New Jersey
Posted by BrianYarvin, November 20, 2009 at 11:00 AM
[Photos: Brian Yarvin]
Walking through my local outpost of the Supremo supermarket chain, under the Mexican, Colombian, and Brazilian flags, I got an intense dose of Latin American flavors that showed just how important those cuisines are here. Just what are all those different tortillas? In what way are Oaxacan, Guatemalan, and Salvadoran ones different from each other? And cremas? There are all those different kinds! Strolling down the aisles of Supremo gives a person hope. The presence of all these great ingredients means that somebody is cooking great Mexican, Central and South American food right near by. Because if they weren't, this place would be out of business in a second.
The cheese section makes you ask why we never talk about Latin America when the subject of artisan cheese comes up. There's some serious cheese here. A variety of fresh ones that you just don't see anyplace else. And the produce is for those who know. Fruits, roots and leaves of every description, and more habeneros then you ever thought could be in one place, with very little labeling besides names—and sometimes not even that.
Continue reading »
Posted by BrianYarvin, November 13, 2009 at 10:00 AM
[Photos: Brian Yarvin>]
With all the discussion in the press about different turkey breeds, Heritage versus contemporary, and the various places where a person can spend many hundreds of dollars on a turkey, you'd think that these were the decisions that most of us were making.
Here in New Jersey, the real question is: "Where can we get turkeys that aren't frozen solid blocks trucked in from some distant corner of the country?"
New Jersey's highly developed farm-to-consumer culture takes care of this nicely. The state is dotted with real turkey farms—places where you can go, buy a freshly killed (or at least recently frozen) turkey at a price that's a bit more than the supermarket and more than a bit less than the fancy stores.
This past week I checked out Hinck's Turkey Farm in Manasquan, an area I didn't associate with farming at all. But having seen farms in the oddest places, I was ready for anything. What I found was an industrial building across from an outlet mall, with grazing animals—cows, goats, and chickens, but no turkeys—in a field on one side.
The attached building had been converted into a deli—but a very turkey-oriented deli. They had roast turkey legs and breasts, offered turkey sandwiches, and whole Thanksgiving-style turkey dinners. What I wanted—a whole, fresh turkey—was nowhere to be seen. When I asked if they had their own turkey farm or whole raw turkeys for sale, it was like giving the secret password.
With a look that said "I'll get you the real stuff," a woman behind the counter told me that fresh turkeys are available almost every day of the year for $2.95 a pound and typically run twelve to twenty-four pounds. Raising and processing occurred at a farm nearby that wasn't open to the public. I could, however, drive by and confirm that the turkeys were free-range.
I bought a thirteen pounder and headed home.
Continue reading »
Posted by BrianYarvin, November 6, 2009 at 10:00 AM
[Photos: Brian Yarvin]
The other day, I received a breathless message from Eric Eisenbud, as knowledgeable a food enthusiast as there is here in Central New Jersey, and what he said left me in deep shock: the Dragon Palace—the state´s best Sichuan restaurant—had translated its renowned four page lunch menu into English. We agreed to eat there a few days later.
Ten minutes before we were supposed to meet, I stood at the entrance and noticed that there were no English language lunch menus at all. Not that there was any need for one. Two-thirds of the tables were taken and, to my ear, Chinese was being cheerfully spoken at each one. The only non-Chinese people besides myself were in large parties. From past eavesdropping, I suspected that they were all from the same workplaces.
Soon Eric and I were seated—a nice table right by the free scallion pancakes. (He has some pull here. When he sent back the tea made from a bag and asked for the real stuff, they cheerfully gave it to him.) But when the menu was put in front of us, I saw that it wasn't quite right. It practically began with General Tso's Chicken, a dish as American as apple pie. (My own, completely unsubstantiated, hypothesis is that General Tso served in the New Jersey National Guard.) I was crushed.
Continue reading »
Posted by BrianYarvin, October 30, 2009 at 10:00 AM
"Beautiful bellies, bones for soup, ears and intestines, you name it, it's there."
Back in July I wrote: "Right now... I believe The Great Wall is the best Chinese supermarket in the state, but rival chain Asian Food Center is building a new place in Piscataway. Will that store take the crown? Stay tuned."
Well, that store in Piscataway, is open now and its time to revisit the subject.
The first thing you'll notice when you drive up to the new Asian Food Center is that it's right there with a Lowe's, a Panera Bread, and a WalMart. This in itself is a bit of a surprise, for those of us old enough to remember when "ethnic" grocery stores were dark, tiny, and well-hidden. This store is large, easy to navigate, and has plenty of parking. And located right near I-287, it's easy to reach from all over the area.
