elrap

I've had lobster rolls at Red's a couple of times - it's hard to miss on route 1 in Wiscasset, while you're stuck in traffic trying to get across the bridge heading north. Wiscasset is basically 6 blocks of antique stores and a traffic jam, at least in July and August. It's a fun place to stay for a day or two the rest of the year, with some great house tours, a music box museum, nice walks and a convenient location if you can move your car at all. Red's is justly famous, and gives you a huge amount of lobster, very tender and more or less at the ambient temperature, and on a nicely toasted roll. That said, in terms of my personal thoughts about what a lobster roll should be, I found it a little disappointing. It is, as someone said earlier in the thread, basically a huge pile of freshly-picked lobster on a toasted roll. I'm not sure it has even the thinnest film of mayonnaise. I think I read somewhere that it did, but I don't believe I could detect any. I was born in southern Connecticut, where Jimmy's in Savin Rock, West Haven (still there, but different) held the lobster roll standard, and this meant sliced meat served warm with melted butter. I still like that best, and make one up if I have leftover steamed lobster. But cold tender lobster meat mixed up with just a little mayo and some celery salt on a warm toasted bun is also a great combo. Anyway - Jimmy's was forced to admit years ago that their lobster roll was mainly langostino, and I think that started a long, slow decline in popularity for that particular menu item, though I believe the restaurant still does extremely well in the fried clam and hot dog departments. Lobster and Langostino Roll is just too many syllables (maybe no menu item should be shorter than its name). As far as Red's goes, the guy who owns the rambling antique store just over the bridge to the north (a Mr. Cyr, and this is a great place to look for bargains - just watch for the front yard littered with iron bedframes) says that the town recently discovered that Red's seating area, basically a stretch of the imagination with picnic tables, is actually on town property. So no one knows what the future will bring. . . L. Rap

I love Johnny D's idea, I'm in! For what it's worth I'm a native New Englander that lived in Los Angeles for 12 long years. When I moved back (to Newburyport, MA) I had to eat clams at least once a week for a solid year to get all the smog and wheat germ out of my system. I've eaten at all the Ipswich/Essex places and do think the Clam Box is the best, though if I can remember in time I'll bring my own tartar sauce (and beer too, if you eat at the picnic tables and pour into a cup in the back seat of your car). There is a dark horse I haven't seen mentioned, which is Park Lunch in Newburyport. Natives to this town told me about this place for years, and I pooh-poohed the suggestion that anyplace could make better fried clams than the Clam Box. When I finally went - it's really a smoky, old-fashioned neighborhood sports bar with wooden tables, and they're open late in spite of the name - the clams were definitely right up there, and the fried shrimp were (you can't see me but I'm crossing my heart and hoping to die) better than at the Clam Box. Thing is, Park Lunch had a fire, which was treated as a local tragedy, complete with collections for the hourly help left temporarily jobless. I haven't been since they opened back up again maybe a month or so ago but this is more than the excuse I need. --L. Rap

HC, that just sounds excellent, and would probably dry out the peppers enough so they wouldn't make the crust on the calamari soggy. It looks like I mislabeled this thread; I was just wondering if fried calamari with hot peppers really is an RI thing that has made its way north. It didn't even occur to me that the squid itself was from RI, though that wasn't what this particular menu entry meant. This stuff interests the heck out of me for some reason. Fried calamari with a spicy mayonnaise-based dip (instead of tartar sauce) followed me from California to Massachusetts by a year or two. It was an appetizer staple in Italian-ish restaurants everywhere in the state. Now I see this more regional dish, which feels kind of Portuguese. OK, you've got me going now - I'm thinking buffalo calamari, but with an orange mayonnaise dip on the side instead of blue cheese dressing. . .

I was born in Connecticut, but lived in Los Angeles for 12 years. When we moved back (to NE Massachusetts), one of the things that struck me most was the proliferation of packaged, marinated steak tips at specialty butchers. This is more of a Mass than a CT thing; when I visit my relatives in the NH area I don't see the same crazy varieties (Hawaiian! Lemon Pepper! Teriyaki! Cheese and Garlic!). On the other hand, one thing I always loved (& still do) in CT is the sausage and/or spinach bread that is often sold whole on its own, or by the slice in pizza shops, where it can be made from the ingredients at hand. If you've not seen it, it's just an Italian-sized bread dough rolled around a generous filling. Gotta make me some of that. . . L. Rap

