THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 22, 1994 TAG: 9409210040
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F3 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: MORSELS
SOURCE: RUTH FANTASIA
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
FESTIVALS usually mean tens of thousands of people, sausage sandwiches, funnel cakes and parking nightmares.
But organizers of the second Eastern Shore Harvest Festival, from noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 5, promise theirs will be different - fewer people, better food and gorgeous scenery.
The festival will be on the beach behind the Sunset Beach Inn, at the the other end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
``We're going to highlight the fresh seafood and vegetables that are products of the Eastern Shore,'' says David Parker, executive vice president of the Shore's Chamber of Commerce. ``And we'll cut off the ticket sales at 3,200 people, so the food lines won't get too long,'' he says.
The menu includes soft-shell crab and crab-cake sandwiches, sweet-potato biscuits with country ham, sweet-potato pie and fried chicken.
But there are other regional favorites. Like clam chowder.
``This is Eastern Shore clam chowder,'' says Sybil Trotter, a volunteer who will make 300 gallons of chowder for the event.
Unlike Manhattan clam chowder, the Eastern Shore chowder doesn't contain tomatoes. And there's no cream, as in New England chowder. It's as simple as the Shore itself, and just as nice.
Oysters wrapped in bacon and fried in a light beer batter are also on the menu. The dish is known as Devils on Horseback, but no one at a recent preview party knew where the dish got its name.
``Probably because they're the devil to make,'' Trotter says.
Festival co-chairman Ray Haynie says there is a dish called Angels on Horseback that uses scallops. ``I think it originated in South Carolina,'' he said. ``But we use oysters up here.''
People from the other side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel don't normally think of chili as Shore food. And it probably wouldn't be if it weren't for Haynie.
He's been making chili at his Cape Center restaurant in Cape Charles for 10 years, and it's become a local favorite. The chili has a deep, rich, smoky taste that lingers on the palate, becoming a slow burn. About 15 minutes after you begin eating, you start sweating.
``I just don't think people should have to add hot sauce when they order chili,'' Haynie says.
Cold beer and sweet potato biscuits are especially good accompaniments.
Tickets for the all-you-can-eat festival are $25 each, and commemorative beer mugs are $3. The mugs can be refilled as often as you like.
There also will be decoy carvers and other artisans to see.
Getting there is easy. Take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and turn left at the Sunset Beach Inn. For more information, call the Eastern Shore of Virginia Chamber of Commerce at 1-787-2460. IN THE BAG
Here are a few ideas for packing kids' lunches, from the Virginia Cooperative Extension service:
Choosing food with various textures and colors adds interest. Finger foods, such as vegetable sticks, cheese balls, hard-boiled eggs and raw fruits, are good choices.
Pack a thermal bottle with chili, stews or soups.
All breads including croutons, Chinese noodles, breadsticks and rolls are good in a lunch.
For desserts, add sunflower seeds, raisins, yogurt or popcorn.
Freeze sandwiches and juices the night before. They'll thaw in three to four hours, just in time for lunch. by CNB