A picky eater with lots of allergies and her husband give a Maine Fish Market review

Dan’s Dish

Geography

The New England Clam Chowder arrived first, thick and creamy. And hot! Dan’s face turned red and the rough of his mouth might be permanently scarred and he was thrilled. Apparently chowder isn’t ever as hot as should be, but this bowl was piping. The broth was creamy, but not too creamy which was perfect for Dan since he doesn’t really like cream. He also noted a hint of seafood briney-ness which covered the taste of the cream. Dan was instantly excited for the rest of the meal based on the super hot chowder. In his words, “This is a good place. This is not a luke-warm chowder. This is a super hot chowder which is what it should be.” As he gulped down the last bit, he overheard another diner order the Rhode Island Clam Chowder and felt a little disappointed. He would have preferred a clear broth instead of the cream, but he hadn’t noticed it on the menu. I wonder if there was also a New York Clam Chowder…

Biology

Remember high school biology? Remember when you had to dissect stuff? I was that student who either got my lab partner to do the dirty work while I took notes with my back turned or simply walked out not caring that I was likely to fail. Well, watching Dan pull the slimy bodies away from the shell as a thread of what I can only describe as mucus trailed behind, my gag reflexes went into overdrive and I quickly buried my head in my journal scribbling away as Dan described the dish. After dipping each naked clam into a broth bath as if allowing it one last swim before consumption, he doused it in hot butter and then swallowed it whole. He remarked that they were very, very good and not over cooked. He was impressed and I was traumatized.

Physical Education

Next up was the lobster. A pound and a half of shell and meat. I have noticed in the past, that when Dan orders lobster it comes with a bib. Dan always poo-poos the bib, citing that they’re for babies. Over twenty five years of me watching Dan eat lobster, I have never seen him drip, dribble, or drool. He has perfect aim. A good thing since I do the laundry. Dan attacked the lobster with hands and fork. The shell was rock hard, clearly toned from all the sea crawling, and Dan needed to exert some energy to get to the meat. In fact the shell was so hard, that a tine broke off Dan’s metal fork. He explained to me that this lobster didn’t get a chance to molt before succumbing to the lobster trap, thus it has more meat. And Dan was glad – he ate all the meat from the claws and the tail. The meat was a bit overdone, but Dan didn’t seem to mind. Overdone is better than underdone and I don’t want a parasite, he said. When I asked him why he didn’t eat the middle, he said that’s where the digestive tract and other parts are and did I want to see them. I quickly said no. I had had enough biology for a lifetime.

Math

Finally, with lobster shells discarded in a separate bowl, Dan was ready to attack the crab legs. They were netted together in a bundle of four skinny legs (or maybe five or six). The legs had cooled significantly while Dan devoured his lobster, but a choice had to be made and while the probability of the lobster staying warmer longer than the crab was high Dan made the choice that was best for him. Even I, who knows nothing about seafood because allergies, recognized that these crab legs were at least sixty percent smaller than the legs Dan secures at the grocery store.  In fact they were so small, that Dan could barely get any meat out of them at all and finally gave up. I don’t blame him. I think he did enough work for one night.

 

Be sure to read about our visit to

The Maine Fish Market

and my Burger Experience!

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