Beachfood!

I'm sure a lot of us (not me, unfortunately) are headed "down the shore" this holiday weekend. I go to my favorite beach not because of the beach quality, but because of the food! The boardwalk fries, the taffy, the fudge, the caramel corn, the frozen custard...the list is endless!

My favorite beachfood destination is Rehoboth Beach, DE. Nice combination of greasy and kitschy, as well as cute and quaint. And it has a great pizza place...Nicola's. Their pizza is the best (so rated by my husband and I who made it a point to taste test pizza places one weekend) but they are also famous for their Nic-o-bolis as well as buckets of spaghetti and meatballs.

We also love Gus n' Gus fried chicken. It is fried in a pressure cooker. Not sure how that would affect the outcome, but I can assure you it is addicting stuff. We even named one of our cats after the place!

And lastly, (not exactly what you think of as beachfood) there is a walk-up crepe stand in Rehoboth, too. It is called Le Crepe Suzette. They have wonderful combinations made right in front of you (truly there is an art to spreading crepe batter on the griddle). My favorite is banana/brown sugar/sour cream. My husband is a fan of their Nutella crepe. It is a nice break from the grease on a sultry evening.

Where are your favorite beachfood destinations everybody?

Meowzart

Meowzart

Where do I begin? Obviously Ocean City MD is the town for me. (Just 2 1/2 years & counting to retirement, got my place all picked out)The boardwalk is ingrained in me, I have been going there since before I could walk. The original Thrashers fries are the one & only boardwalk fries. Real Idahos, fresh cut & double fried, doused with cider vinegar & salt, I can't remember the name of the stand on the boards that sells frozen chocolat covered bananas, been a favorite since I was a kid. Kohr Bros frozen custard & Fisher's caramel corn. Pizza slices & thick shakes. (my blood sugar is going up just thinking about this)
As far as chicken goes English's used to be the king of broasted chicken, still like the chicken don't care for much else they do.
Enjoy eating upstairs at Harrison's at sunset, doesn't matter what the food is the scenery will blow you away. Watched the Pride of Baltimore sail out of the inlet into the open ocean one evening, if they would have put a plain boiled hot dog on my plate I wouldn't have complained.
Been going to Crab Alley since the were up on 9th at the boardwalk, after they got burned out I followed them over to West Ocean City, I enjoy sitting upstairs at the bar looking out over the fishing docks, eating clams casino & a crab cake on crackers (that's Baltimore style, no bread just crackers)Since the place is owned by watermen you get some really good fresh seafood. One year I got a 4 pound lobster (whole dinner, salad, sides lobster under $25) It was cooked to perfection. It had been caught that day in the trench off Ocean City.
If I'm looking for something a bit nicer I enjoy The Captain's Galley also in West Ocean City

BEACH FOOD MUST TASTE BETTER AFTER BEING BY THE SHORE ALL DAY. WE GO TO MYRTLE BEACH AND INDULGE IN SAM'S WORLD FAMOUS HOT DOGS. A FOOTLONG AND A COLD ONE HIT THE SPOT FOR LUNCH. WE ALSO ONE OF MANY SEAFOOD BUFFETS. SOME ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS. AND MURRELS INLET HAS MANY QUANT DOCKSIDE EATERIES WITH THE SEAFOOD TO GO WITH THE VIEW. OYSTER ROASTS ANYONE?

Refresh my childhood memory??? How did we eat Cotton Candy at the beach, without getting our sticky hads full of sand? I know we did it , but don't remember the days before "Handi-Wipes"?

The ocean, mayor, the world's biggest sink!

We used to go down to the Redondo Beach pier and dive for change or cut mussels off the pier pilings and sell them to fishermen for bait. When we had enough change, we'd buy live crabs and have them steamed free. Nowadays the fish market on the pier is a little grimy...not sure if it changed, or my expectations did. But you can still have a pretty decent (and grime-free) crab feast at Captain Kidd's.