Maggie, I loved your essay. It wouldn't have been fair to enjoy it as much as I did and not tell you so. I somehow wound up with an original home-sized Robot-Coupe through some connection of my father's, and remember the days when its virtues were debated vs. the first models of the Cuisinart (I remember the C. had that sort of two-step plunger/stopper, vs. the very simple plastic pipe that fits into the somewhat sturdier R-C). I think the R-C importers were in the Milford, CT area, where I grew up. This thing still cranks, though its been through several sets of feet and plastic bins, and I can still get parts for it. It weighs nearly 15 pounds. Regards, L. Rap

I live in the clam-obsessed North Shore area of Massachusetts, but breaded, deep-fried calamari has always been a popular restaurant item. When I first moved here you always got your calamari straight up with tartar sauce, but over the past few years, I've noticed more and more places serving (first as a special, then as a regular menu item) calamari with hot pickled peppers. Mostly, they just toss your classic calamari fritti with what I guess is a mix of commercial pickled pepper slices (red, green and yellow) kind of like the generic sandwich topping 'hots' that are also popular around here. In most places this makes the calamari a little soggy, but I like the combination and often order it as an appetizer when I see it. At any rate - I thought this was just a micro-regional affectation, but last night I had the dish at a pretty upscale place (Glenn's in Newburyport) and they called it Rhode Island Calamari. I took the trouble to ask one of the owners about the menu claim and she corroborated, claiming that it was really a Rhode Island dish that had made its way north. Dear readers/eaters from that area - can this be true? Did Rhode Island really give birth to this new treat, along with coffee milk, Johnny Cakes, clear clam chowder and 'New York' system hot dogs? Jealously yours in advance, L. Rap

Lowell, Massachusetts. I work near there and it's unbelievable. Not Paris or the North End, OK, but suspend disbelief and talk a walk with me (bring sturdy shoes and some pepper spray). . . Start at Pai Lin market, currently expanding but when it reopens will undoubtedly be the largest and best-stocked Cambodian grocery between Phnom Penh and Orange County, California. In the same industrial mini-mall, get a sandwich or some pastries at the no-name sandwich shop, or eat noodle dishes at the very clean and popular Red Rose restaurant next door. Walk a few blocks south over the highway, ignoring, for the moment, the howetown crowd at the Four Sisters / Owl Diner and look on your left for the Romeo y Juliette sandwich shop, which makes Brazilian feijoa on Saturdays, and will sell a freshly grilled X-Tudo (a hamburger with cheese, ham, lettuce, tomato, onion, a fried egg, potato crisps, peas and carrots; all on the same bun) any day of the week. Since you've already had a hamburger, might as well round out your day with a hot dog at Elliot's, another block or so to the south. This place has been there since the 1920's, selling very good chili dogs and a thing called the Lincoln, which is a hot dog with the relish on the bottom. It may also be the only fast food place in America where none of the prices end in a '9.' It's a bit of a haul from there on foot, but it wouldn't be fair not to mention the Angkor Kingdom, with its big window sign, 'Best Loc Lac in Town.' In their case it's not false advertising, and they have plenty of local competition preparing what I guess is a national dish of fried cubes of beef, crunchy and sweet, served over shredded lettuce. Next to and around the corner from Angkor Kingdom, which is the most upscale Cambodian place in town, are two more oriental markets and an all-you-can eat Cambodian lunch buffet. I wouldn't necessarily trade it for Hanover Street, but I've never seen anything like Lowell. Their favorite son (after what must have been a tough childhood), Jack Kerouac, would be proud. --L. Rap

David's in Salisbury, MA sells them cleaned for $6 a pound. I rarely see head-on there. I am a lucky man indeed, though I bet the shells and heads make a nice stock. --L> Rap

Fresh Maine shrimp finally reappeared at David's market in Salisbury, MA, which does a lot of the local processing here at the southern end of the Gulf of Maine. The local shrimpers were apparently waiting for a slightly larger size, and more prolific catch, to make it all worth their while in my neck of the sea The shrimp I bought saturday were indeed large for bay shrimp, and sold at the typical David's price of $6 a pound. Compared to the frozen version that had appeared on and off here for the past month or two, these fresh shrimp were extraordinarily delicate, with an almost crumbly texture when they are lightly cooked. I boiled 3/4 lb. in salted water with a bay leaf, whole coriander seed, and a few red pepper flakes for really just a few seconds, chilled them, ate a bunch out of hand, and made appetizers with the Tampico-style chili sauce and avocado cubes referenced earlier. Plus a spritz of lime. Terrific. I had a sudden thought to make sui mai with the rest, but these guys were really too delicate to puree, becoming a little soupy. We ate a bunch anyway, but I've learned my lesson and will stick to purer forms of consumption as the season rolls on. I'm going to see if I can get my Valentine to pick up some more today so we can have them with champagne. Meanwhile I'll be looking up recipes for Dublin Bay potted prawns, or maybe thinking of making some lemon mayonnaise, or a spinach salad. --L. Rap

