South Jersey Food Journey

Down the Shore--the annual trek to Stone Harbor for the foods of the Atlantic seacoast that are not all seafoods

Looking toward Wildwood from the beach at 117th St in Stone Harbor.

This year's drive to the beach included a first stop in Port Elizabeth at Bailey’s on Route 47 near the Maurice River. The local catch of the day was a drum from the Delaware Bay. The bright red fillets were large, in the 3 to 4-pound range. When I asked the young woman behind the counter what it tasted like, she admitted she had never had it (red flag), but she heard it tasted like veal. A fisherman in the store for bait assured me that it was very tasty and easy to cook. Okay—at $7.99/pound, let’s be experimental.

Black drum from Bailey's turned white when cooked.

I found a simple recipe online: Fish Piccata on the Florida Sportsman website. Many recipes for drum are spicy with a Cajun flare, but we had a nice bottle of French wine left over from our Memorial Day soiree, and I wanted the fish preparation to pair well. I also wanted actually to taste the fish and not mask it.

The finished dish was enjoyed al fresco on the deck.

Our first night’s dinner was a success. John declared it was the best fish he had ever tasted, though it didn’t taste like veal. It was better; mild, with a firm, buttery texture that perfectly complemented Pierre’s Viognier from the Cotes du Rhone.

The next morning, I went to the Acme in Cape May Court House for essentials and in the front of aisle one I grabbed a Tallarico’s hot hoagie spread as I knew there would be a Lee’s hoagie in my foreseeable future. Be ready.

Hoagie spread is a popular condiment in South Jersey.

Sunday morning, the farmers’ market in Stone Harbor offered all sorts of tantalizing foods. Though hot-house-grown, there were already Jersey tomatoes, but not the luscious field tomatoes of July and August. Broccoli rabe, zucchini and zucchini flowers, eggplant, carrots, radishes, scapes, and arugula portended a good week ahead.

The baked goods looked extra special that morning; one table from The Painted Pie had a long line. Once we queued up, I could see why. The sticky bun was the stickiest I had ever seen, and the tired-looking baker, who had been up for a long while, diligently scraped the sticky raisins and walnuts from the baking tray and into the box.

Baked goods at the Sunday morning farmers market beneath the water tower in Stone Harbor.

Another table laden with pies and cornbread, barbecue sauce, pulled pork, and collard greens drew us like a magnet. We purchased a small peach and blueberry pie from Dawn of Dawn’s Delights and heard her story of learning to cook from her dad, Bill, who was a chef for 50 years. Now, she and her son cook from their commercial kitchen adjacent to their Cape May Court House home, and her son has a food truck.

The first trip of the season to Matthew’s Seafood Market, also in CMCH, garnered a pound of sea scallops so fresh and sweet-smelling that I almost popped one in my mouth while cleaning it. They were perfect—dusted with seasoned flour and sauteed in half butter and half olive oil.

Our first taste of Lee’s hoagies in a year was satisfying. The business, which is now franchised and has many locations, started out in West Oak Lane at 19^th and Cheltenham in 1953. It is the taste of our childhood since John and I grew up in the same neighborhood.

We are back in the fold, eating foods that evoke memories of happy days on the beach, of ourselves as kids, and our now-grown kids when they were young. It’s a good year! I’ve already had a full swim in the 59-degree ocean. I’m all in.

Local scallops from the cold waters off the coast of Cape May.

Sautéed Sea Scallops Provencal

1 pound scallops, cleaned

Flour for dredging

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper

¼ cup parsley, chopped

Lemon wedges

Wash and clean the scallops by removing the tough little muscle that holds them in the shell. Allow the scallops to dry, then roll them in flour. Heat the oil and the butter together, add the scallops, and cook them very quickly, tossing them lightly in the hot fats so they brown delicately on all sides. Add the chopped garlic and mix it in well.  Add salt and pepper to taste and parsley, tossing to cover.  Serve with lemon wedges.

The sand sculpture winners in 1992 included cousins Joe and Al Corr and Celia and Rachel Quinn with a beach friend.

Thirty-two years later, my brother Geoffery advised his wife, Barbra, the sand artist, at Stone Harbor Beach last year.