elrap

Mushroom hunters, wannabes, and the fungally curious: Last year around this time, I ran across a stunning patch of chanterelles. They were the first I'd seen since hunting them in France over two decades earlier, and I ate a few over the violent objections of everyone in my family. They were delicious. Curious to see what resources might be available for learning more about edible mushrooms in the NE area, I came across last year's version of the following link announcing the fall series of mushroom classes given in Cambridge by the Boston Mycological Club (America's oldest; over 100 years). Boston Mycological Club Fall ID Classes These are great classes given by extraordinarily knowledge people. They are an ideal introduction to the science and art of identifying edible (or just beautiful and interesting) mushrooms with some degree of confidence. I went last year - will go again this year - and highly recommend them. If you catch the fungus fever, you are welcome to join the BMC and get a schedule of their weekly mushroom walks, which are hands-on collecting and ID sessions happening in woods and parks throughout the greater Boston area. Foodies note - you'll be in good company; Julia Child was a member for many years. --L. Rap

I can totally identify, done the same thing! Eventually went to 3M pads in the kitchen and never looked back. I've seen those little curls of metal in other restaurants, too. --L. Rap

Large dead fly in a quiche, along with a very coarse piece of thread, at a restaurant in Middletown, CT. I've never understood the connection, if there was any. (I mean between the fly and the thread, not Middletown, which is harmless enough.) Informed the waitress - btw, the only right thing to do in this case if you're serving is IMMEDIATELY remove the food from the table and get the manager -- and she left us looking at the fly for several minutes more while she rustled up the manager. The manager looked at the fly, too (second mistake) and agreed that it was not supposed to be there. He offered to buy dinner, but we just went straight to dessert and coffee and got out of there. --L. Rap

Another soup joke. I heard this as the archetypal Jewish joke: A Jewish man walks into a delicatessen and, as always, orders a bowl of matzo ball soup. The waiter brings it and for several minutes the man just sits and looks at the bowl disconsolately. Eventually, he flags down the waiter. "I can't eat this soup," the man says. "You try it." "Why do you want me to try it?" asks the waiter. "I'll bring you another." "No," says the man. "I want you to taste it." "Why, is it too salty? Too cold, maybe?" "Just try it," says the man. "Listen, tell me what's wrong with it," says the waiter. "Is it maybe a little sour?" "Please," insists the man. "Taste it yourself." "Alright, alright" says the waiter, "for a good customer like you, I'll try the soup." The waiter picks up the bowl and says, "OK, where's the spoon?" "Aha!" the man exclaims.

Variation of the above, just a tinge off color: A waiter brings his customer some hot soup. The customer notices the waiter has his thumb immersed in the bowl, and complains. "I have a little arthritis," the waiter explains. "I need to keep it warm." "Then why don't you stick it up your a**?" the customer growls. "Oh," says the waiter. "I do that when I'm in the kitchen."

Moody's is definitely still there!!! And still the same kind of place, though the parking lot & shop seems to expand a bit every year. --L. Rap

I expect that's best. Pretty sure there's a commercial hunter here who won't sell them to restaurants. Shame though, they're a beautiful mushroom. The article said you collected Pig's Ears, as well, which I think are similar to Tree Ears, though I've never collected them. Are they good? Do you cook them the same way as tree ears? Thanks! --L. Rap

I'm glad to hear about Curtis, I read a recent article in VT Life and was going to stop by (it's out of my normal route to the north); now I think I"ll be more circumspect. I've noticed with interest some pretty large crowds at the American BBQ in Rowley, Mass. Apparently their brisket is the big thing. Anyone been there? --L. Rap

Thanks for posting that, I was wondering if I'd see anything about mushrooms in NE this season. It was nice to read about a chef who cares enough for his patrons to hand-pick part of their dinner! We were foraging in VT this past weekend, Northfield area, and gathered plenty of chanterelles, some hedgehog mushrooms and a few boletes, though no Kings (which are also known as cepes and porcini). We saw plenty of puffballs, but all too small. They're a nice substitute for tofu as well as eggs. For gulleteers who are interested in mushrooming and are in the greater Boston area, I would love to hereby plug the Boston Mycological Club, America's oldest - http://www.bostonmycologicalclub.org/ This is a terrific group with weekly walks for members, and an excellent four-part lecture series that starts up in just a few weeks. This is a perfect introduction to the art and science of hunting fungi. Julia Child was a member for many years. One thing I'd like to say about the article was that the Sulphur Shelf mushroom, aka Chicken of the Woods, while delicious and one of my favorites, is reported to cause stomach upset in some people. The chef might hunt around for some expert advice/experience if he hasn't already, IMHO. If there are mushroomers in the far northeast corner of Mass, where I live, I'd be happy to hear from them. --L. Rap

