Eastern Shore Excursion: Metompkin Seafood Market

On the opposite end of the cooking spectrum from The Machipongo Clam Shack 'lighter fare' is the Metompkin Seafood Market...fried (fresh) seafood that's so good you know it's bad for you!

I love the way that the menu is hand-lettered, crossed out and taped over. I noticed that the price of french fries has been dropping steadily from the scribbled out prices.


There's no dining area inside, just a counter full of fresh seafood and a register. We ordered up some fried clams & fish and browsed the seafood while we waited.

While we waited there was a steady flow of locals coming in and out picking up crab cake sandwiches...one guy grabbed a sack of 8...I think his family had sent him on a crab cake run.

These little beauties smelled like the ocean...salty and fresh, with no bad wiffs.

We should've ordered only HALF of this...the portions were enormous. The fish batter was your standard corn-meal base, the fish was flaky & tender...it tasted like flounder but I didn't remember to ask what they used until we had left. Plus, I recalled seeing they had alot of fresh flounder for sale.

Fried clams were good, but we'll try the crab cake sandwich next time as it seemed to be the local's pick.


C & E

Eastern Shore Excursion: Chatam & Holly Grove Vineyards

I always knew that the Eastern Shore grew grapes to sell to large-run Virginia wineries, but it's only in the last few years that wineries have begun to spring up on the Eastern Shore.

We stopped at two of these on the way back from Thanksgiving...one of them we had tried before, the other was brand new.

This is the view as you approach Chatam Vineyards. We've tried Chatam's wines before and we really liked their Rose.

The tasting room was bright, clean and friendly. There were several good whites and a decent red (Virginia reds are a little more anemic...but this thinness helps the aromas to come out). We ended up buying a bottle of the oaked Chardonnay.

The second vineyard was Holly Grove and it's rather new.

This is a family-run vineyard with a small tasting room, warm & friendly. He invited us back into the production area, shown here, and went through the stages and techniques of winemaking.


Holly Grove has some delicious Chardonnays that have won a few medals...most prominently a Gold in the Virginia Cup. Our favorite was the '07 Chardonnay...aged with the lees, it had a butteryness and deeper flavor than the '06.

Stop in and visit...Holly Grove is easily accessible from Rt.13 and is located south of Exmore a few miles from Chatam.


C & E

Eastern Shore Excursion: The Great Machipongo Clam Shack

We drove down to Virginia to spend Thanskgiving with family. Wanting to avoid traffic, we took Rt.13 down the Eastern Shore. On the Virginia side of the Shore you'll find one of the best seafoood markets & restaurant...The Great Machipongo Clam Shack.


The GMC Shack is located just south of Exmore in a vacated fast-food restaurant but is lightyears away from the greasy offerings you usually find on 'The Road'.

Fresh steamed shellfish, grilled & broiled fish, soups & sandwiches, you can find a great healty & lite lunch offering and walk away with fresh ingredients for dinner.


Elizabeth ordered a bowl of Maryland-style (red) crab soup; made with claw meat & brimming with vegetables & potato, it was reminiscent of Brunswick Stew.

Here you see my clam-fritter sandwich...similar to an quiche. Served with a fresh 'slaw, this sandwich was an interesting way to have a warm seafood sandwich that wasn't deep fried & battered.

C & E

Road Trip: Sly Fox Brewery

We'd planned on going to Winterthur Gardens but the grounds were absolutely drenched from a week of rain, so instead we stuck to the byways. After having some great craftbrew from Sly Fox, I wanted to check out one of their two breweries, so we cruised out to Phoenixville in the Mustang.

After cruising up the Main Line, then doing some 'car-commercial' quality driving through a few hollows, we landed in the parking lot of the Sly Fox brewery.
It wasn't that interesting on the outside. Located in a shopping mall, it had a small patio ourside...but it's what's inside that I was after.

Here's Mini-Guinni...the O'Reilly Stout served in a small sampler glass...look at the perfect pour on the glass. The nice thing here is that you can get a sampler of 5 beers for $6.


Here we have, from left to right:

• Aurora IPA - A very hoppy ale, with a lot of body...try it once just to say you had it
  
• Berliner Weisse - A summer sipper...thin, smooth, slightly sour/citiric
  
• O'Reilly Stout - A dry stout for Guinness-drinkers
  
• Black Raspberry Reserve - Not terrbily sweet at all...which is a good thing
  
• Saison Brune - Had that good 'barnyard' character that comes from saison...malty goodness

You can tell from the uneven pours in the picture the first two we went for...Elizabeth took a sip on the Raspberry and I went straight for the Saison Brune. I have to admit, my favorite beers lately have been those you'd find in N. France/S.Belgium...saisons and biere de garde...welcome diversions from German wheats.


C & E

Farmer's Market Haul

Fall is here...which means apples, leeks, butternut squash and pumpkins at the market.

One the left is everything Elizabeth carried in her market bag. On the right, my haul...I actually stole the cucumber from Elizabeth's pile too...notice my three little pumpkins? I jokingly said our place is so small that those were the only kind of pumpkins we had room for.