Not long ago, I visited the place with a huge shopping list and a small camera and set off to see what they've done. Try to take a photo inside and one big difference will be obvious: the place is really well-lit. You can see whatever you need to and easily read every label—a lesson that needs to be taught to almost every supermarket in the state.
The Asian Food Center hits the strong points of New Jersey Chinese supermarkets as well as anybody and falls short only where everybody else does. In Chinese "pork" and "meat" are the same word, and it shows. This place is pork paradise with everything but the oink on display. Beautiful bellies, bones for soup, ears and intestines, you name it, it's there.
Continue reading »
Posted by Carey Jones, October 27, 2009 at 10:00 AM
[Photos: Carey Jones]
We've written about their banana whip; Ed's raved about their contributions to the New Amsterdam Market. But even though we've got a long-standing relationship with The Bent Spoon—one of our contributors worked there, and I spent several years making near-daily visits—we've never done the definitive post. So it was about time we made a return trip.
Opened in May of 2004 by Gabrielle Carbone and Matt Errico, The Bent Spoon is less an ice cream shop than a lab of ingredient wizardry. Sure, they have a few standard house flavors—no, not chocolate chip and strawberry; more like chocolate habanero and cardamom ginger.
But "seasonality" doesn't quite capture the philosophy behind the rest of their rotating offerings. It's not "Where can I get the best ingredients for this ice cream?" Rather, "This is what I want to be eating right now. Let's make an ice cream out of it!" That explains the sweet potato ice cream and the Triumph Brewery stout, the crème fraîche ice cream and the heirloom tomato sorbet. Olive oil. Bourbon with caramel and sea salt. Earl grey. Red cabbage. And, literally, hundreds more.
Continue reading »
Posted by BrianYarvin, November 20, 2009 at 11:00 AM
[Photos: Brian Yarvin]
Walking through my local outpost of the Supremo supermarket chain, under the Mexican, Colombian, and Brazilian flags, I got an intense dose of Latin American flavors that showed just how important those cuisines are here. Just what are all those different tortillas? In what way are Oaxacan, Guatemalan, and Salvadoran ones different from each other? And cremas? There are all those different kinds! Strolling down the aisles of Supremo gives a person hope. The presence of all these great ingredients means that somebody is cooking great Mexican, Central and South American food right near by. Because if they weren't, this place would be out of business in a second.
The cheese section makes you ask why we never talk about Latin America when the subject of artisan cheese comes up. There's some serious cheese here. A variety of fresh ones that you just don't see anyplace else. And the produce is for those who know. Fruits, roots and leaves of every description, and more habeneros then you ever thought could be in one place, with very little labeling besides names—and sometimes not even that.
Continue reading »
Posted by BrianYarvin, November 13, 2009 at 10:00 AM
[Photos: Brian Yarvin>]
With all the discussion in the press about different turkey breeds, Heritage versus contemporary, and the various places where a person can spend many hundreds of dollars on a turkey, you'd think that these were the decisions that most of us were making.
Here in New Jersey, the real question is: "Where can we get turkeys that aren't frozen solid blocks trucked in from some distant corner of the country?"
New Jersey's highly developed farm-to-consumer culture takes care of this nicely. The state is dotted with real turkey farms—places where you can go, buy a freshly killed (or at least recently frozen) turkey at a price that's a bit more than the supermarket and more than a bit less than the fancy stores.
This past week I checked out Hinck's Turkey Farm in Manasquan, an area I didn't associate with farming at all. But having seen farms in the oddest places, I was ready for anything. What I found was an industrial building across from an outlet mall, with grazing animals—cows, goats, and chickens, but no turkeys—in a field on one side.
The attached building had been converted into a deli—but a very turkey-oriented deli. They had roast turkey legs and breasts, offered turkey sandwiches, and whole Thanksgiving-style turkey dinners. What I wanted—a whole, fresh turkey—was nowhere to be seen. When I asked if they had their own turkey farm or whole raw turkeys for sale, it was like giving the secret password.
With a look that said "I'll get you the real stuff," a woman behind the counter told me that fresh turkeys are available almost every day of the year for $2.95 a pound and typically run twelve to twenty-four pounds. Raising and processing occurred at a farm nearby that wasn't open to the public. I could, however, drive by and confirm that the turkeys were free-range.
I bought a thirteen pounder and headed home.