It's just not the pier without churros, and a Japanese-owned place has been serving pancakes shaped like fish, cooked in a press and filled with blueberry or red bean paste since the 70s.

But nowadays I go to the Redondo pier to drink...first hit Naja's, with 77 beers on tap and any beer you can imagine from around the world in bottles and cans. Then up to Tony's round observation tower for Fire Chiefs. Don't know what's in 'em, don't care, but they sure make you sing along with the music.

I remember delicious french fries directly off the boardwalk on Rehobeth Beach. Sizes of the buckets range from small to xxxlarge. I love walking the boardwalk at Seaside Heights, NJ. I start at one end and order a dozen perfectly sized cherystone clams on the half shell and a beer. I continue walking the boardwalk and stopping at every stand selling clams and repeat my order until the end of the boardwalk. It's my kind of marathon.

Childhood/Teens. Going to Jones Beach or Point Lookout on Long Island, then Hot Dogs at Nathans' Famous or Potato Knishes or both!

Late 20's. BBQ Salmon on the Grill or Spud's Fish n CHips after a day on Alki, Ballard or Richmond Beach in Seattle.

early 30's. Waking up on a beautiful summer morning in Pittsburgh PA and thinking what a perfect day for the beach, then reality setting in and thinking "hey wait a second....WHAT BEACH??!!"

Today....Clam Cakes n Chowder at Aunt Carries after a day on Scarboro Beach in Narragansett RI

Martha's Vineyard: Breakfast at The Black Dog, back when there wasn't an hour-long wait for a table (a long, long, time ago). Pancakes as big as a plate, filled with island blueberries. Having steamers for dinner that we'd dug up minutes earlier. Lobster. More steamers. What a great way to eat butter...

Rockport, MA: fried clams and french fries from the little shack across the street from the beach, followed by red Swedish fish or salt water taffy.

Now I'm landlocked in Arkansas. I'll be dreaming of the beach and fried clams all day!

A shrimp po-boy eaten while sitting on the seawall on Galveston Island.

We were innocent of the fact that MardiGras is a major celebration in Galveston, so arrived at MardiGras time without reservations and wound up staying in a motel in the shadows of several refineries in Texas City. Ate well, nevertheless, in Galveston: shrimp, more shrimp, oysters, and a delectible grilled sea trout on the beach along with some local beer. Also greatly enjoyed an architectural tour of the old mansions and the magnificent cathedral along tree lined streets. BTW. We were told to pronounce the name with the accent on the second sylable -
Gal-VEST-un. Is that correct, or are we just some Yankee suckers?

Seafarer -

Pronunced GALviston (think of Glenn Campbell singing)

They make a big deal out of Mardigras there and I avoid it completely! They also have Dickens-on-the-Strand at Christmas time every year that is a lot of fun.

Glad you got to see our energy at work!

Squeaky cheese (Chedder Cheese Curds). Fresh from the Tillamook Cheese Factory and then straight on to the coast. I don't think that I can go to the Oregon Coast without a stop at the cheese factory.

Naja's! My home away from home for 3 years.....and with the best house band around. Good choice, Elise!
My favorite beach places are in Ventura-----Duke's Bitchin' Burgers, walking distance from the sand. Good breakfasts and lots of great burgers etc. Old surfboard decor and cold beer-----what's not to like! Also there is Surf and Taco, nothing like a fish taco and a quick walk across the lot back to the beach.
In Santa Sarbara, Brophy Brothers is right where the beach meets the harbor. Great view from upstairs from the bar overlooking the harbor and some of the best cioppino I've ever had. And I can do serious damage with their oyster shooters and beers.
Down in Malibu I often stop at Neptune's Net.....funky old place across from the beach but with good fresh seafood.
Close by on the Strand at Hermosa Beach there's Hennesey's which makes good burgers and my favorite----Brewski's. Can't get enough good beer at the beach......
Here in Long Beach, the best place within walking distance of the beach is the Belmont Brewing Company. Food is good-----but the beers are great. I should say second best--------best food and drink at the beach here is at my place!