Man, you have got me hungry johnnyd! David's fish market in Salisbury, MA, aka the center of my seafood universe, has had fresh shrimp only rarely this season & I've had bad luck on my visits. They freeze a shelled product in 5# blocks & defrost for sale over the weekend or if you ask. Like most shrimp I've found the Mainers are pretty good frozen, at least at David's, but I haven't hit on the fresh shrimp yet this season & so have to go from memory. I like to make a particular Tampico-style chili sauce from Diana Kennedy's The Cuisines of Mexico (it's pungent and vinegary and lasts for weeks in the fridge), mix up a little with the tiny shrimp and some cubes of avocado, serve on lettuce cold with sour cream or warm inside a soft taco. I'm looking forward to having some for the Super Bowl - Go Pats! --L. Rap

I was born near New Haven, lived there for decades and just have to stand up for Pepe's over Sally's, though I can't say why. There was a raging debate years ago indicating that Pepe's used a blend of parmesan and romano cheese while Sally's used straight parmesan, but that's as scientific as I can get. And I'm suprised no one mentioned The Spot, if it's still around. It was great to read about all these new restaurants, and some of the old ones - Leon's! I was practically married there. One place I miss that wasn't mentioned was the Yankee Doodle lunch counter - pigs in a blanket, with the special sauce they made in their basement (basically a mild green relish). I hope they're still there on Broadway, near the corner of York. Thanks for giving me a bunch of new places to try next time I'm there for a visit. L. Rap

I know you said Ogunquit, Francois, but after many trips up the Maine coast I believe that life begins in Penobscot Bay and just gets better after that. I personally like the area just south of Camden for reachability plus a sense that you're actually somewhere different. Try the St. George peninsula - Tenant's Harbor region. You have to at least get north of the Bush compound in Kennebunkport! L. Rap

Chacun a son gout, but IMHO there is nothing edible at Papa Gino's except the diet coke. On the other hand, once in a while I get a nasty craving for a d'Angelo's chicken salad pita pocket with letttuce, tomato, onion and lots of hots. BTW, is hots completely a northern NE thing? I grew up in southern CT and never heard of ordering them on a sandwich until I moved into official Red Sox nation (E of the CT river valley and/or N of the Mass border). --L. Rap

I love risotto and make it a lot. IMHO it's not worth doing unless you have Arborio or its equivalent. I've tried US organic Arborio from California, I think, which was fine, as were various Spanish short-grained rice varieties, at least one of which was advertised as 'paella' rice. You can get a variety of short-grained Italian rices (& lots of good advice) through mail order via outfits like Citteria or my favorite, the Salumeria Italiana in Boston's North End. I do think Carnarolli is a little better than Arborio, but I've never had them side by side. The one thing I think I can add to the great recipes and advice in this thread is a technique I got from the River Cafe cookbook, which is to make an asparagus risotto using an asparagus puree as a base. I cook asparagus very briefly in an asparagus cooker till just the tips are done, then I slice off the tips and put the stems back in for a good 10 minutes, till they are quite soft. Then I puree the stems in a food processor with their little bit of steaming water, adding cream or chicken broth if the mixture needs thinning. Add to the risotto as it cooks; the result is a very brightly-colored and tasty risotto. I often add ham, bacon, etc., and usually finish with parmesan and, of course, the reserved cooked tips. --L. Rap

Eunny, I had almost exactly that dish as part of a cook's tour of restaurants in Los Angeles. I can remember neither the chef's last name nor the restaurant, except that it specialized in pasta and was on Westwood Boulevard. The chef's first name was Pino, and he was excellent. Pino made the pasta fresh, and added nothing but the egg yolk. The pasta were quite large to accomodate the yolk - about the size of wonton squares. Just one was served as an appetizer. The sauce was simply butter, parmesan cheese and sage. Excellent, and thank you for reminding me of it. I have that recipe somewhere, printed out. It sounds like your own version would make Pino's instructions superfluous but let me know if you have special interest and I will dig it out. --L. Rap

