Well, they hardly resemble potato skins. And you can’t truly associate them with anything triangular without quite a bit of license.
So just what are the “Fully Loaded Boat Wedges” at Boathouse Restaurant?
“It’s like an American nacho,” explained owner Cathy Farley with a laugh.
Her description is fairly apt, even taking into account the association of nachos with north of the border menus. The hefty appetizer dish involves thick slices of baked potato laced with melted cheese and heaped with bacon, red onions, scallions, flecks of tomato, a week’s allotment of sour cream and who knows what else.
Yes, the lineup is borrowed from classic potato skins. These, however, return the focus to the creamy “meat” of the potato.
Oh, and to the bacon.
While the onions contribute a raspy bite and welcome crunch, the tomato counters with a fresh zip and the sour cream develops richness, those slivers of bacon — some crackling, some with the rustic savor of ham — stand out.
“I have customers ask if they can order cases,” Farley said of the cast off ends and pieces she sets aside for the boat wedges. “It’s irregular, but we’re irregular.”
Ends and pieces tend to corral more smoke during the curing process and this confers a toasted clapboard aspect under a hovering bittersweet haze. This drapes over the mellow potato, further defining its homey character.
Only the hoarse bickering of onion and scallion is capable of drawing your palate from its bacon induced fugue state, readying it for another round.
Oh, the fully loaded wedges concept does not amount to an elaborate dish. But there is a simple satisfaction in the kinship of meat, cheese and potatoes — something humble and fulfilling.
Which is a good thing. The plate may veer from the traditional potato skin, but it is indeed loaded, to the point where you might not be capable of the entree encore.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