Continue reading »
Posted by BrianYarvin, November 6, 2009 at 10:00 AM
[Photos: Brian Yarvin]
The other day, I received a breathless message from Eric Eisenbud, as knowledgeable a food enthusiast as there is here in Central New Jersey, and what he said left me in deep shock: the Dragon Palace—the state´s best Sichuan restaurant—had translated its renowned four page lunch menu into English. We agreed to eat there a few days later.
Ten minutes before we were supposed to meet, I stood at the entrance and noticed that there were no English language lunch menus at all. Not that there was any need for one. Two-thirds of the tables were taken and, to my ear, Chinese was being cheerfully spoken at each one. The only non-Chinese people besides myself were in large parties. From past eavesdropping, I suspected that they were all from the same workplaces.
Soon Eric and I were seated—a nice table right by the free scallion pancakes. (He has some pull here. When he sent back the tea made from a bag and asked for the real stuff, they cheerfully gave it to him.) But when the menu was put in front of us, I saw that it wasn't quite right. It practically began with General Tso's Chicken, a dish as American as apple pie. (My own, completely unsubstantiated, hypothesis is that General Tso served in the New Jersey National Guard.) I was crushed.
Continue reading »
Posted by BrianYarvin, October 30, 2009 at 10:00 AM
"Beautiful bellies, bones for soup, ears and intestines, you name it, it's there."
Back in July I wrote: "Right now... I believe The Great Wall is the best Chinese supermarket in the state, but rival chain Asian Food Center is building a new place in Piscataway. Will that store take the crown? Stay tuned."
Well, that store in Piscataway, is open now and its time to revisit the subject.
The first thing you'll notice when you drive up to the new Asian Food Center is that it's right there with a Lowe's, a Panera Bread, and a WalMart. This in itself is a bit of a surprise, for those of us old enough to remember when "ethnic" grocery stores were dark, tiny, and well-hidden. This store is large, easy to navigate, and has plenty of parking. And located right near I-287, it's easy to reach from all over the area.
Not long ago, I visited the place with a huge shopping list and a small camera and set off to see what they've done. Try to take a photo inside and one big difference will be obvious: the place is really well-lit. You can see whatever you need to and easily read every label—a lesson that needs to be taught to almost every supermarket in the state.
The Asian Food Center hits the strong points of New Jersey Chinese supermarkets as well as anybody and falls short only where everybody else does. In Chinese "pork" and "meat" are the same word, and it shows. This place is pork paradise with everything but the oink on display. Beautiful bellies, bones for soup, ears and intestines, you name it, it's there.
Continue reading »
Posted by Carey Jones, October 27, 2009 at 10:00 AM
[Photos: Carey Jones]
We've written about their banana whip; Ed's raved about their contributions to the New Amsterdam Market. But even though we've got a long-standing relationship with The Bent Spoon—one of our contributors worked there, and I spent several years making near-daily visits—we've never done the definitive post. So it was about time we made a return trip.
Opened in May of 2004 by Gabrielle Carbone and Matt Errico, The Bent Spoon is less an ice cream shop than a lab of ingredient wizardry. Sure, they have a few standard house flavors—no, not chocolate chip and strawberry; more like chocolate habanero and cardamom ginger.
But "seasonality" doesn't quite capture the philosophy behind the rest of their rotating offerings. It's not "Where can I get the best ingredients for this ice cream?" Rather, "This is what I want to be eating right now. Let's make an ice cream out of it!" That explains the sweet potato ice cream and the Triumph Brewery stout, the crème fraîche ice cream and the heirloom tomato sorbet. Olive oil. Bourbon with caramel and sea salt. Earl grey. Red cabbage. And, literally, hundreds more.
Continue reading »
Posted by BrianYarvin, October 23, 2009 at 10:00 AM
"All livestock sold for slaughtering purposes only."
[Photos: Brian Yarvin]
Walking through the calf pens at the Livestock Co-op Auction in Hackettstown, I spotted a few guys who resembled my idea of an all-American farmer. Soft-spoken, wind burned, and looking totally like they belonged in Iowa, the guys were examining the animals in the way farm boys do. It was only the realization that they were speaking to each other in Albanian that reminded me that I was in New Jersey. I heard other languages spoken there too—Italian, Arabic, Spanish. Here, in one of the most rural corners of New Jersey, was yet another example of America's extraordinary cultural mosaic.
