Rating: 💋 💋 💋 💋
As Stone Harbor starts to close up for its winter sleep, I would like to look back and appreciate all the places that kept us fed and happy throughout the summer. I am already looking forward to next season!
Okay, this is my absolute favorite take-out down the shore. I have taken many friends there on visits over the years. If I am picking the place, this is where we are going. It offers a concise list of numbered sandwiches and a handful of delicious salads. I have tried every single one of them, working my way through the menu happily. Here we have this summer's orders:
#2 Homemade Egg Salad
on toasted multigrain bread and green salad with lemon poppyseed vinaigrette
This is straight up the best egg salad I have ever had. It is so simple and so delicious. My recommendation: when they ask if you would like the bread toasted, you say yes! It is such a yummy base for the egg salad, and the fresh greens are the perfect pairing. I am obsessed with the lemon poppyseed vinaigrette they have at Yvette's. Tangy, bright, and uplifting in flavor, I want it on every salad. I crave this sandwich when I am away from Stone Harbor.
#12 Grilled Chicken
with French Brie, organic spinach, tomatoes, pepperoncini peppers, and lemon poppyseed vinaigrette on French (as pictured) or grilled focaccia
Everyone in my family orders this number on the regular. After an evening meeting with the Art Collective I have been working with, it was the perfect way to celebrate a productive day. Since I could not eat it right when I ordered it, owing to the meeting time and restaurant hours, I reheated the sandwich in the oven at 300 for about five minutes to get that nice cheesy goo before eating. Oh my God! Incredible. The fresh tomatoes and pepperoncini go so well with the creamy Brie, and this sandwich revisits that ambrosial vinaigrette I talked about above. For a relaxing Saturday night in, I enjoyed it with a lime white claw and a rom-com. I highly recommend the movie - Someone Great - by the way. It has an incredible script, cast, and soundtrack and makes me laugh so much. Also, at no point in the movie did I cry, because if nobody saw it then it did not happen, right? It is like that tree falling in the woods.
#16 Chicken Salad
with Boston lettuce, roasted walnuts, and apple slices on French
I love this chicken salad because there are no large chunks of any ingredient to disrupt my enjoyment. The herbs and celery are chopped finely, the chicken has just a light touch of mayonnaise, so that even I, a person who dislikes mayonnaise, can enjoy it, and the Boston lettuce tastes so good with the sweet apples and walnuts. On the crusty baguette, it is perfect picnic food.
Grilled Shrimp Salad
with grape tomatoes, avocado, organic arugula, onions, drizzled with lemon poppyseed vinaigrette, fresh lemon, and sea salt
This is another Yvette's meal that I crave year-round. It is veggie-packed, and the perfectly seasoned shrimp, creamy avocado, and tangy vinaigrette really bring the whole dish together. It tastes beautiful and fresh, and I love mopping up that heavenly vinaigrette with the little baguette slices they include.
This place has really evolved over they years, maintaining its beach shack charm while expanding the menu quite a bit and offering some really exciting new dishes. During my visit with Maura, she got a really great panini called the 'Stone Harbor'. I only got to order from here once this summer, when the rest of my family got pizza during Conor's trip home. My pizza allergy, or whatever it is in pizza that makes my stomach hurt, excluded me from joining in for a slice. When Jack's Shack was the alternative, I really did not feel left out from the pizza party.
Turkey Spinach Wrap
Ooh yeah, they grill that wrap. It is a big deal. The turkey tastes super fresh and, wrapped up with the vinegary pepper, sweet spinach, and creamy garlic aioli, you've got a winner. Simple and super yummy.
I know I cannot eat pizza, but my family can, and they have a lot to say. Pizza is a very personal thing. Here we have the Margherita slice from Mack's. My family is big on Margherita pizza and this one, with the flavorful sauce and fresh mozzarella, passed the test.
On the topic of pizza, Reilly raves about the "Buff-Chick Pizza" from Seven Mile Pies, one of our favorite pizza places. She says their Buff Chick Pizza is the greatest love of their life a person could ever have because it will "never let you down."
So, I worked here the summer I was fifteen. It is where I learned how to make iced tea, fresh-pressed juices, and a slew of creative smoothies. I was also in charge of filling drinks, pouring soup, and answering take-out calls. I was given the noble title, 'Counter Girl.'
Eastern Sampler
This is my top choice on the menu. It is made with homemade hummus, tomato-feta salad, tabbouleh salad, and pita. It is just the right amount of food, fresh, full of healthy vegetables and grains, and protein-packed.
Cobb Salad
Now this salad is my parent's go-to. They like to order this and the Sampler and split the two between them. The Cobb is a loaded salad, ready to burst out of the take-out container, full of fresh avocado, crumbled bacon, and a beautiful array of veggies.
Turkey & Brie Wrap
Green Cuisine has a few wraps and they are all pretty delicious, though jam-packed and very filling, so I only ordered this Turkey & Brie wrap twice this summer. The first time was on my Brooklyn move-out day. I was very tired and very hungry, and it was the perfect meal to close a whirlwind adventure. Later in the summer, when my parents moved Reilly into college and I spent the day creating virtual audition videos, we ordered from Green Cuisine again. I knew I needed this protein heavy meal to reboot my energy. It is fit for a feast. In this wrap, the sweet Brie creates a really nice balance with the tangy Balsamic and vinegary roasted peppers.
With all their wraps you get your choice of tortilla, and I always go for the sun-dried tomato option if they have it. The wraps also come with a side option of either fresh fruit or sweet potato chips. I love the variety of fruit they offer, but sometimes I just cannot resist the sweet potato chips.
Not all heroes wear capes. The people who have kept the restaurants running by filling our plates with delicious take-out certainly fall into that category. Takeout has helped keep restaurants afloat, even when the pandemic made restaurant dining too great a risk. I am very grateful for the way so many people have risen to the occasion and helped keep us safe during this time. Whether they are the amazing healthcare workers tackling the virus head-on, the researchers working for a vaccine, the essential workers managing to keep our country running against all odds, the teachers finding new ways to keep educating children, and more, we owe them all so much.
On a slightly different note, the pandemic has also changed they way that we experience things like film and music and art. For film, we have Netflix Party, and for music, cities have started planning parking lot concerts. What about art? When museums were forced to close, did the art industry just crumble?
Of course not! The Human Art Collective has launched one of the first ever entirely virtual art galleries, and I am honored to say that my story, 'A Suitcase Full of Hard Feelings', and the accompanying paintings I created for it are being featured in the show. It is so exciting to hear all the unique voices being represented in the gallery and see the beautiful visuals that comprise this multimedia exhibition. The show is on view until January 2021, and you can check it out here! Thank you so much for all of your support, it means the world.
Sending you all my love!
XX,
MK
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