Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Fisherman's Wharf Tour




Fred joined me for Tuesday’s fun tourist activity, a tour of Fisherman’s Wharf. First of all, the tour guide told us that we weren’t actually standing in Cape May. The famous Lobster House on Fisherman’s Wharf “in Cape May” is actually in Lower Township, the same municipality in which my own famous house sits. Although no seafood (fish or crustacean) never passes these lips, I still enjoy the Lobster House because their Chicken Francaise is the best anywhere. Go figure. We learned on the wharf tour that the same family that owns the giant restaurant and seafood market owns the port and the seafood packing operation.




We were there when a huge load of scallops were being unloaded. Loads have to be big to offset the cost of fishing (fuel, nets, salaries, etc.) but there are limits to how much the fishermen can bring in. The scallops have to be a certain size, and the too-small ones fall through the net.








It was a very interesting tour, cleverly offered at 11:00am so that when it ends over by the Raw Bar, folks are just starting to be hungry for lunch. This tactic worked on us: Fred bought an assortment of shrimp, scallops and salmon, and I got a cannoli. Yup, the fish market has a wonderful selection of luscious desserts along with the seafood, seasonings, bread, and cooking gadgets.



This contraption is a squid vacuum! It unloads squid from a boat and drops it into a waiting truck.

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