Foodie Friday: Corah’s Corner
ST. MICHAELS, Md. – This edition of Foodie Friday brings us to the idyllic town of St. Michaels. Corah’s Corner is a vibrant spot, with lots of tasty offerings to choose from.
Flair for Flavor
Co-owners Corynne and Elijah Ardison know a thing or two about having a flair for flavor, after living in the Caribbean for several years.
“We try to carry that over into Corrah’s Corner, because there are so many good farmers and fisherman and all of the above in this area,” said Chef Elijah. “We’re pretty blessed when it comes to that.”
Poke Bowl Perfection
As Chef Elijah breaks down a whole salmon, he estimates that he’s fileted about a thousand fish in his career. The one he’s working on as the Foodie team visits is bound for a poke bowl.
“We get all that good meat off the bone, and we’ll use that for our poke,” Chef Elijah said, scraping tender salmon meat from the ribs.
The salmon is marinated, and squared away with freshly shaved zucchini noodles. Add in the cherry tomatoes, ginger, corn, and jalapeno slices. Drizzle it with wasabi sauce, sprinkle in the sesame seeds, and top it with microgreens and cilantro.
This dish, while light and refreshing, is also packed full of complex flavor.
“There’s this really nice undercurrent of umami. I think that is coming from the sauce that this is sitting in,” Foodie Friday host Hannah Cechini said. “But, it’s a fun dish to eat, too, because whatever ingredient you manage to get on your fork, you can play around with the combinations.”
Bacon Makes Everything Better
Of course, Chef Elijah isn’t letting any of that flavorful fish go to waste. Corah’s Corner’s salmon BLT also serves up a mouthful of tastiness.
The salmon filet mingles with the bacon in a pan, before a short stay in the oven. As finishing touch, the proteins are propped up by a lemon caper aioli, spicy tomato jam, arugula, tomato, and onion.
“The salmon and the brioche both have this subtle sweetness,” said Foodie Photog Mike. “I’m getting a nice, bright pop from the lemon aioli.”
“The salmon, again, very fresh, very tender,” Hannah said. “It’s just been perfectly treated in the pan, and allowed to develop the flavors that are already in there. But then when you pair it with the bacon, it’s like homerun, man. You can’t say not to bacon.”
“Around the edges of the salmon, it has a kind of bacon-like, crunchy edge to it,” Mike agreed. “It just kind of adds to the whole character.”
Shining Spuds, Super Sammie
Now let’s visit the fry station, where Chef Tim is busy over the bubbling baskets. “On a busy day, he’ll blanch about 300 pounds of potatoes. He’s a frying machine,” Chef Elijah laughed.
All of that experience shines through the spuds. “If you’re from Delmarva, you know what a good beach fry is, and this is it right here,” Hannah remarked.
Also fried, and similarly fantastic, a hot chicken sammie. “This is double-breaded, fried, brined. It’s a pickle juice, buttermilk, hot sauce brine. We only use the thighs,” Chef Elijah explained as he added honey butter to the handheld. “Sweet, spicy, salty, crunchy.”
Chef Pat, on the other end of the line, completes this beauty with house made pickles, garlic aioli, lettuce, and tomato. The subtle heat really sets this sandwich apart.
“I expect it’ll build up a little bit as I finish this sandwich, because this sandwich is going to be finished. But, it starts sneaky and slow,” Mike said.
Hannah summed it up this way: “It’s juicy, it’s flavorful, and the breading on the outside is so crunchy, I would call it glassy, almost… I’ll tell you what. These guys know how to make a good chicken sandwich.”
Corah’s Corner
Corah’s Corner is located at 105 North Talbot Street, St. Michaels, Md. You can call them at 410-745-8008. If you go to check it out, tell the team that you saw them on Foodie Friday.
