. That didn’t leave room for dessert, unfortunately, though I’ll be back to try the tahitian vanilla panna cotta & blueberries another time ($3.50).

Follow @schnitzeltruck on Twitter, or visit their Web site (yes, some food carts are even on the Web).