Head outside for the best of both worlds: breathtaking scenery with fresh air, clear skies and the most-incredible waterfront dining in the U.S.
Head outside for the best of both worlds: breathtaking scenery with fresh air, clear skies and the most-incredible waterfront dining in the U.S.
Episode content:
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Find episode transcript here: https://the-best-thing-i-ever-ate.simplecast.com/episodes/on-the-waterfront-ft-with-anne-burrell-jeff-mauro-and-duff-goldman
SPEAKER 1: Who doesn't love great food?
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SPEAKER 2: It's more than just eating. It's an experience. Do we have any more?
SPEAKER 3: This is the best thing I ever ate.
SPEAKER 2: Wouldn't you rather be seeing the boats that caught your lobster? What's up, dude? Thanks for the lobster. You can get seafood in a lot of places, and you can enjoy it looking out on a parking lot. But wouldn't you rather be on the waterfront? The best thing I've eaten on the waterfront has to be the fried lobster platter at Seafood Sam's in Sandwich, Massachusetts. You get butter, and then you get batter, and then you get lobster meat. It's wicked good, kid.
[CHUCKLES]
I'm from Sandwich, Massachusetts. It's a little town on Cape Cod. We have three stoplights. When I was there, we had three stoplights. I think there's five now. So Cape Cod basically looks like an arm. It is all beach. So you can get deep fried lobster while you're sitting on Cape Cod Bay watching the actual lobster boats that caught that lobster go back out for more lobster. It's amazing.
SPEAKER 4: For our fried lobster dish, we actually use to lobsters. The hard shells are best because their meat's firmer. And then we steam them in a steamer because they come out perfect every time.
SPEAKER 2: I love everything that comes out of the ocean, scallops, crabs, clams. I love clams. I think about clams more than people think. I just love seafood. But lobster, it's the best meat.
SPEAKER 4: And then, I'll make some special clam fry batter.
SPEAKER 2: Clam fry?
SPEAKER 5: Yeah, they have a clam fry batter.
SPEAKER 2: I knew there was a reason why I loved it.
SPEAKER 4: We use corn flour, wheat flour, powdered milk, powdered eggs, salt, and cornstarch.
SPEAKER 2: Now it's time to fry. They take the lobster meat, and they toss it in flour. That makes the batter stick to it. Then they toss it in evaporated milk. Then they put it in the clam batter and then into the deep fryer.
SPEAKER 4: Now it's ready to plate up and eat.
SPEAKER 2: And no seafood platter is complete without a side of drawn butter, kid. Dude, we need more drawn butter on table 44.
[LAUGHS]
Take a big piece of fried lobster, you dunk it in the butter, you bite into it, and you get really tender, buttery, sweet, oceany flavor. It's like it's got a little salty kiss from Neptune. Who else comes out of the water? Like Flipper. And then you get the batter, really crispy and salty, just delicious.
SPEAKER 3: Eating outside is one of my favorites. And where I really love to do that is at Cecconi's in Brooklyn on the waterfront, right underneath the Brooklyn Bridge. And you feel like you're in old-school classic New York. And my favorite dish to eat there is the cavatelli with lamb ragu and ricotta, spectacular. So you have chewy little pieces of pasta.
You have this thick warm ragu that feels like a hug from the inside. This dish of pasta is perfect. It is a lamb shoulder that has been really coarsely ground.
SPEAKER 6: And in small chunks, we're just going to add it to the pan.
SPEAKER 3: You brown it, and everyone knows how I feel about brown food. Brown food taste good. And then you take it out.
SPEAKER 6: I'm going to deglaze with my vegetables, carrot, onion, celery.
SPEAKER 3: And they brown that a lot. And they put some tomato paste and--
SPEAKER 6: The sugars in the tomato are going to caramelize.
SPEAKER 3: And then they add the lamb back into it. And they put some red wine and--
SPEAKER 6: So I'm going to add a few San Marzano tomatoes. We're going to take our lamb stock, and we're just going to pour in some of that.
SPEAKER 3: And then they have a lot of spices.
SPEAKER 6: Bay leaves, cinnamon, juniper, star anise, and one or two cloves. We're just going to go on low heat for about four hours.
SPEAKER 3: They make their own fresh pasta. They cook the pasta almost all the way in very salty boiling water. They add fava beans to the ragu. And then they finish cooking it in the sauce. If you don't cook them together, it's like they're just hooking up. They're not married. They're just, sort of, casually dating. They put a dollop of ricotta in the bottom of the plate and put that hot pasta and sauce on top of it and an extra little sprinky-dink of parm and a little bit of Fresno chili.
I mix it up with verve right away. It makes it nice and creamy, mm, perfectly cooked pasta. I mean, that lamb ragu with the perfect little bit of warm spices that it's just the right amount. I love a fava bean, the perfect fresh respite this dish needs. And then the salty, like, nutty Parmigiano. Mm, it comes together so beautifully that, like, normally, I am a sharer of all this kind of stuff. I don't want to share this one. Go away. I'm having a moment.
