A chic shack

Stripers is fishily fab

By Jill Strauss

 

I’ve never been a fan of gloppy, white clam chowder made with bottled clam juice and canned clams. And I don’t get excited over breaded scrod fried in oil, even if the oil is fresh and the fish is served in cones of the London Daily Telegraph. But recently I tasted chowder made with fresh clam stock and clams, and enriched with a reduction of shallots, mushrooms, white wine and cream. I tasted succulent baby haddock encased in the crispiest ale- and yeast-based batter, and I was so impressed that I wanted to tell no one. I wanted to keep it a secret so that I would never have to fight for a seat at the eatery that serves this costly ($6.75 for chowder, $15.95 for fried haddock) yet fabulous fare. But since one of my best buddies was about to celebrate his birthday, and since secrets are not exactly in vogue right now (just ask FBI Director Robert Mueller if you don’t believe me), I decided to hold my friend’s birthday party at this brand-new, undiscovered restaurant.

“Do we really need to make a reservation at a shack?” my friends asked, when I suggested we call Stripers Fish Shack and let them know that a party of six was planning to dine there. “It’s a chic shack,” I replied as I picked up the phone and booked a table for the following evening. I reminded my friends that the owner of this Kennebunkport establishment is Laurie Bongiorno, a man who gussied up the neighborhood with his two other restaurants, the White Barn Inn and Grissini’s, as well as several luxurious water-view inns, including the newly renovated Schooners Inn. Stripers Fish Shack is located in back of Schooners on Ocean Avenue and it juts out daringly into the Kennebunk River.

We arrived at Stripers on a stormy Friday. From my window seat, I could see that the wind and the rain were not strong enough to bother the boats moored at the dock below us, but the weather was bad enough to deter some diners, and, except for a few brave couples who wandered in, we had the place to ourselves. The evening got off to a disappointing start when the birthday boy’s wife ordered a glass of bubbly and was told, a bit sheepishly, by general manager Michael, that there was no champagne in the house. I had hoped for a pint of ale straight from the tap, but I learned that there were no beers on tap. So we settled — she for some Grey Goose Vodka and I for a glass of Markham Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc. It’s not surprising that the choice of libations is limited given the space constraints of Stripers. The restaurant, which holds only 36 seats and contains a tiny, visible galley kitchen, has little storage space.

All concerns about the drinks faded, however, as soon as our appetizers arrived. We dribbled tangy malt vinegar over the puffy exteriors of our jumbo fried shrimp and sighed with delight as we munched on the golden brown batter and bit into the sweet, steaming shellfish. Next came perfectly cooked and delicately seasoned miso-grilled swordfish, pan-fried haddock, ale-battered fish and chips, mussels in cream sauce, and clam chowder. Everyone was pleased with the fish and it’s no wonder. Executive Chef Roger Gustavson, a recreational fisherman and former poissonier at the renowned La Caravelle in New York, proudly told me later in the week that he and Bongiorno are passionate about getting the freshest and finest, and that, aside from the oysters and lobsters that come from Maine, Stripers sends its own truck and purchaser to the Boston pier for its fish.

Not everything, unfortunately, is in the same league with the fish. “Mushy Peas,” a traditional accompaniment to fish and chips, was a hit with some of my friends, but I longed for a creamless, hot vegetable alternative. And although the thick-cut potatoes are uniform, they are frozen before they are fried and I found them flavorless. The desserts, also mass-produced by SYSCO, are humdrum, and the chocolate cake is so sugary and dense that I couldn’t tolerate more than one bite of it. The service, however, was stupendous. Michael had the chef write “Happy Birthday” in chocolate on the birthday boy’s plate (just the way it’s done at the White Barn Inn) and a bottle of Roederer Estate Champagne was discovered next door at Schooners Inn, was brought over, and served to us along with dessert as a special surprise.

“Must you report on this restaurant? I mean, couldn’t this just be our little secret?” the birthday boy whispered to me at the end of our meal. I put down my champagne and chided him gently. “Foolish boy, don’t you know it is my sacred duty to sometimes be the bearer of good restaurant news?” He nodded glumly. I felt sad that I couldn’t fulfill his birthday wish, but then, you, my readers, would never forgive me for keeping mum about this upscale, well-run chippie on the Kennebunk River that features some of the freshest and most deliciously prepared fish in Southern Maine.

Jill Strauss can be reached at straussj@adelphia.net.