Foodie Friday: The Parkway
BETHANY BEACH, Del. – If you’re looking for a seaside spot that serves up delicious dishes made from local ingredients, The Parkway in Bethany Beach is the place to be.
“I feel like the fresher the ingredient, when it hits the plate, the local farmer is kind of doing half the work for you,” said Chef Stu Weisman. “Who doesn’t love community, and bringing all that together?”
Pot Pie Perfection
Chef Stu puts those ingredients to work in a seafood pot pie, featuring shelled critters from a short distance away. “Those are local, still alive Baywater Seafood scallops from down in Snow Hill, Maryland,” explained Chef Stu as he started preparing a seafood pot pie.
The Chesapeake Bay scallops are joined by their big brothers, sea scallops, fresh fish, and shrimp. It all makes for a creamy classic that’s making a home for itself on The Parkway’s menu. “This changed my rule of only two weeks on the feature sheet, and then it’s got to come off. It stayed the number one seller for the last month,” said Chef Stu.
This was Foodie Friday Host Hannah Cechini’s first foray with Bay scallops; and they didn’t disappoint.
“Oh my gosh, am I a huge fan. They are just so fresh tasting,” Hannah said with a smile. “They also have this awesome brininess to them, which is really unique.”
But, they’re only one part of what makes this dish so delicious.
“The pot pie sauce just brings it all together so wonderfully,” Hannah said. “It’s warm, and creamy, and just makes you feel like you’re getting a hug, really. The puff pastry is awesome, too. It’s so light and flaky, and there’s like a million layers in it.”
“Really tender… really fresh”
Chef Stu and the crew also prepare octopus. It’s blanched in an ice bath, before being submerged in a sous vide with humble compliments like olive oil, lemon, and herbs. The leggy creature is then charred, and served over a Greek salad with grilled romaine.
“The octopus is really, really tender… It just is really fresh. We saw in the sous vide, there was some olive oil, some lemon, some herbs. That was it. And, I think that really allows the octopus to kind of just speak for itself,” said Hannah.
And, by Hannah’s assessment, Chef Stu picked a perfect pairing for the octopus. “The char on the lettuce also really nicely compliments the char that’s on the octopus,” they said.
“Doctoral level flavor”
The kitchen action doesn’t stop there. Introducing: a pork belly confit.
“Hard roast it for 45 minutes to a half hour, and then drop that temp down to about 250,” explained Chef Stu. “So, that hard roast renders all that fat out. And then, once you have all that fat, you can confit it.”
This offering is made only more mouthwatering by black garlic aioli, poached pear puree, and a pear and collard green salad.
“I took a bite. It took probably five or six seconds for me to recognize really everything I was tasting,” Foodie Photog Mike said with wonder. “If porkchop and apple sauce is the elementary school edition, this is like doctoral level flavor.”
Mike summed up the whole affair as an explosion of smoky, rich flavors.
“When you really cook garlic for a long time, it gets more subtle, and just so many smoky, rich flavors that go so well with this pork,” said Mike. “The pear is just a nice, slightly sweet, slightly tart counterpoint. Something special happens when you get a little bit of tart, and a lot of smoky together., It’s just a really interesting flavor experience.”
Something Sweet
Something just as special as the other dishes, is The Parkway’s crème brûlée, which is sure to torch any that you’ve tried before.
“The texture of this custard is almost mousse-like,” Hannah said. “It is very light and airy. Then, you have this really awesome, glassy covering from the sugar that’s been fired up.”
“That’ll really turn your day around, right there,” Mike quipped with his last bite of brûlée.
The Parkway
The Parkway is located at 114 Garfield Parkway, Bethany Beach, Del. You can call them at 302-537-7500. If you go to check it out, tell the team that you saw them on Foodie Friday.
