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Vineyarders Sing the Lobster Bisque Blues
The annual migration of seasonal residents and day-trippers after Labor Day is a mixed blessing for folks living on Martha's Vineyard. On the one hand, there are no more traffic tie-ups on the towns' mains streets or long lines of cars crawling behind hesitant moped riders teetering along the roads at 18 mph; parking spaces are plentiful. You don't need reservations at any of the restaurants or in any watering-hole on-island; the bartenders are ready to take your order as soon as you belly up to the bar and are actually glad to see you.
Menemdha, Martha's Vineyard (PRWEB) December 5, 2004 -- The annual migration of seasonal residents and day-trippers after Labor Day is a mixed blessing for folks living on Martha's Vineyard. On the one hand, there are no more traffic tie-ups on the towns' mains streets or long lines of cars crawling behind hesitant moped riders teetering along the roads at 18 mph; parking spaces are plentiful. You don't need reservations at any of the restaurants or in any watering-hole on-island; the bartenders are ready to take your order as soon as you belly up to the bar and are actually glad to see you.
The downside is that Stanley Larsen's lobster bisque isn't always available. Gone are the warm days when you could just pull into one of the parking spaces opposite his ramshackle Menemsha Fish Market and get a bowl-full of the best soup that has ever passed your lips. Eaten with the compulsory white plastic spoon, and your legs hanging over the bulkhead out back of the shop while watching the gulls traverse the channel as the sun dips into the horizon in colors as brilliant and appealing as those of bisque in your container, is one of the many secrets that Vineyarders try to keep to themselves and savor in the Menemsha quietude.
It's hard to adequately explain what it is about the market that makes it so appealing and beloved by those who make the trek up-island to the tiny fishing village at the western tip of Martha's Vineyard. Perhaps it is partly due to its long history, having been in operation since 1946, and serving generations of fish and shellfish-lovers. Maybe it is partly due to the fact that Stanley is a native Islander and has been a fisherman all his life; he knows fish.
Stanley's 53' stern-trawler fishing boat, the Janelle, sits behind the market, tied up along Dutcher's Dock with others of its ilk, waiting on the morning tide to get back to work. The Janelle is not a pristine example of ship-building art, and you won't wear your dress whites or Gucci loafers when stepping on-board. You won't find gleaming rods and reels set in sparkling stainless steel rod holders nor a padded fighting chair worthy of a NASA spaceship. Rather the Janelle, much like her owner, is a working machine, rusty around the edges, creaky in the early morning light and grumbling as she gets underway. And work she does, hauling up the full lobster traps, dredging succulent scallops, netting the freshest tuna and bluefish from the ocean waters between Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and America (how Vineyarders refer to the land across the water).
By mid-morning, when the first customers arrive, Stanley is cleaned up and back at the Market. The rest of the day is spent sorting the lobsters and crabs into fresh seawater holding tanks, cleaning and filleting the fish so that they can be iced and made ready to take home. Oysters and littleneck clams are stacked for the raw bar, scallops are shucked, culled lobsters, crabs and wild mussels are vat-boiled before they are opened for their meat, which then goes into the lobster rolls, soups and the to-die-for bisque.
With the decline of tourists to the Island in the off-season, the kettles full of fresh fish stews and soups are quickly emptied. Workmen coming in on break or stopping by for lunch claim most of the morning's cooking. If the weather is still warm enough, they pull up to lobster traps covered in checkered oil cloth that pass for makeshift picnic tables and benches at the side and around back of the market. Calloused and rough hands that were busy pounding nails, laying tile or painting walls are now busy delicately cracking open lobster claws and picking out chunks and slivers of meat that are so sweet that clam broth and butter dip are a distraction, rather than enhancement, from the flavor.
When the temperature drops or the wind off the Sound blows too strong, the inside of the market becomes ground-zero for Island gossip and fishing stories. The relaxed nature of Menemsha, the market and the clubby banter make for an atmosphere where strangers feel instantly welcome and even appreciated. Their visit at this stark time of year is taken as an affirmation of mutual respect and a shared appreciation for the natural beauty of the island.
As the day winds down, Stanley and his wife, Lynette, start to prepare their FedEx orders. Via phone and Internet, orders for the fresh-off-the-boat lobsters, fish stews, chowder, crab cakes and bisque come in from around the country. When placing their orders, the cognosenti ask for their shipments to be packed in frozen seawater and seaweed. Stanley uses the pristine ocean water in his own cooking. Vineyard seawater is the only thing that should be used to cook the lobsters, steamers and clams; the saltwater imparts an incomparably full, robust flavor to the finished shellfish, and the seaweed makes for a sensational embellishment when serving lobsters to family and friends.
Just in time to make the last flight off the Vineyard, Stanley drops his shipments at the airport, and the brimming packages are delivered fresh the next day to lobster lovers across the nation. To savor for yourself the bounty of the ocean around the Vineyard, log on or call Stanley and Lynette to discuss your holiday orders or to just to satisfy that need for a taste of the Vineyard right now. Why wait for Summer?
If you go:
Stanley Larsen
The Menemsha Fish Market
45 Basin Road, Menemsha
Martha's Vineyard, MA 02552
www.menemshafishmarket.com
1-508-645-2282
Ellen & Elizabeth Ehrenzweig
The Write House
205 South Road
Martha's Vineyard, MA 02535-2618
Elizabeth@thewritehouse.com
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