C & E

Weekend Road Trip - General Lafayette Inn

A perfect fall weekend ...we took the Mustang for a run out of the city. We dropped in on the General Lafayette Inn, a tavern up in Lafayette Hill that brews it's own beer.

This place is OLD! It dates back from the 1700's. The Inn above the bar is haunted (read the stories at thier website). With the low ceilings, small rooms divided by heavy-timber posted doorways it drips with charm. I imagine snow covered hills outside, roaring fire inside and enjoying a warm bowl of soup tucked into one of the corner booths. This weekend however, it was sunny and 75...no soup for us!

Of course, the best part about the General Lafayette is the bar. There were a few locals enjoying pints when we seated ourselves at the long , low bar. A few other day-trippers and locals dropped in while we were there...the place had good traffic flow for the middle of the day.

Here's a listing of thier brews


The General brews its own beers, true...but this isn't your average brewpub. Here's a brew that caught Elizabeth's eye...Lafayette’s Bière de Framboises. This beer is made with pounds and pounds of raspberries, which give a great aroma and tang. Mercifully, this is not a sweet frambozen lambic...just crisp clean raspberry goodness with a little effervescence.


I opted for Chocolate Thunder...a thick porter with an inky coffee & dark chocolate character.


We were already doing pretty good, both of us enjoying the unique character of the brews. This was a real find though...Cheesesteak Springrolls! The Taphouse in Norfolk served up Hillbilly Eggrolls, ham, black-eyed peas, cabbage and Gruyere cheese. These were thier Philly counterparts. Small slivers of steak, a little bit of cheese (Provolone maybe?) fried in a crispy pastry roll and served with Cheez Whiz dipping sauce.


C & E

Market Day

Went back to the Headhouse Row Farmer's Market this Sunday. Vendors start selling around 10AM, so we went early this week to get in on some of the best produce.

The market is never a dull scene...the place is literally packed with people shoulder to shoulder. The only downside to the market are the families that plow their way down the aisle with strollers...these things are 4 wheeled monstrosities that create huge human traffic jams...it's like the SUV of the farmers market and it's highly annoying being nailed in the heel every three steps by a stroller.



However, the pain is worth the reward...here's a snapshot of our bounty this week...center stage are the zucchini blossoms. A box of 10 blossoms ran about 4.50..these things are beautiful.The melons, blue berries, peaches, romas and heirloom tomatoes are all Jersey grown...the herbs are all organic.


Here's a snapshot of the big gelato place in town...think ColdStone Creamery but Gelato...flavors like Mojito, Basil, and Mexican Chocolate were interesting, but the best were the simple flavors. Here's a dark chocolate & pistachio cup...we walked about 15 blocks to get to the place, so I'm thinking we burned up the calories getting there and back.


C & E

Antique & Farmer's Market Weekend

Saturday was wonderfully sunny, so we decided to go for a walk around town to hit three or four markets. I was looking for some used ties (my collection is getting stale) and Elizabeth was on the hunt for Bakelite...apparently she's developed a habit thanks to a gifted bracelet from her friend.

First, we dropped by Headhouse Row to breeze by the open air vendor stalls. One stand had a cool array of jewelry made from recycled typewriter keys.

Check out these cufflinks! If only I had more French cuff shirts.






I like the rings too, but it's a little to punk-rock for me...cool for a librarian..or a typist.









I found a few other interesting places. One is called the Philadelphia AIDS Thrift and it' spretty much a hodge podge of everythign you could imagine...clothes (picked up a pair of designer ties for $5)...glassware (got a Warstiener gold-rimmed pilsner glass for $3)...and every other peice fo junk imaginable.



We ended up at a re-converted Jewish synagogue and inside vendors had set up little stalls. One place had a literal box full of Bakelite. The lady that ran the place was very knowledgeable and has been collecting Bakelite since shewas a kid. She asked Elizabeth how long she had been a Bakelite addict! Elizabeth ended up getting an orange-white mix bangle and I bought a pair of Bakelite dice for $8.






Another place was playing old swing music and had display cases spilling over with toys, pin-up girls and 40's memorabilia. Check out the Star Wars spread here.

Here's a funny salt & pepper shaker Elizabeth spotted. Apparently this gal's seen better days, as she seems to have shaken loose her pepper pot.



All that shopping got us hungry, so we dropped into a little Vietnamese sandwich shop. The store was the size of a large bathroom and a little old lady was behind a massive cooler cranking out Bahn Mi. Imagine a Spring Roll on a hoagie bun and you've got a Bahn Mi...fresh from bean-thread noodles, crunchy with veg (carrot, cilantro, lettuce) and savory with a shredded pork or sliced meat filling...and only $3!







Later on we went down to the Italian Market and picked up a fresh Pineapple for $3...I was on the hunt for Duck, but didn't find anything read to go that night that looked decent.

Sunday was the farmer's market at Headhouse Row, where we picked up all this fresh local grow product; Duck Breast, French Bread, Jersey Tomatoes, Blueberry-Chipotle Salsa, Goat Cheese, Peaches, Cilantro, Tomatillos and a bunch of other veggies.
Here's my favorite thing we found at the market...a huge bunch of sunflowers...it's like having a blast of sunshine with your breakfast every day.


C & E