Craig Fear (a fellow a-fish-ionado in western Mass and cookbook author) and I embarked to Providence with an edible “wish list”. Craig’s wish list included 1) experience a couple of variations of the Rhode Island-style chowder as research for his new cookbook on seafood soups, and 2) check out Providence’s hottest new club - I mean fish market! It’s called Fearless Fish Market.
My wish list items were to 1) try the fried dogfish sandwich at Dune Brothers, and 2) visit the newer location of one of my favorite restaurants, North.
To ensure the South Shore can savor locally caught lobsters and fresh fish at a reasonable price, Bernie drives into the thicket of Boston every Friday and every Saturday, picks up quality lobsters from the same three boats and brings them back to the customers waiting for him in the parking lot of 1095 Bedford Street in Whitman. Whitman knows him as "The Lobster Guy".
When he started his oyster farm in Wellfeet, some disapproving Fleetians made it known to him that he was considered a "Wash-A-Shore" (considered to be a derogatory term). Embracing his new title, Cummings named the business Wash-A-Shore Oyster Ranch. These famous Wellfleets are demanded by top restaurants in Boston and NYC, among other cities.
TJ Peckham, a native of Massachusetts’ North Shore, is here to show you the benefits of purchasing seafood from a CSF such as Cape Ann Fresh Catch. Because of Cape Ann Fresh Catch, consumers throughout New England receive seafood that is affordable, sustainable, and of exceptional quality every week, all year round. Their business model allows fishermen to focus on quality, not quantity, and the story of Cape Ann Fresh Catch is one everyone in Massachusetts should know.
Ryan and Julia Smith are the owners of Signature Oyster Farm, located in Katama Bay on Martha’s Vineyard, and they are among those whose livelihoods were crushed by the pandemic as a result of widespread supply chain disruption. But despite the challenges they have faced during the last year, their generosity and investment in the local community has been unwavering.
Jordan notes that running the market’s social media has come with a significant learning curve. “There's a lot that goes into creating effective marketing. I really try to convey that our products are fresh, that they just came in this morning, that they’re local.” She adds that on the flip side of these benefits, the popularity of what they offer can get out of hand. “A few months ago, we did a big lobster blowout and I promoted it on social media to the point where we had the police show up because it got out of control,” Jordan says.
“When I got my first fishing boat, I was single, and I had just met Pam. I was making that big leap where I was going to borrow money to buy my own boat and go into lobstering,” Skip says. “We worked together, day after day after day, scraping and painting that boat and making it so pretty. [Pam is] an interior designer now, so she had an eye for the right colors. Everything in the boat ended up being beautiful. And the first trip I took on my new boat, she went with me. She never went again, but she went that one time. That's how my career with her and my family started. That was the first day of the rest of my life, so that was a great memory for me in the seafood business.”