Brighton Beach-Mrs. Stahl's Knish and Pizza from the Avenue.

Coney Island-Nathan's Franks and fries plus soft ice cream from the stand next to Nathan's.

I have been at beaches all along the eastern seaboard and as far as beachfood goes, my #1 destination would be Ocean City, MD. I skip the Kohr’s frozen custard since they no longer make my favorite chocolate marshmallow flavor with whole miniature marshmallows in it and head on up to Dumser’s for a scoop of their Hawaiian Delight ice cream (banana, pineapple and cherry). Thrasher’s French fries, Anthony’s at 16th and Phila. for a hand-sliced beef or ham sandwich on a hard roll, Lombardi’s linguini with red sauce studded with crabmeat, many places with Maryland crab soup or great creamed chipped beef for breakfast….steamed crabs….cold beer….time for a roadtrip!

Beachfood?????? How about a "Sand-Which"? Booooooooooo I know!

I don't know if they qualify as beach food but any of the restaurants along Ocean Drive in South Beach can't be beat. My personal favorite is Mangos.

You know...I've been thinking about other nice beachfood experiences since I started this thread:

Point Reyes Seashore: Spent the morning hiking, it was actually beautiful and sunny. We hiked out to chimney rock and just as we got there, the fog literally rolled right in over us. It was the coolest thing! We headed after that to Drakes Beach, and walked for an hour or so there. We were starved and would have eaten almost anything but were surprised by the little concession there. We haven't had many good experiences with Natl. Park concessions, but this one had oyster everything. It was great!! We sat outside in the cool fog eating oyster stew. It was pretty close to bliss for both the hubby and me.

North Beach, SF: not actually a "beach" but had great food there--an awesome meatball sub from Molinari's deli. We sat outside there, too. Great place to people watch and look over our purchases from the City Lights bookstore.

*****sigh******

Maruca's Pizza in Seaside Heights NJ. None better!

Ah! Ocean city... hot shrimp and cold beer at Hurricane Hattie's, breakfast at a boardwalk hotel with any kind of omelet you can dream up, a strwberry omelet at the Pan on the Beach, crab soup, a whole table of crabs to pick and pick on, steamed oysters, Dumsers strawberry ice cream, breakfast at the General's Kitchen, Harrison's Oyster roast, ice cold Martinis on the balcony... Got to get back before the Summer's over.

quote:

Originally posted by EdSails

Naja's! My home away from home for 3 years.....and with the best house band around. Good choice, Elise!
My favorite beach places are in Ventura-----Duke's Bitchin' Burgers, walking distance from the sand. Good breakfasts and lots of great burgers etc. Old surfboard decor and cold beer-----what's not to like! Also there is Surf and Taco, nothing like a fish taco and a quick walk across the lot back to the beach.
In Santa Sarbara, Brophy Brothers is right where the beach meets the harbor. Great view from upstairs from the bar overlooking the harbor and some of the best cioppino I've ever had. And I can do serious damage with their oyster shooters and beers.
Down in Malibu I often stop at Neptune's Net.....funky old place across from the beach but with good fresh seafood.
Close by on the Strand at Hermosa Beach there's Hennesey's which makes good burgers and my favorite----Brewski's. Can't get enough good beer at the beach......
Here in Long Beach, the best place within walking distance of the beach is the Belmont Brewing Company. Food is good-----but the beers are great. I should say second best--------best food and drink at the beach here is at my place!

Have you been to the Hennessy's in Torrance...that little Village off of PCH? They have a more upscale restaurant attached called the HT Grill. In spite of white tablecloths and such, they have great crab cakes, steaks, and often wild game.

