Faux Real
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- Written by Kris Legates
"Mock" crab cakes let everyone in on the coastal craze
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From the August 2021 issue
For many Delmarva diners, nothing compares to a crab cake dinner. It doesn’t matter whether the restaurant specializes in seafood, steak, bar food or ethnic fare. Along the Culinary Coast, a crab cake is a must-have menu item.
If you don’t eat crab, you might feel left out. However, Chesapeake & Maine, part of the Dogfish Head family, has a solution. The downtown Rehoboth Beach restaurant serves “faux” crab cakes made with mushrooms. “They are extremely popular, and we’ve gotten a lot of great guest feedback on them,” says head chef Ray Giangeruso. Raised in the hills of Vernon, N.J., Giangeruso knows his way around plants. As a child, he helped his mother — “a fantastic cook” — tend her vegetable garden. “I would help pick ripe tomatoes and herbs for marinara sauce,” he recalls. “I always enjoyed the long process of creating a great red sauce.”
Season's Salad
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- Written by Kris Legates
Local ingredients, zesty dressing enhance Jim Lewis’s colorful presentation
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From the July 2021 issue
Growing up in Berlin, Md., Jim Lewis was interested in agriculture, and he worked in landscaping as a teen. But when he hit the line in a restaurant kitchen, he began viewing plants through a culinary lens. Today, he is the executive chef at Sedona in Bethany Beach. “I use local ingredients whenever they are available,” says Lewis, who was the opening chef at five area restaurants before coming to Sedona.
The chef, who gives classic recipes a signature twist, has landed at the right spot. Sedona, which opened in 1993, is known for its compelling flavor profiles — one of Lewis’s specialties. Consider his roasted grape salad with basil green goddess dressing. This is hardly your grandmother’s dressing. Green goddess, reportedly named after a 1921 play, is often made with tarragon and chives. Lewis uses basil and avocado to achieve the telltale hue.
Seafood With an Asian Spin
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- Written by Kris Legates
Chef Jess Wallen caters to diners’ appetite for shrimp and crab
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From the June 2021 issue
Cooking along the Culinary Coast has forced Jessica Wallen to up her seafood game. Since becoming the opening chef at Grain on the Rocks in Lewes, she’s been creating menu items to please vacationers craving for fish and shellfish. Consider her shrimp-and-crab noodle bowl with green curry broth.
Wallen is adept at crafting new recipes. She was just 11 when she began wowing friends with breakfast sandwiches. The Delaware County, Pa., native comes by her talent naturally. Her dad is Bill Wallen, who oversees the kitchens in four of Grain’s restaurants. (Three are in Delaware.)
“From as early as I can remember, I would watch my dad in the kitchen,” she says. “He was my inspiration, and he’s definitely my mentor. I went to the Culinary School of Wallen.”