Labor Day Feast on the Boardwalk

Is there anything as downright delicious as fresh seafood at the Jersey Shore?

Labor Day Weekend found us in Middletown, NJ. We're transplants from Long Beach Island to Tucson, Arizona. My Darlin's sister lives half an hour down the Garden State Parkway, and that's where we were headed.

We checked out of the hotel late morning, dreading the drive. Radio tuned to a local station for traffic updates, off we went. It wasn't as bad as we remembered!

The west has nothing like the boardwalks of the little towns that dot the eastern seaboard, especially those of North Jersey. (There really is a North Jersey and a South Jersey. Ask anyone who lives there.)

The particular boardwalk we enjoyed this time is in Seaside Park, NJ. We found the greatest little clam bar right there on the boardwalk, and the line was six deep! (I know the sign says Ocean Beach. Go figure! There's the phone number if you want to know why...)

Two of us ordered the Flounder Sandwich. Fresh and crunchy, with tartar sauce and fries. Crunchy roll, too. Why can't they make bread like this in Tucson?

My Darlin' ordered Mussels Marinara and Peel-it-yourself shrimp. Our grand-niece, the littlest one, is all of eleven years old. She ordered the biggest dish--pasta topped with seafood.

Did I say the line was six deep? Inside of ten minutes, I had several best new friends. One couple was vacationing from Colorado. Another young guy was down from the City (that's New York, of course.)

Fresh-squeezed lemonade, ocean breezes, the laughter and screams of young people, and some not so young, being jetted skyward on a boardwalk ride.

This monster takes you from a comfortable seated 1 g to 6 g's in half a second, as you're thrust more than 100 feet straight up! Then a negative 4 or 5 g's as gravity begins to assert itself, assisted by the same monster dragging you downward toward the earth.

Pasta devoured, the little one got a twinkle in her eye when Uncle Mike asked if she was ready for a slice of pizza! Yay!

Off we went, hand in hand, to the dismay of my Darlin', her sister, and the urchin's mother! Did we care? Not on your life. This was the boardwalk, and school in NJ starts AFTER Labor Day.

Out west, school has been in session for most of a month. The little one is aghast! She's never moving out there! An eleven year old girl can talk the ears off an elephant. Come to think of it, that's a pretty apt comparison, considering our comparative proportions.

Okay, we split the slice of pizza. Why can't someone in Tucson, Arizona make pizza like this? Homesickness is a gastronomic phenomonon with me, I guess.

The next time you find yourself near Seaside Heights, NJ, do yourself a favor. Fight your way through the traffic, circle the parking lot for 15 minutes, and find this guy cooking at the Berkeley Clam Bar! We're going back!