“First Ladies of Cape May” Takes Readers’ Choice AND Critics’ Choice Awards for 2016!

Dot Burton & Lucille Thompson. Photo by Aleksey Moryakov
Thank you to everyone who voted for my story, which appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of Edible Jersey and which was one of 5 nominees in the Best Chef Feature for this annual award sponsored by Edible Communities. Many of you voted every day – I am beyond touched. And thank you to the 50 food world superstars who served as judges.There were over 600 submissions in all categories, and Edible Jersey’s publisher, Nancy Painter, tells me that the Chefs category was among the most highly submitted. I’m so flattered.
Here’s the official announcement from http://www.ediblejersey.com:
Congratulations to Edible Jersey writer Pat Tanner and photographer Aleksey Moryakov on winning both critics’ choice and readers’ choice awards in the 2016 EDDY competition for Best Feature Chef article. (And thanks to all of you who voted!) Click here to read the winning story about “The First Ladies of Cape May,” two sisters working at the Chalfonte Hotel in Cape May for generations.
My only regret is that the elder of these wonderful women, Dot Burton, passed away shortly before my story was published. But Dot’s sister, Lucille Thompson, was back when the hotel reopened the next season, along with Dot’s daughter, Tina. So the family legacy continues.
NJ’s Newest Fresh Pasta Company: How Local Can You Go?

Richard & Mario Zeck, courtesy the Princeton Echo
For brothers Mario & Richard Zeck of LoRe Pasta in South Brunswick, the answer includes fresh-milled whole grains from two local granaries, eggs from a newly hatched poultry farm in Hillsborough, and cheeses – including ricotta impastata – from Flemington’s Fulper Farms. The result isn’t cheap, but it is remarkable. The details, here, in my July feature in the Princeton Echo.
First Look: Barrio Costero, Asbury Park
In a previous post I wrote about the many Princeton restaurant alumni who have found their way to Barrio Costero, a hip new restaurant with a modern take on Coastal Mexican cuisine and inventive cocktails to match. Here’s a closer look at my first tastes there. You’ll have to bear with me: the house cocktails by Jamie Dodge were so good that my photographic skills rapidly deteriorated.

See what I mean about the cocktails? Above is the Chico: gin, zucca amaro, creme de mure (blackberries), sugar, lemon, tiki bitters, and pink peppercorn salt. Gorgeous, balanced, and irresistible.

Here’s the restaurant’s logo – an Aztec rabbit – atop a Hotel Nacional: dark rum, pineapple, lime, apricot liqueur, and bitters. I resisted trying this concoction at first, thinking it would be sticky-sweet. Silly me.

Small plates with big flavors complement the cocktails, wines, and beers beautifully. Above is beet hummus (much tastier than you’re supposing) on corn chips and nicely seared scallop Yucatan (with pineapple, jalapeno, and white beans).

Above is chicken adobo roulade with quinoa, one of the surprise hits of the evening. Vying for top tastes were pork belly with pineapple, pickled onion, and orange rub and lamb tacos with cactus. Too hard to pick a winner!
Congratulations to everyone at Barrio Costero, especially chef David Viana and Jamie Dodge.
Join Me on July 16 for 3rd Annual Food Writers Panel

Rachel Weston Portrait
I am delighted to be participating once again in this lively, popular event at the West Windsor Farmers Market. Fellow panels are: Fran McManus, marketing manager of the Whole Earth Center, cookbook author, and principal of Understanding Flavor; Nancy Painter, publisher of Edible Jersey, and Rachel Weston, food writer and cookbook author (“New Jersey Fresh”).
The fun starts at 11 a.m. Get the details here.
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