Summertime joy for me as a kid came in late August when the weather cooperated, the rides at Old Orchard Beach were still running, and the tourists had gone home. Only then would my family head to the beach.
In 1982, the OOB boardwalk was all the neon glow and gluttony it is today. My 7-year-old self loved the foodstuffs typically banned at home: sugar, grease, and salty meats. On our six-foot patch of sand claimed by a blanket, we sat among dozens of local families also celebrating a beach food Thanksgiving of sorts. Variations existed, for sure, but the basic menu comprised Italian sandwiches, pier fries, and saltwater taffy, each served with a sprinkling of sand and smelling of coconut sunscreen. We raced to eat it all before the seagulls dove in for their share.
Romantic notions aside, the seaside fare I enjoyed then would certainly not sate my inner epicurean now. The Italians were bland, the fries were a soggy mess, and the end-of-season taffy was stale and hard.
I’ve worked with my Plate the State television show co-host, chef Josh Berry, to raise the bar on the seaside food we both loved to eat as kids. We’ve created recipes that give a nod to those past picnics but also play to our more mature palates. To start, building an ideal Italian sandwich means creating a synergy between the smoky ham and briny salumi and the crunchy dill pickles and complex cured olives. Making a custom finishing oil lets you tie all the flavors together.
Pier fries are core to any day at the beach. In Maine, the correct answer to the “Ketchup or vinegar?” question is the latter. But since we can’t argue the fact that vinegar can sog up even very good fries (like the ones we’ve supplied the formula for here, Page XX), we’ve presented a recipe for malt vinegar aioli that gets served on the side.
Saltwater taffy, as legend has it, was first sold sometime in the 1880s after a storm flooded a New Jersey boardwalk candy store. When a customer came in for taffy, the owner joked he only had the saltwater kind. The name stuck. In our take on this classic, we use Slack Tide Sea Salt’s Original Flakes to play off the sweetness of the Maine honey and cream in the mix.
Together, these recipes create a meal just as magical as the seaside ones you had as a kid. Sand and seagulls are optional, but always remember to wear sunscreen.