At this livestock auction, you'll get to see part of the food chain that most of us never check out. This is the place where small farmers bring their cows, sheep, goats, pigs, rabbits, chickens, turkeys, and pigeons to sell, and butchers and wholesalers come to buy. If you're in this area buying locally raised meat, there's a good chance the animal you ate passed through this market.
Continue reading »
Posted by BrianYarvin, October 16, 2009 at 10:00 AM
[Photos: Brian Yarvin]
Once again, my mind is stuck on the matter of a state slogan for New Jersey. My current vote is "Goat Done Right." And if we can't get this as a state slogan, how about declaring goat the state meat?
Maybe this doesn't sound all that appealing in print, but if you were eating at Asanka Delight, the Ghanaian restaurant in Somerset, you'd understand completely. Where else do the primal ingredients of goat, peanut butter, chili and rice get such royal treatment?
This is a place that takes cheerful to the next level. The menu says "Small Parties Welcome." That doesn't mean groups of two or three for dinner—it means real parties, birthdays, anniversaries, showers, with, say, less than thirty or forty people. Yes, lots of restaurants urge you to bring a bottle of wine or some beer; but who else says "Eat, BYOB and Dance!"
Continue reading »
Posted by Carey Jones, October 14, 2009 at 1:30 PM
At left: bogels; at right, a muffy.
muf·fy n. A muffin top, sold as a single baked good at Panera.
bog·el n. A chunk of Cinnamon Crunch bagel dough, fashioned into a bagel hole, sold in packs of six or twelve at Panera.
If you can walk up to the counter and order the baked goods above, in a single sentence, with a straight face—I'll have some bogels and a muffy, please—you are a far more composed person than I.
Sadly (and I say this as a closet Panera fan), both were more fun to say than to eat... but we couldn't get those two names out of our heads. Or decide which one we preferred. So what's the better name—muffy or bogel?
Posted by BrianYarvin, October 9, 2009 at 10:00 AM
[Photographs: Brian Yarvin]
There's a certain pleasure in visiting Salem County. It's as rural as New Jersey gets and when you're driving down straight roads through flat farm country, it's a bit more like Alabama than Newark. Even though farms are everywhere in Salem, you don't find the kinds of farm markets you might find in Warren or Sussex. Here, there are small stands with a few items and an honor system cash box. And if you're lucky, you'll stumble upon a great little place—probably Mexican—for lunch.
My first stop was Rick's Country Produce. There were tomatoes and peppers still out even though it was October and an honor system cashbox should you want them. Soon Rick was out and telling me that summer was over. With fall coming on, I wasn't looking for tomatoes or peppers anymore, and Rick hadn't put any pumpkins out at all.
Next stop on the tour was Sauder's Farm Market. Besides having loads of flowers, this was a place for pumpkins. Traditional orange ones were everywhere and sizes ranged from mini to moderately huge. Besides the pumpkins, there were also a few watermelons and they all shared the feature of having their prices marked right on the outside—no labels or tags, as if nobody like me was ever going to come and take a picture.
Continue reading »
Posted by BrianYarvin, October 3, 2009 at 10:00 AM
[Photos: Brian Yarvin]
There's a lament I hear so often, that I sometimes think I should carry an audio system for the sad violin soundtrack that goes along with it. You've probably heard it, too.
"[This particular food] is dying! It's gone! When I was a child it was everywhere! You'll never find anything like it now!"
I will grant you that nothing that exists in the present can compare with your fond memories. I myself have joyful, tearful, recollections of those army surplus chocolate bars that camping stores sold forty years ago; it's just that declaring something lost forever allows you to indulge in a good cry. And a good cry is easier than a tough search any day of the week.
So it was when I was at the Ocean County Bookfest in Toms River last Saturday. There, thirty or so food writers sat at a long tables where we signed copies of our books and listened to the gripes of our fellow authors. I was placed next to a guy who seems to be building a second career based on lamenting the death of Polish bakeries. Of course, he was from Manhattan and gained huge support from other city folk. But when it came to us Jersey-ites, we were mystified. In the Garden State, Polish bakeries thrive! They're as current-day as micro-blogging, and as much a part of the community as anything.
But before I get carried away, I'd better tell you about Banas Bakery in Wallington. They're about as classic a Polish baker as you can find. What I found most interesting about them is that they bridge the different waves of Polish immigration. They've been there baking Polish breads, cakes, and other sweets since the thirties, yet they're run by—and serve—a community of recent Polish immigrants. It's tough to find a place with more tradition (or better rye bread!) than this.