JEFF: There is something magical about eating on a waterfront. If you're in the middle of a city and you get to dine al fresco close to a body of water, it instantly transports you. And who doesn't want to be transported just by the view? And the beauty of River Roast is if you deduce it, use your Columbus skills, it's on the riverfront in Chicago. And when I'm there, I'm getting the roast chicken and potatoes every time.
So this is a whole roasted chicken served with River Roast potatoes. All the drippings from the chicken are hitting those crispy potatoes. It's like you-- at one time only, I jumped right in the river, swam home, hopped in a rideshare car, and went right back to River Roast and ordered another chicken and potatoes. They take the super fresh locally-sourced chicken. First, they season the chicken with salt and pepper.
SPEAKER 7: A little bit under the wings. We're going to add some fresh herbs, oregano, thyme, and rosemary.
JEFF: Those herbs will perfume the entire bird. Then get this, they cold smoke it in a combi oven. Cold smoking makes the chicken absorb as much smoke as possible without overcooking. So then the bird goes back in the combi oven for about 25 minutes, 485 degrees with 95% steam. The steam keeps the bird very, very juicy. The high heat renders the skin and makes it super crispy.
SPEAKER 7: There it is, Jeff.
JEFF: Oh, man.
SPEAKER 7: Calm down.
JEFF: Oh, in the meantime, they do a baked potato. Guess where it's going, into the deep fryer. When you see this chicken coming through the restaurant, it's a piece of art. But man, when you cut into it and take your first bite, the flavor matches the art. And you're first getting the shards of crispy skin that hit you. But then you hit that meat, and it's got beautiful perfume of smoke to it. And you chew it, and it's like, this is so moist.
And then just when the smoke's done, you're like, what is all those herbs? Where are the-- I don't see any herbs. They've been inside the bird the whole time, ready to pounce on your taste buds. It's a magical experience, and then I go for some of the potato, super crispy, but on the inside, so buttery and creamy, mm. Definitely bring some friends with you, get a couple of other dishes to share. But the thing that will be on the mind of your guests forever is that chicken.
KC: I grew up in New Jersey near the beach. Every meal in the summer was with a waterview. People think Jersey Shore is like this pocket. It's 140 miles of shoreline that people have been flocking to for centuries. But it has a pretty powerful place in my heart. I often find my place on the shoreline eating food. And one specific place is MOGO Korean fusion tacos. Its crave-worthy, and it haunts my dreams, to be honest.
It's pork belly, it's slaw and sauce and tortilla, and it's beautiful. We're taking influence from Mexico. We're taking influences from Korea. And we're bringing them together, and it works. It's so good. So to make these tacos, they have to marinate the pork belly.
SPEAKER 8: I'll be starting our marinade with gochujang, which is the Korean fermented red pepper paste.
KC: Soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil--
SPEAKER 8: Crushed red pepper flakes to add some more heat to the marinade.
KC: Garlic.
SPEAKER 8: This is the marinade I learned from my mom.
KC: The pork belly marinates overnight, just waiting to be seared on both sides on the griddle.
SPEAKER 8: After I get a good sear, I'll be chopping up the meat on the grill.
KC: So in the meantime, they make their citrus-mayo slaw, mayonnaise, lime juice, grated ginger, green cabbage, red cabbage, and thinly sliced radish, cilantro. To build the taco, it's pretty simple. You just put down the tortilla, and you throw your shredded pork belly and then your citrus-mayo slaw, wrap it up in your little boat and hand it off to little hungry KC. It's a party on the boardwalk.
It's pork belly. So it just has this rich fatty flavor to it and meaty umami, kind of, sweet and savory thing going on at the same time because you're getting the crunch and the sweetness of the slaw. That hot and cold mouth feel bite after bite, you're just getting smacked in the face with flavor, which is a thing of beauty. And to be honest, I want them right now. But you know what, I'm going to go eat these tacos right now. Bye.
SPEAKER 9: When I think about one of the best things I've ever eaten and the view that it came with, it has to be the seafood club at Bo Brooks in Baltimore, Maryland, crazy. This sandwich is huge. It's essentially two sandwiches put in one. There's a crab cake sandwich at the bottom, and then you have another sandwich on top. And it's shrimp salad. You know you're going to get fresh seafood when you go there. I mean, they're literally on the water.
SPEAKER 10: The first step is sauce and that's what binds the crab cake and shrimp salad together, Worcestershire, fresh squeezed lemon juice, brown mustard.
SPEAKER 9: You gotta to have your Old Bay seasoning.
SPEAKER 10: This is Maryland, the home of Old Bay. You can never have enough Old Bay. We use fresh jumbo lump crab meat.
SPEAKER 9: The expensive stuff.
[CHUCKLES]
And they bind it together with panko.
SPEAKER 10: Not too much breading, mostly meat. Then we have dry parsley and then our famous sauce.
SPEAKER 9: It's formed into a six-ounce ball.
SPEAKER 10: Then we're going into a 350-degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
SPEAKER 9: And then they make the shrimp salad.
SPEAKER 10: We use 21/25 shrimp. We steam it in our own beer, a little celery, garlic powder, a little pepper, that flavorful sauce that we use. We got some white Texas toast, butter, lettuce, tomato, applewood smoked bacon.