You guys, besides making my mouth water, have me wondering about the fate of two places in CT where I used to love the hot dogs - Jimmy's at Savin Rock (West Haven), which I guess is still a sit-down restaurant & which specialized in cooking split hot dots on a griddle. The griddle man cooked in full view all summer & my friends & I always joked about getting the pit dog - the one closest to his armpit when he filled the buns lined up along his hairy forearms. Also Yankee Doodle, a tiny diner in New Haven that sold 'pigs in the blanket', a split hot dog with a strip of american cheese in the center, wrapped in bacon and finished on the grill. I had a couple for lunch at least once a week for over a year. They claimed to make their own relish in the basement, once a week. Any word on their fate, or any successors? I'm in exile now, I live in Massachusetts. . . L. Rap

rcaffelle, I'll second that about Moat Mountain in No. Conway! Best bbq I've had in New England. Waitress got me to order pulled pork on raisin bread toast. Great, though it didn't go too well with their excellent beer. Been there three times, the third time we were just about the last diners there and it (like us) was a little tired but still fun. L. Rap

I stopped there with my family on the way to the White Mountains maybe 4 or 5 years ago, enticed by the many friendly billboards with their happy, appetizing pig. It was fun, and good. A fairly local place considering the touristic location, with more variety on the menu than I expected. Nice young servers, rustic interior. Not a killer roadside bbq joint but a good place to stop. --L. Rap

I got curious & bought a couple oysters at David's too, along with some countnecks. The oysters were from PEI, according to Mary the Seafood Elf. I have to admit they sat in my fridge for two nights running , but when I had them they were both good and juicy. One was a bit briny - a little too much oyster sweat. The clams were terrific, as always. Sorry about your experience at the Lobster Tail. I think I do know what you mean about the cape scallops. In season very late October only and excellent though I think $24 or so a pound. I work close by and picked some up early on that were sweet as candy, then bought more when the priced dropped to maybe $16 and they were worthless; possibly frozen.

Hi bobmac, I was in my local Lobster Tail (there's one very near where I work in Westford; a second branch of the chain is in No. Andover and I guess they're going into Windham, NH) and thought to check out the oysters. They sell very picturesque bluepoints from the Chesapeake. They are large and look good and in the past I have found them to be restaurant quality (a nice clue is they never seem to have a whole lot on hand on any given day). Though as a New Englander I hate buying oysters from any state that has been in the world series during my adult life, I have to appreciate the consistency and size from the fishmonger's perspective. I don't think bluepoints are anything special but these are good examples of the genre. I'll have to ask at David's where their oysters come from. I don't hesitate to buy them (or anything else) there, but they're a little inconsistent in that particular department. I've had some excellent ones, and some a little tired and dried out. --L. Rap

Good thought, I've heard of that place, wherever it is, but that's not it. The place I'm thinking of is something I ran into while killing time driving around the south end of the Quabbin reservoir. I expect it was on Route 9 someplace down there, maybe west of the Quabbin. This looked like a poorly converted roadhouse, a bit desolate, and as we passed (it was around 5:30 PM) a small party of very elderly people were shuffling in. I like places like that. Anyway - is the Student Prince good? It's hard to find any kind of good German food, and I pass through Springfield occasionally. --L. Rap

The very redoubtable johnnyd has guided me providentially to this forum where I can confess to operating a very mediocre oyster bar in Los Angeles some years ago. We sold oysters (and other things) in the food court of a shopping mall; mostly flabby so-called apalachicolas and other fair-weather gulf varieties that were the seafood equivalent of pillow stuffing. I don't think we endangered anyone's health, but neither did we challenge their palates. I found, like johnnyd, that the oysters were OK for 5 or 6 days. We never pre-opened them, but that was because we were afraid they wouldn't sell at all. We threw out a lot oysters before we closed down that part of the operation. As johnnyd's boss maintained, we never made money on that part anyhow, though it was my favorite part of the operation while it lasted. And before you ask, we tried some east coast and other varietals, including neat little steely Olympias from Puget Sound I think, but just couldn't build up the market. It broke my heart to throw out oysters that good. These days, I mostly buy oysters to rockefellerize them in some way (I like spinach and oysters) but if they have that nice crystalline aspect when I open them, straight ahead on the half shell, over the sink if possible, is still the very best way to imbibe IMHO. But I don't get my hopes up till I see the goods. I almost never order oysters on the half shell in a restaurant unless I get some kind of wicked karmic seafood zing from the general setting. I was in the Haven restaurant on Vinalhaven Island in Penobscot Bay, ME, a few weeks ago when the buzz did settle on me, and so I ordered a half dozen fished out of North Haven Island, a reclusive millionaire's summer paradise just a long swim away. I'd say these were Belon style if I remember right, smallish and rounded with deeply grooved shells, and it was like eating my very best memory of ice-cold ocean on a hot day. Darn! Those were good oysters. I have got to get me to Portland, ME to buy some of those Damariscottas johnnyd says are the best. If anyone else knows of an extra-good source between there and, say, Boston, I'd be a grateful wretch. Or - hey, can you get them in Damariscotta? That's a little under two hours from where I live. Thanks for listening, L. Rap