Frenchie's in Clearwater Beach, FL. Best "grouper-burger" that I've ever had. Cajun Style....mmmmm.
He has his own fleet of boats, so IT'S FRESH.
Couple of locations, but the "original" bar and the Saltwater Grill are the best.

Grouper is such a great fish - in Florida. It is usually very fresh in any Gulf coast restaurant, and seems impervious to the maladministrations of the worst cooks. Joints all along St Pete Treasure Island, and Madeira beaches do a great job with their grouper - I usually order the sandwich with sides of fries and coleslaw.

Anybody remember Tauber's Restaurant on the Boardwalk in Wildwood, NJ? Their specialty was breakfast and had a guy in the window with about 30 waffle irons going at the same time. He would flip the batter into the iron form several feet away w/o spilling. Now it's closed go to the Wildwood Diner on Atlantic Ave. There were several Alpine fresh juice stands on the Boardwalk also where we used to suck down quarts of wonderful fresh-squeezed juices after being out in the sun. Best of all, the ice cream vendors going up and down the beach carrying a cooler on their backs, opening the cooler and the dry ice-frozen ice cream would stick to your tongue until it thawed. "Hey, ice cream here, get your fudgy-wudgies," they would yell. Taylor Pork Roll had a stand on the Boardwalk for sandwiches that would start grilling on one side of the store, then travel on a motorized grill to the other side of the store when finished. Good old days.

Haven't been to the other Henessey's but will try it. Also interesting was the Korean Seafood place on the Redondo pier, right near El Torito. Had an amazing fresh crab and seafood soup there. Worth checking out and the prices are reasonable.

Provincetown: it's actually not on the beach, but it's within walking distance -- Clem and Ursie's. Exactly what a New England clam shack should be, complete with the heavy Portuguese influence that non-natives are always surprised by at first.

My grandparents retired to Atlantic City when I was a kid. I spent every summer there in the 1950s and 60s. This was such a nice time, when I could go out by myself at night and not worry about weirdos. Or know they existed. When I could play pinball for hours with fifty cents.

My favorite foods down there were the following: Taylor Pork Roll (my grandmother never knew this, because you can't get more un-Kosher than that). The neat way they were cooked on the conveyor belt that flipped them upside down. Nathan's hotdogs and especially their french fries. Chocolate-covered pretzels from any of those salt water taffy places. "Polly" seeds, which was what we called sunflower seeds back then. Frozen custard of course.

Oh, the best was the little bald man who stood in front of the Belgian Waffle place, yelling and hawking that product...Belgian Waffles with whipped cream on top.

I can't ever forget Planter's Peanuts when they were freshly roasted, still hot.

York Beach, Maine...The Raspberry Lime Ricky's and the taffy at the Goldenrod...Brown's for ice cream
Rockport, Mass...The steamed hot dogs and birch beer at the Country Store on Bearskin Neck...Tuck's fudge..any flavor
Salisbury Beach,Mass...onion rings in a cardboard holder with a straw in the middle of the stack to hold them up from Mr. Mike's

quote:

Originally posted by EdSails

Haven't been to the other Henessey's but will try it. Also interesting was the Korean Seafood place on the Redondo pier, right near El Torito. Had an amazing fresh crab and seafood soup there. Worth checking out and the prices are reasonable.

I peeked in there tonight, but it was a little too "exotic" for my mom. I did see the Land Sharks at Najas. I asked if my nephew could come in, since he's only 14. The barkeep looked him up and down. I thought he was trying to see if he would be too noticably underage. Since my nephew is 6 feet tall already I said helpfully, "He's tall." The guy responded, "This ain't Magic Mountain".

quote:

Originally posted by ocdreamr
The original Thrashers fries are the one & only boardwalk fries. Real Idahos, fresh cut & double fried, doused with cider vinegar & salt,

Did anybody else see the piece this morning on CBS's Sunday Morning about Thrasher's Fries? A nice little piece aout beach food.