SPEAKER 9: Bacon? I mean, it's genius.
SPEAKER 10: Our jumbo lump crab cake, we're going to give it a little push. Then we're going to add our seafood salad.
SPEAKER 9: And that's it. Your life is got.
[CHUCKLES]
If you didn't get your life before, you got it with that sandwich. The immediate flavor you're getting is the flavor from that crab cake. It's so sweet, so delicate. Then it cools down because you're biting into the lettuce, and then you bite into the tomato, and then woo, hoo, there is shrimp salad. And that's cold and creamy. The bacon just adds this nice little salty, briny flavor that complements the seafood really, really well. It's something that I will never, ever forget. It is literally the best thing I've ever ate.
SPEAKER 11: You're on the water, and you're seeing the ocean. You're seeing the waves. And you're eating seafood, and it just connects. So the dish is the fish and chips at Water Grill in Santa Monica, California. These fish and chips are otherworldly. I used to live right down the street from Water Grill. So I would go to Water Grill probably more than any human being that lives in Santa Monica. It's such a poor man's dish, fish and chips, and it's just flipped on its head.
They are going to take the best piece of fish that you would normally charge $45 for at a fancy restaurant. Water Grill took that, and they breaded it. And that's why it's just so good. To make this fish and chips, they start by making a beer batter, AP flour, corn flour.
SPEAKER 12: Kosher salt, table sugar, baking powder, and then we have equal parts club soda and beer.
SPEAKER 11: You got double bubble action that's why you get that crispy crust. They use wild Atlantic cod because cod has a great flake to it, perfect for fish and chips.
SPEAKER 12: We're getting it from a day boat fishery three times a week directly from Iceland.
SPEAKER 11: Next, they dip into the beer batter, and they place it in the fryer oil. They fry it at about 350 for six minutes until you got GBD, golden, brown, delicious. That's a chef term, GBD. Like, make sure that's GBD! You came for this fish. But the fries play an equal part in this whole dish being amazing.
SPEAKER 12: We're taking the humble russet potatoes, and then we're blanching in hot canola oil and then finish frying in even hotter canola oil.
SPEAKER 11: Then they make their homemade tartar sauce.
SPEAKER 12: Mayonnaise, capers, hard boiled egg, cornichon, chopped parsley, salt, ground pepper.
SPEAKER 11: The first thing I get is the crunch. The flavor of this crispy crust, it has more of like a pastry top because it has all these little bubbles in it from the beer evaporating. Then you get this marvelous cut of fish. It's juicy. It's flaky. And then every time you get a bite of that crust, it just plays so well together. The fries are outside, super crispy, golden, but the inside, pillowy, fluffy potato.
Tartar sauce has a little bit of tartness and a little bit of that acidity also. It makes a whole new flavor. I'd dip my French fries in the tartar sauce because I'm a crazy person. But if you dare put ketchup on that cod, we can't talk anymore. You can dip your fries in the ketchup. You can dip your fries in the tartar sauce, but never ever, ever, ever dip your fish in the ketchup, ever. You can't do to that beautiful piece of fish.
SPEAKER 13: For me, to sit waterside and have a meal, and it's, I hope, the same for everybody else, it takes that great meal to a whole different level. Hey, listen, water changes our mindset. For me, the perfect dish on the waterfront is the Ulele water works meatloaf. Forget the shrimp and the seafood and all that stuff. You can get that anywhere. Meatloaf on the water, I'm telling you, you won't want to miss it.
Well, I can tell you when I tasted this the first time, it took me back to my home in England where my mother, every Friday, would make meatloaf. We didn't have a lot of money then days, so my mother would throw anything into anything and create something. But what Ulele has done, it has taken all these expensive meats that we never had, put into a meatloaf, and this is comfort elevated. Sorry, mom. You're a 5. They're an 11. I don't believe I just said that.
SPEAKER 14: So we're going to take this ribeye, filet, the New York strip steak and the flank steak, and we are going to turn it into this wonderful mixture of ground beef. And we grind up celery, onions, carrots, garlic, and do a puree, some Worcestershire, a dab of pepper sauce. I'm going to pan it up, cook it for 45 minutes, 350 degrees.
SPEAKER 13: They take it out, smother it with homemade ketchup, back in the oven for another 10 minutes. They then slice it into portions, individually grill it.
SPEAKER 14: Just a minute and a half on each side. That's what gives us that crispy char.
SPEAKER 13: It's served with white cheddar mashed potatoes, tobacco onions, and a red wine-garlic demi-glace. I'm sitting on the edge of the waterfront, and I eat it. I'm tasting the layers of flavors that the chefs actually thought about. It's like a symphony, spice, salt, sweet, crunchy, filet, sirloin, and the ribeye. The grill gives me the smokiness with the creaminess of the mashed potato.
The sauce is velvety. It's luscious. It's sexy. And its hits just keep coming until you literally want to lick the plate. This is the best thing I ever ate. I'm OK doing this. Sorry, get over it.
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