Podcast #50: Chatham Fish Pier and Nickerson Fish and Lobsters

Nickerson Fish and Lobsters
Chatham Fish PR, Chatham MA 02633
(508)945-0145

May 22nd was the first day of the season for Nickerson Fish and Lobsters, the premier boutique seafood retailer and wholesaler in Chatham, Massachusetts, which resides on the famous Chatham Fish Pier, only 50 feet from the docks where the fishing boats bring in their catch. Over Memorial Day weekend we had the rare privilege of eating the best fresh seafood a single consumer will find anywhere on the Atlantic coast, and talking to Tom Riley, the proprietor of the business, as well as local Lobster and Scallop fishermen.

Click here to listen to the Chatham Fish Pier and Nickerson Fish and Lobster podcast (58 min running time).

Click here for a hi-res Slide Show.

Click here to watch a Flickr Video of how to properly crack a lobster.

Click here to watch a Flickr Video of some very aggressive seagulls.

Related News Article: 5/31/08 — 60,000 lbs of Lobsters destroyed in Boston Fire

Chatham, MA. The center of the universe for Lobster and Scallops on Cape Cod.

The Chatham Lighthouse.

Nickerson Fish and Lobsters, in Chatham, Cape Cod MA. One of the oldest and most reputable seafood purveyors in the entire country. Situated directly on the Fish Pier, it is only 50 feet away from where the Lobster Boats and the Scallop Trawlers leave and return from their daily fishing trips. Nickerson buys directly from the source (and in the case of scalloping, it has its own boat to fill some of the demand) and has a huge seawater tank with sand filtration system to keep shellfish at the absolute apex of freshness.

Scallop and Lobster boats on the Chatham Fish Pier, at around 7:30am, just before leaving for the day.

If you’re craving lobsters, you’d best not click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below.

Podcast #48: An Edge in the Kitchen by Chad Ward

Click Here to listen to the Chad Ward / An Edge in the Kitchen podcast

Related Link: Click here to go to Chad’s website, Chadwrites.com

HarperCollins author Chad Ward, in his Raleigh, North Carolina kitchen.

An Edge in the Kitchen will be available in bookstores on June 10th, 2008. Click on the photo above to buy it on Amazon.com

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Cape Cod Dining: Ardeo

Ardeo Restaurants
Cape Cod, Massachusetts (Various Locations in Yarmouth, Hyannis, Brewster)

Web Site: http://www.ardeocapecod.com

In New England, one cannot live on traditional baked and fried and steamed seafood alone. But we were still in the mood for some good local fish and shellfish, prepared in a different fashion and in a healthier way. It was our good fortune that we came across Ardeo, a local chain of Mediterranean-style restaurants that specialize in Lebanese, Greek and Italian cuisine.

The Union Plaza location in Yarmouth is the original, and we happened upon it after a long day of museuming and shopping, and I am happy to note that they are able to accommodate requests to make dishes healthier when asked. A word of warning however — ordering the”Sauteed” calamari will result in them bringing you FRIED calamari sauteed in an al oglio garlic sauce over greens. Don’t get me wrong, it looked awesome — but as my grandmother Slyvia Perlow used to say, “It’s not for us, Jack”.

The original Ardeo location in Yarmouth.

Ready for some New England Seafood, Mediterranean Style? Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Exclusive Ted Allen Photos and Recipes from Alltel Wireless

Photos courtesy of Alltel Wireless and Ted Allen

We don’t normally participate in promotional type stuff here on OTB. But I’m willing to make an exception for companies who will trade delicious recipes and exclusive content for a little bit of sell-out. And if the person I’m selling out for happens to be a friend of the site, all the better.

OTB friend Ted Allen, best known for his “Food Guy” expertise on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and his judging on Top Chef and Iron Chef America, is part of an Alltel Wireless promotion and sweepstakes where you can win a vacation getaway with a group of your friends and a specially prepared dinner by Ted. I’ll share the specifics, and then we’ll get right to the food.

