There is a bit of a food fight going on in one of my favorite places in the world.
I've been going to Rehoboth Beach, Del., since I was a kid.
How long ago? Before they built the Route 1 expressway. That meant a long haul down Route 13, through towns like Odessa, Smyrna and Dover.
I will never forget my wife's reaction the first time I took her to my family's version of the beach. She had grown up a Jersey shore girl.
We were a couple of hours into the trip, approaching Dover, when she looked at me and asked, "Where the hell are we going?"
"Do you want the good news or the bad news," I calmly responded. "We're about half way there."
She was not amused.
Eventually she became as big a fan as I am.
The town is changing, however. You can have all that claptrap our on Route 1, including all the outlet stores.
I still pine for the sleepy little town I visited as a kid.
One of the thrills of being at the beach is couple of foods that to me just scream Rehoboth.
One, of course, would be Grotto Pizza. I still don't know what gives it that special tang. Has to be something in the cheese. My kids still don't believe me when I tell them that when I first started going to Rehoboth, Grotto was just a takeout stand on Rehoboth, not the glitzy sit-down restaurant and pizza empire it is today. Is it just me, or does Grotto not taste as good if you're not at the beach? And if you're like me, you know the slices always seem to taste better than a whole pie.
The other Rehoboth delectable.
That would be Thrasher's French Fries.
And that is where the consternation has popped up.
As anyone worth their salt knows, there are only two 'condiments' at Thrasher's - salt and vinegar.
But it seems some folks insist on putting ketchup on their fries. So they wander across the street and 'borrow' some ketchup from another longtime Rehoboth staple, Gus & Gus food stand on the boardwalk.
Now the folks at Gus & Gus have put up signs indicating their ketchup is for their food - and customers - only.
You can read all about it in this great News Journal story.
But here's what I really want to know?
Who puts ketchup on Thrasher's fries? It's almost like heresy.
I drown mine in vinegar. And yes, the ones at the bottom of the cup are pure heaven.
Almost as good as the ones you swipe after they fall on the counter.
C'mon, you know you do it.
Show of hands? Raise your hand if you have 'lifted' a couple of fries off the counter? And raise both if you think putting ketchup on Thrasher's fries ought to earn at least as big a fine as the infamous parking police in town.
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