Author: Mildred Bell

Certain recipes gain popularity and then subtly fade away. Others continue to return, discovering new audiences, kitchens, and seasons to be a part of. This grilled swordfish with mango salsa is definitely in the second category, and if you haven’t seen it yet on social media, it’s probably just a matter of time. It’s a simple dish. It functions in part because of this. Swordfish steaks were rubbed with salt, pepper, and olive oil, refrigerated for a short while, and then placed on a hot grill at 450°F. Five to six minutes of intense heat are applied to each side,…

Anywhere in America, a seafood restaurant that has survived for thirty years is quietly remarkable. Living in Arizona, which is landlocked, baked in the desert, and hundreds of miles from the closest coastline, seems like either a stubborn act of faith or proof that something truly remarkable is taking place on those plates. Most likely both. Founded in 1996 by partners Jim Ulcickas and Rick Staunton in Newport Beach, Bluewater Grill is a seafood institution that has spent thirty years demonstrating that passion for what comes from the ocean is more important than being close to it. The two founders’…

It all began as a lighthearted wager with a coworker. Thirty days. Seven cities. One particular fixation: clam chowder. No one anticipated that I would do it. To be honest, there were times on day eighteen when I didn’t think I would either, sitting in a rental car outside Providence with a fogged windshield and a lukewarm cup. However, I did. And compared to any ranking I could have created while seated at a desk, the results are messier, more intriguing, and more polarizing. CategoryDetailsTopicAmerican Clam Chowder — Regional Styles, Cities & RankingsKey StylesNew England (cream-based), Manhattan (tomato-based), Rhode Island…

On Cape Cod, there is a time when a plate of baked stuffed clams arrives at a table and the conversation simply stops. This time usually occurs in mid-July, around noon, somewhere between the sound of screen doors and the smell of low tide. Not in a big way. Silently. the way it acts when something is perfectly correct. Most people who grew up eating the dish refer to it as a “stuffie,” and the term conveys a casual intimacy that only comes from true familiarity. The baked stuffed quahog has been the staple appetizer at beach festivals and clam…

When Perry Raso first used his bare hands to remove a littleneck clam from Point Judith Pond, he was twelve years old. He was not given a business plan. He was unaware that Narragansett Bay might be worth millions of dollars. He simply kept returning to the water year after year, picking up on its moods in the same way that some children pick up on a neighborhood—which corners to avoid and which to trust. In this field, early intuition is more important than most people realize. The oyster aquaculture industry in Rhode Island did not happen to grow to…

Around the Portsmouth toll booths on I-95 North, there’s a moment when the atmosphere shifts. It’s subtle, like a little drop in temperature and a briny smell coming from the car’s vents. For twenty-two years, that moment has consistently arrived every July for a suburban Connecticut family. Not because that’s how it was intended. Eventually, it became the kind of thing you don’t question because it just kept happening. The journey began quite simply, as is the case with most enduring customs: with hunger rather than ceremony. A diversion. A hand-painted sign promoting fresh lobster rolls is located close to…

The way Pacific Seafood handled a $3.2 million environmental fine has an almost cinematic quality. Instead of remaining silent, issuing a cautious statement, pledging to take corrective action, and waiting for the news cycle to pass, the massive seafood company based in Clackamas went all out. In a written statement, the company said, “Oregon DEQ is out of control,” portraying one of the biggest environmental fines in the state’s history as evidence that conducting business in Oregon has become unfeasible rather than as a result of years of infractions. It was a revealing and well-thought-out move. Three of Pacific Seafood’s…

In late March, while standing over a skillet in a South Louisiana kitchen, everything begins to make sense. The onions are becoming tender and golden, the butter is slowly melting, and the aroma filling the air is a cross between a French grandmother’s Sunday dinner and a bayou at low tide. That’s crawfish ouffée getting used to its surroundings. And if you’ve never cooked it before, you’re going to see why it’s considered almost sacred down here. The dish isn’t particularly difficult. However, it is harsh on shortcuts. Minced garlic, cayenne, two pounds of fresh Louisiana crawfish tail meat, two…

You can eat well in some cities. Then there are cities where food ceases to be merely food and becomes something more like identity, where the water itself, restaurants, and fishermen all participate in the same dialogue. Here are the five U.S. coastal cities that truly deserve a place on every serious seafood lover’s list, after spending the better part of two decades dining throughout coastal America, arguing with line cooks, and nursing hangovers from too many oyster shots. Baltimore is ranked fifth, and it most likely ought to be higher. There is no other blue crab situation in the…

Watching a small restaurant close in a town like Stuart has a subtle, unsettling quality. Not because the news is announced loudly, but rather because it is not. Tucked away in the Sewall’s Point section of Florida’s Treasure Coast, the Catch Neighborhood Bar & Grill closed its doors on May 1st, capping a two-year run that consistently felt like it was trying to fill shoes too big for it. Prior to The Catch, the same location was home to a seafood restaurant that flourished for almost 30 years—the kind where servers knew your drink and your children’s birthdays. Like a…