Ted Allen of Bravo’s Top Chef and Iron Chef America has teamed with Alltel Wireless for the “My Circle Reunion” promotion. Alltel’s grand prize winner will enjoy a getaway with their ‘Circle’ of 10 family and friends at their choice of vacation hot spots: Key West, Palm Springs or Las Vegas. Ted will join the grand prize winner and guests during their vacation where he’ll mix and mingle with the group before preparing a special meal for them.

Through May 31, 2008, “My Circle” subscribers can enter by texting CIRCLE to 102102 or visiting http://www.alltel.com/circlereunion; new customers who sign up before May 31 are also eligible to win the reunion prize package.

Win a vacation and dinner with Ted Allen and your own Circle of Friends on the Alltel Wireless site.

For a classic Ted Allen interview, check out Rachel’s 2003 discussion with Ted from eGullet.com.

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for Ted’s special Alltel recipes.

NYC Dining: 2008 Big Apple Barbecue Block Party Web Site Launches

The 2008 Big Apple Barbecue Block Party Web Site has now launched. You might recognize some of the photos used here, courtesy of Off The Broiler :)

We will be returning to this year’s event as usual, with some spare tasters in tow. Atkins baby, Atkins. Until then, have a look at last year’s photos and podcasts.

LOLobsterz

Courtesy of one of OTB’s readers, MJP.

Too Close To Home?

It was too tempting to do. This is a cat Rachel and I found at the Edward Gorey House on Cape Cod.

Uh, clean and reboot that CAT scan machine before giving me a diagnosis, ok?

Read the rest of this article on ZDNet Between The Lines.

Hey, I Resemble That!

Has it really gotten that bad?

NJ Dining: Pawana (UPDATED)

Pawana Restaurant
63 Nathaniel Pl., Englewood NJ 07631

Two years ago, not long after its grand opening, I visited Pawana restaurant in Englewood, and this is what I wrote about it at the time:

Pawana, a new Thai restaurant, has opened in what was the failed Thai Chef space in Englewood in the Shop Rite plaza.

Thai Chef in my opinion was an overrated and expensive restaurant which had poor service and served food I could have better at Wondee’s or Bangkok Garden in Hackensack, the two best known Thai restaurants in the area. They spent a fortune building the space and promoted the hell out the restaurant, but they were never able to get a decent following and the restaurant was frequently mostly empty. Their problems were also compounded by the fact that the restaurant group opened ANOTHER Thai restaurant in the same town almost simultaneously, Kratiem (which is still in business but has different owners now). Thus it failed, and many began to wonder if opening a high-end restaurant in that shopping center was such a hot idea in the first place.

While the new owner, a woman also named Pawana, is related to the Thai Chef company (she’s a cousin) the prices here are scaled back (comparable to Wondee’s or Saigon R in Englewood) the service was very good, and the food is excellent — in fact I’d say it will give both Wondee’s and Bangkok Garden a run for the money.

In the two years after it opened, I only visited the restaurant perhaps one other time. It’s not that the restaurant wasn’t good — as you can see above, at the time I thought it was very good — but at the end of the day I felt that the food at Wondee’s was more to my personal taste in terms of authenticity. Due to the demographic makeup of Englewood versus Hackensack, Pawana is attracting more Americans, whereas Wondee’s attracts more Asians.

Be it as it may, that was then and this is now. My tastes have changed and so have my dining habits. I recently returned to Pawana after a two year hiatus. I honestly have to say “What the hell took me so long?”. If you are willing to tell the server “I want it Thai spicy”, then Pawana will pull out the stops for you and give you a truly Thai experience.

By the way — while the restaurant doesn’t say so on its menu, they serve brown rice if requested. Score one big point for the low-carber crowd.

Main Dining Room — 2008

If you’ve been waiting to try Pawana, you can stop waiting. Run and eat there right away. Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.