Personally, my summer would not be "Summer" if I didn't have at least a few soft shell crab sandwiches. I got hooked on them when I was a little kid on vacation in Ocean city Maryland. There was a laps in the years I had another, but a deep sea fishing trip out of Chincoteague Virginia reintroduced me to them. That same year, my first child was born and several years later, My family would make annual pilgrimages to the Chincoteague. There used to be a place called Melvin's seafood shop that made the absolute best soft crab sandwiches anywhere. As year went on, our first stop upon arriving at on the island would be at Melvin's.
While on vacation, we used to explore the area and do some sight seeing. We discovered a little town called Saxis Island where an older gentleman made hot sauce. The Fulcanelli pepper sauce or Saxis Island Hot sauce on the crab was fantastic. One year, we went to buy more sauce and found out the it wasn't being made anymore, but a local shop keeper had a little stock left...I bought every bottle and still have some left. I checked the date on on of the bottles today...8-99, and it's still good.
The only thing I'm missing from making the entire Chincoteague soft crab experience complete is a can of Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer. It's just a cheap regional brand of soda pop, but I can't get it in Ohio, so an ice cold Mug rootbeer gets me close to being back on the island.
Now that my kids have grown we don't do family vacations anymore, but the ritual of soft crab sandwiches takes us right back to Chincoteague.
What are some of the things that make your summer "Summer"?
While on vacation, we used to explore the area and do some sight seeing. We discovered a little town called Saxis Island where an older gentleman made hot sauce. The Fulcanelli pepper sauce or Saxis Island Hot sauce on the crab was fantastic. One year, we went to buy more sauce and found out the it wasn't being made anymore, but a local shop keeper had a little stock left...I bought every bottle and still have some left. I checked the date on on of the bottles today...8-99, and it's still good.
The only thing I'm missing from making the entire Chincoteague soft crab experience complete is a can of Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer. It's just a cheap regional brand of soda pop, but I can't get it in Ohio, so an ice cold Mug rootbeer gets me close to being back on the island.
Now that my kids have grown we don't do family vacations anymore, but the ritual of soft crab sandwiches takes us right back to Chincoteague.
What are some of the things that make your summer "Summer"?
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I have to agree with the sweet corn too, but here in northern Ohio, we're spoiled with some of the best sweet corn grown in the world. It's tough to ship though and with the field losses this spring, I wouldn't be surprised to see it at $5 a dozen when it finally comes in.