Continue reading »
Posted by BrianYarvin, September 25, 2009 at 11:00 AM
[Photos: Brian Yarvin]
Who is that angry guy who reviews Indian restaurants for a bunch of websites like Oak Tree Road? (Typical Angry Guy quote: "It was as if Josef Mengele's twin brother was lurking in Udupi Village's kitchen practicing his cruel and hideous experiments on innocent diners." Pleasant.)
I emailed them asking for an interview, but was never answered. All I know is that this guy is on a mission—to find the best Indian restaurants wherever he goes, and to bash all the others to shreds. Since he’s never named or pictured, I have two distinct mental images of him. The first, a typical Indian guy from the neighborhood, with a real chip on his shoulder; eating with gusto and tossing inferior curries and chutneys at servers who should know better.
Other times, I imagine him as a New Jersey superhero, zooming from restaurant to restaurant, leaving the bad food in his wake and finishing at one of the very few places he loves.
Since I was unable to get in touch with him, I set off to visit several of his favorites—just to see if his anger was justified.
Continue reading »
Posted by BrianYarvin, September 18, 2009 at 12:45 PM
"I want fresh stuff in the store, and I'd rather have my own."
[Photographs: Brian Yarvin]
Wedged in between offices and suburban homes, Abma’s Farm Market is one of the nation’s very few farms with a Starbucks practically on its corner. No matter how many times you go there, past the shrubbery and buzzing lawn mowers, you’re still surprised—and relieved—that it’s there. How is it possible that a farm still exists in Wyckoff?
Well, there’s the produce; as good as any you’ll find. There’s a beautifully restored barn with one of the largest selections of local and free-range meat in the state. And eggs, laid that day on the farm. You can even choose those eggs one at a time. It's a perfect place to embrace your fussy side.
Pioneers of what might be called “suburban farming,” the Abma family has owned this property since the 1930s. And though they’ve been doing retail for almost sixty years, they built the barn that houses their current store in 1971, decades before anybody else in the area was thinking about local foods. As it turns out, Jim Sr., the family patriarch, is a serious food enthusiast himself.
Continue reading »
Posted by BrianYarvin, September 11, 2009 at 10:00 AM
[Photographs: Brian Yarvin]
Every time I heard an excited comment about the Alpine Deli, somebody was bound to ask what other store could compare with it. The problem, though, is that there are two unrelated shops called the “Alpine Deli” in different parts of the state. They both have a rack of German language magazines and some shelves of German groceries—but one is a friendly self-serve restaurant, and the other, a remarkable butcher and wurst maker.
Alpine Meats and Deli
Blairstown might not be a landmark on serious eaters’ maps of New Jersey, but there’s a business that should make it one: Alpine Meats and Deli on Route 94, right by the diner. Surrounded by the store-made weisswurst and baurerwurst, I bought a sandwich, ate at the single small table in the far corner, and watched as customers ordered their top-notch meats.
Continue reading »
Posted by BrianYarvin, September 4, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Last week, I spent an afternoon giving a tour of Oak Tree Road to Geetika Khanna, founder and director of the Indian Culinary Center in Manhattan. Stretching between Edison and Iselin, Oak Tree Road has the largest concentration of Indian speciality stores in New Jersey; it's a destination for any serious eater with an interest in the cuisine. How is that a New York resident with a lifelong passion for Indian food had never been Oak Tree Road? Geetika just shrugged when I asked; so I offered a her tour.
The plan was clear enough. We started at the Desi Galaxy—and ate so much that we couldn’t imagine continuing the tour. But we persevered, through mango shakes, butchers, and more.
Continue reading »
Posted by BrianYarvin, August 28, 2009 at 10:00 AM
I’m really glad that Al Santillo from Santillo’s Brick Oven Pizza sent me an email describing his shop. This place is well-hidden even by the formidable standards of Elizabeth. Parking is almost impossible, and you can’t see the main entrance from the street; even if you’ve spotted the billboard-sized sign down near Bayway, you’re still not there.
And when you get there? A tiny counter in a brightly lit kitchen with the oven—the oldest brick oven for miles—and a prep area the size of a Manhattan apartment. It’s here in this tiny, secluded spot that three generations of the Santillo family have been turning out Southern Italian-style breads and pizzas.
Needless to say, there’s no place to eat, and only one metal folding chair to sit in while you’re waiting for your takeout. And the tavern that supposedly welcomes you when you bring some of Al’s pizza is no easier to find. All of the elements of legend are here in spades.
But what about the food?