Super list! So nice to read though I haven't lived anywhere near NH in years and years. Thank you for reminding me about the Liuzzi cheese co., what a great place. I'll forward the list to my remaining relations there. . . L. Rap

Years ago, the best food I had on BI was at the Atlantic Inn. If it's still there and the menu looks simple and fresh, I'd give it another try. --L. Rap

David's Fish Market in Salisbury, MA, is a great source of very fresh clams, both hardshell and soft. Their oysters are good as well, but they seem more interested in uniformity than local varieties. The Fish Tail chain in Westford and (Acton?) MA has surprisingly good oysters from various locales, again no particular focus on natives. Clams are better at David's. On Vinalhaven recently I had super oysters from North Haven Island. Maybe I'll try that place in Portland, see if the Damariscottas are similar. (thank you johnnyd that's a great posting!) These were smallish and round but quite plump inside, very fresh and intense. Best I've had in many years. I ran an oyster bar in Los Angeles (!) for several years and I can tell you that restaurant oysters aren't always that fresh. They come in fine, but they're expensive, and all but the fussiest operators will keep them around till they open up of their own accord. With luck, skill and timing, they'll make it into a stuffing or stew before they disappoint anyone on the half shell, but restaurant owners HATE to throw things out. You're best bet is always to cultivate a sincere, honest relationship with a local fishmonger (i.e., spend a lot of money there frequently). --L. Rap

I've stayed at Island Inn (last year) and I think they do try and enforce a two night minimum on weekends only. I also agree with your dinner assessment, but we've found this varies hugely year to year, because the restaurants constantly contract with new chefs. We've been to Island Inn three times and the first time the food was really spectacular, much better than Monhegan House that same year. The next two times the tables had turned. One thing that is consistent is the very interesting service at the Island Inn, usually northern or east European youngsters, very sweet and competent, but who had no idea what they were letting themselves in for in terms of isolation and entertainment.

Say what you like, I get a big kick out of Judy's, on the main drag in Amherst. It's like an old hippie went to culinary school, loved everything, refused to take notes, then opened the restaurant from memory. You can't possibly imagine what they can put in a popover. Basically, they just keep piling up the cliches until you surrender. Pretty good prices too. My daughter, a UMass sophomore, always says that Antonios has the best pizza in the world. I won't let her take me there; I don't want it to be true. For a chain, the Bertucci's in Amherst is a good example of the genre. There's a wierd German place on the outskirts of town that I always wanted to try; if anyone knows what the heck I'm talking about I'd appreciate hearing about it. It looks like the kind of place that's empty by 7:30 PM. L. Rap

Well, I spent two nights in Castine at the Pentagoet, a lovely B&B with very profuse potted plants and excellent granola. This was a few years ago. The best meals we had were at a long, narrow place right on the water, I googled around and think it was probably Dennet's Wharf. If you see that the ceiling is covered with dollar bills mysteriously stuck in place with thumbtacks, you're in the right spot. If you're there with a lot of other tourists, on a summer weekend, say, you can wait till some other sucker asks and then you won't have to lose a dollar to the manager to see how it's done. Just a good honest tavern with a number of local brews.

I thought I'd wrap up this thread with a grand finale in which I make up a batter of 3/4 cup chickpea flour, 1/4 cup masa harina, 1 tsp of salt, 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 1/4 cup of water, whisked well, then let rest for an hour or so while I made a nice fire. Then, walking out the porch door with a spatula, oversized griddle, potholder, iced gin and tonic and bowl, I spill most of the batter when the screen door springs back on the bowl. I have enough left for about a 7" cake, which I flip over (because it's easy). The masa harina socca (Quernavaca socca?) is a hit out of all proporotion to its size, but doesn't go far with six people. At any rate it's smoky, earthy and rich, with a texture like a thick crepe. Kind of bouncy and multi-ethnic, like world music. A good foil for a bruschetta type mix, with maybe some mint instead of all basil, or maybe a goat cheese spread. . . smoked trout . . . but in the end we rip it to pieces and eat it as is. L. Rap

I am writing to correct myself regarding a French-Canadian buckwheat cake, more or less a rustic crepe and perhaps similar to the Galette de Sarasin mentioned by Bux. They are called ployes, rather than plourdes, and I still have some dry mix in the nether reaches of my freezer. Must have been thinking of clams, i.e., palourdes. My family well knows I normally am thinking of clams. . .

Thank you Jonathan, that is extremely authoritative! Weather permitting, I'll give it a try this weekend. --L. Rap