Fresh recipes straight from the source
‘The New England Seafood Markets Cookbook’ is Urban’s latest
Adding to his impressive resume of food and travel books, Old Saybrook writer and editor Mike Urban, author of “Lobster Shacks,” “Clam Shacks,” and “The New England Diner Cookbook,” has just published “The New England Seafood Markets Cookbook.”
This new book combines the travelogue, road-trip aspects of his earlier books with recipes from each of the venues he included.
It contains 150 recipes featuring the freshest local seafood from more than 40 of what Urban has deemed New England’s finest independently owned and operated seafood markets, many of which are family operations that have been in business for decades.
Local proprietors that made the cut include Flanders Fish Market in East Lyme, Captain Scott’s Lobster Dock in New London, and Atlantic Seafood in Old Saybrook.
In the following interview, Urban discusses the process of researching and writing the book.
Q. Your profession is food/travel writer, not professional chef, but do you cook? Did you test the recipes in the book?
A. Yes, I do cook. I’m a casual cook, getting better all the time, but by no stretch of the imagination am I a professional chef. I’m a chronicler of these recipes and I tell their stories, and write them up, and I’ve been testing a growing number of them — not all — those that look appealing or even a little questionable. I know enough to check if something seems off. I’ve wanted to write something less seasonal and more year-round, and I’ve been leaning toward cookbooks, and it’s been a learning experience for me.
Q. How did you find all the markets you featured, and what were your criteria for the ones you chose?
A. Thank God for Google. That’s where I start. I already knew a lot of these places. Since 2010, I’ve been researching these various “shack” books. Cruising the New England shoreline, I came across many seafood markets. But as far as hunting them down, Google is the best place to start. I visit their websites; see how extensive they are, if they’re local, multi-generational owned, if they’re viable seafood retail seafood markets — not just somebody peddling fish off the back of their cars.
Q. Did you visit all the markets in person?
A. Yes, I do most of my research before I go there, but then I do visit the retailers multiple times to develop relationships with the owners/managers, so they’re comfortable enough to tell me their stories and give me their recipes.
Q. You say in the book, “Every local knows his worth in salt about a secret lobster shack or nondescript
fish market where you can find the best crab cake.” Were locals helpful in your research?
A. Yes, I did get tips about great markets from locals, about markets that didn’t have websites so I wouldn’t have found them. For example, Fisherman’s Catch in Damariscotta, Maine, and another outside Booth Bay Harbor, Pinkham’s, a nice little seafood market right on the road. Once you get out there and start traveling around, friends and associates start mentioning places.
Q. Is every New England state included in the book, and where is the most concentration of good seafood markets?
A. The only state not included is Vermont — I only (featured) saltwater seafood markets. The two biggest states (represented) are Maine and Massachusetts — they’re roughly even.
Q. Were all the proprietors willing to give you a recipe, or did any of them not want to give their secrets away?
A. Yes. Some were too busy, more than suspicious. Harbor Fish didn’t get a recipe to me in time, but I did get them into the book, because it’s such a phenomenal place. All the rest gave a recipe. They all came around. One reason seafood markets intuitively and logically have a lot of recipes on hand, or even on their websites, is it helps their business; people buy more or their seafood. They’re all nice, hardworking people.
Q. How did you decide to organize the book?
A. Once I had all the recipes — 150 — sitting there, I figured out what would be the best way to divide up the chapters. Some people love shrimp, someone may want to make a hors d’oeuvres for a party that weekend. I divided up the chapters with the reader in mind, what would be most useful. The table of contents is very organized, and there’s a comprehensive index, so people can pretty much find anything they’re looking for.