Fine yet unpretentious dining on display in ‘Seaside Snacks and Shacks’
The best part of doing Cooking Channel’s Thursday series “Seaside Snacks and Shacks,” says host Sabin Lomac, is meeting chefs and restaurateurs who share his commitment to excellence.
“I get passionate about family businesses and people that care about their food because that’s what I do and that’s how I’ve become successful,” the native Mainer, chef and co-owner of a burgeoning restaurant and food truck business says. “So selfishly, it was just a blast getting to know those people, to try new things, to see new areas and to encourage people to continue with their mission and mission of putting out nothing but the best. I think that’s really honorable and it’s rare nowadays in the food space.”
In the six-episode half-hour series, Lomac travels the country to take in superb but unpretentious dining in locations ranging from the Gulf Coast and South Florida to New England, the Carolinas and Lake Michigan, and meet the people behind food. And although “Seaside” is in the title, the menu isn’t limited to just fish, as Lomac hits fried chicken, hot dog and Mexican joints in addition to places that serve blue crab and a dish prepared in Thursday’s episode on the California coast called yellowtail snapper alfredo.
“That was really, really decadent,” Lomac says. “First of all the fish was absolutely perfection, it’s what you want in a fish. It was light, it was indulgent, it was sweet. And then you mix it in with an alfredo sauce, which is traditionally rich and a little bit heavy, but in this instance it wasn’t. They both complemented each other really, really well.
“Actually at the hotel, my fiancée was like, ‘You have to have this,’ ” he continues, “because it was one of our favorite dishes ... and kind of a really unique spin . .... You don’t think to see that a lot of times in a coastal area. It was absolutely unreal. I’m having dreams of some of these foods even when I’m done shooting. It’s like you want more of it.”