Continue reading »
Posted by BrianYarvin, August 21, 2009 at 10:00 AM
There was an innocent-enough-looking link here on Serious Eats here the other day. It led to a graphic on the top twenty farmers' markets in America. When I saw that it showed that three of the top in the "small" category were in New Jersey, I needed to investigate.
A quick phone call to the site owner revealed that the survey was influenced by the enthusiasm of local market shoppers. Of course! If this were the key, then New Jersey should win everything. This state has more energy going for it than any other. What we lack are high-end farmers selling at local markets.
These were the three:
- Collingswood Farmers' Market in the suburbs of Philly. I went last year and while I really enjoyed its festive atmosphere, it was a bit short on actual farmers.
- Gloucester City Farmers' Market in Gloucester. I’ve never been to this market, but it’s in one of the most agricultural areas of the state and a very remote destination for most readers I’m in touch with. I’ll try to make it the subject of a future report.
- Burlington County Farmers' Market in Moorestown. I hadn’t been to this one either, but it looked like I could head down and check it out.
Continue reading »
Posted by Carey Jones, August 18, 2009 at 5:00 PM
Photos from The Krave
Why should the five boroughs get all the street food love? Just launched yesterday on the streets of Jersey City is The Krave, "The Official New Jersey Korean BBQ Truck." (Track their whereabouts on Tumblr or Twitter.) Expect galbi, sesame chicken, and spicy pork tacos, plus "kimcheedillas" (!) and an awful lot more.
Photo by Joon Lee
Kogi may have backed off on its New York expansion plans, but Jersey kimchee quesadillas sounds like the next best thing. (Thanks to our all-things-Jersey girl, Allison Helmer, for the tip.)
Posted by BrianYarvin, August 14, 2009 at 11:00 AM
"It was as if the blight and bad weather were a deep, personal secret."
If you live in urban New Jersey and decide to head out to the countryside, you have several kinds of countryside to choose from. Down in Salem and Gloucester Counties, the land is flat and the farms stretch as far as the eye can see. The small towns have a Southern feel to them, amplified when you remember that you’re not far from the Mason/Dixon line. But there's another rural New Jersey—hilly, forested, and punctuated with small farms. While this part of the state isn’t quite as remote as “down south,” it still offers some incredible farm visits.
So let’s head out towards the far west of the Garden State, to the area wedged between I-78 and I-80.
Continue reading »
Posted by BrianYarvin, August 7, 2009 at 12:00 PM
As I scan my list of potential and partially written dispatches, I can’t help but notice that about ninety percent of them seem to be in Elizabeth. What is it about that place? It seems a bit rundown, but as our answer to Corona, Queens, it’s got a mighty big role to play in the New Jersey culinary world.
Choy Leng
It's there you’ll find Choy Leng, one of New Jersey’s few Chinese-Peruvian places. Peru, with its huge Asian immigrant population, has had its own version of Chinese cuisine for a very long time, making this hybrid restaurant worth exploring.
There are two words you have to know when diving in; “Chifa,” which means “Chinese-Peruvian cuisine,” and “taypa,” the most famous traditional dish (at this Elizabeth outpost, anyway). It’s like your favorite three or four old-school, pre-General Tso’s Chinese-American dishes mixed together—heaven on a plate, if you grew up with suburban Chinese food in the sixties.
Continue reading »
Posted by BrianYarvin, July 31, 2009 at 1:00 PM
"I wasn't eating white stuff, I was eating real fish and I knew it."
Walking on the pier behind Salty's Seafood Market in Point Pleasant, it was easy to imagine that I was in the middle of an episode of Deadliest Catch. There were tied-up fishing boats, piles of nets, stacks of crab pots, and some tough-looking fisher-folk smoking and chatting. I wanted to be part of it and was even hoping that Captain Sig would be there to laugh at me—and dump a cooler filled with herring guts on me—or whatever it was they did for fun up there in the Aleutian Islands.
This was New Jersey, not Alaska, and her, well, things are different. As I was snapping a few photos with my noisy antique digital camera, some fishermen came up to me and asked, “Have you read Kurlansky?”
It was New Jersey all right, where the local folks will always come up with a new and fresh ways to surprise. The twist of literate, well-read commercial fishermen was like a kidney punch. “I read his oyster book and I’m reading his Younger Land book right now” I stammered. There were three of them and they stared at me with eyes that said: “Not only does this guy not read, he’s not even mature enough to watch SpongeBob.” It was time to go in and get something to eat.
Continue reading »