Cool idea, I love the fluff. I had a lot of baked sweet potatoes left over once and mashed them with some chipotle in adobo, added an egg plus I think an egg yolk and maybe some fresh breadcrumbs for body. I formed them into latke-like shapes and dredged them in more breadcrumbs to fry. They were fine but needed more work & I never revisited the concept. Maybe the fluff would've put them over the top. I remember I got the original idea because I had sweet potato fries with chipotle ketchup at Moat Mountain Smokehouse in North Conway, NH. I think if I were doing it again I would consider using grated raw sweet potatoes so the edges get really crispy. More latke, less pancake. Good luck! L. Rap

Bitter orange juice. Great stuff for a pork marinade. When the pork is cooked, diced onions and fresh coriander set just afloat in more bitter orange juice is an excellent salsa for tacos. Guava paste and cream cheese. Sorry, I find the Sazon packets to be more or less taste-free, but I buy them anyway and they do turn rice the color of Cheez-Wiz, which is pretty amusing. I think Bush's, a local New England brand (?), makes better beans all around and Progresso makes better chickpeas. But I do buy a lot of Goya products; they're more romantic. --L. Rap

Two really cheap cheap joints in Los Angeles, alive and well a few years ago: Meatty Meat Burger (sic - never ate there, but passed it a lot and never knew whether to laugh or cry) Near Dodger Stadium, an outdoor burrito cart stationed in a car wash was known by many as the Car Wash Burrito. An excellent and hearty snack to take to a game at Chavez Ravine. --L. Rap

A giant hen of the woods mushroom, growing on an oak stump in a corner of my front yeard. I was too afraid to eat it at the time, but I know better now. Luckily, they're pretty common nearby. --L. Rap

Unless you've already been there and disagree, hard as that would be for me to believe, I suggest you drive right on past Woodman's in Essex and eat at the Clam Box in Ipswich instead. Of course this delves into one of the great controversies of our time: batter vs. breading. Regarding the chowder, I don't have a really clear memory of the Clam Box version, but I ordered chowder at Woodman's once and it was ruined by hard, bitter potatoes. I also thought the clams were a bit lonesome. I think once my wife had chowder at the Clam Box and I had a little snort and it was OK. When we go there I am usually up to my shell-like ears in fried clams, and have no guilt left over to waste on a cream soup. Better yet, why don't you try both places and see if you don't get Converted? Best luck, --L. Rap

I'd like to recommend From My Mother's Kitchen by Mimi Sheraton. Best modern Jewish cookbook I've run into. Bought a copy for my father & he actually uses it now and then. There was a book by Jennie Grossinger that was supposed to be very good - maybe on the web somewhere. . . Have fun, --L. Rap

Hi Bobmac, Wasn't sure if you were just looking for a restaurant that served creamed finnan haddie (no clue there), but you can buy the finnan haddie itself at the Lobster Tail in Westford. I wouldn't be surprised if David's in Salisbury could order it; kind of a cold weather item (to me, anyway). The stuff at the Lobster Tail looked OK - full sides maybe a pound and a half at $6.95/lb, frozen. I might try some next weekend, now that you have me thinking about it. I believe it's pretty easy to make up with a cream sauce. --L. Rap

You can bring mushrooms to any class. Monday nights are official ID nights. There are lots of people there that can help you identify a particular mushroom. Glad to hear you liked the dinner, galleygirl! I couldn't make it. This year it's at Flora, I'm going to try a little harder. --L. Rap

Glad to have you there! Look for me, I have gray hair, glasses and a big nose, though that might not be much help! Classes go maybe an hour and a half. It's a very informal group. Monday nights at the herbarium are also the nights when you can bring in mushrooms for the ID committee to look at. Lots of people bring in edible mushrooms, and you can also have a look at samples of whatever got picked on the Sunday walk. Some classes last year got crowded and were SRO. It might be good to come early. Also, parking is a pain unless you're a member and have a sticker to park behind the herbarium. There's a lot of contruction going on in front of the place, which is at the very end of a cul de sac, but don't be discouraged! --L. Rap

Someone in this long and juicy thread asked about buying crocks. In my area (New England) I recommend the glass crocks at Kohls. They come in many sizes, including enormous. I'm in the sauerkraut mood myself, having made some last year for the first time. I think I'll do one straight up- orthodox, just salt, organic cabbage and maybe a few bay leaves, but the other I think I might try layering with pickling cucumbers. Has anyone tried that?