Escape to the Maine seashore, an exquisite summer sanctuary where vacations stretch out forever during long, golden days and food is the stuff from which memories are made. The summers that acclaimed chef Rebecca Charles and her family spent swimming in the Atlantic, scouring the beach for shells, and eating shore dinners inspired her to open the famed Greenwich Village restaurant Pearl Oyster Bar. In this heartwarming memoir, Rebecca combines more than seventy of her favorite recipes with captivating family stories. Rebecca's adventurous granduncle Sam Goldsmith first took the family from the sweltering summer streets of Brooklyn to the exclusive seaside resort of Kennebunkport. But it was his sister-in-law Pearle Goldsmith, Pearl Oyster Bar's namesake and an opera singer with the Metropolitan and New York City operas, who fell in love with the rugged coast of Maine. Pearle passed this love on to her daughter, Eleanor, and her granddaughter, Rebecca. Now, in Lobster Rolls and Blueberry Pie , Rebecca recounts her family's three-generation love affair with the small Yankee fishing village and shares the recipes that have New Yorkers waiting in line for hours to taste what food writer Ed Levine described as "the best lobster roll I have ever eaten." Rebecca breathes new life into classic beach food. Whether re-creating an old-time clambake or grilling a whole pompano, she imparts the expertise that has made her one of the foremost seafood chefs in the country. She teaches the secrets of clamming, demystifies the selection and preparation of fish and shellfish, and helps you make these delicious Maine favorites in your own backyard, with recipes for her famous Pearl Oyster Bar Lobster Roll, creamy Scallop Chowder, Fried Oysters on homemade tartar sauce, succulent Lobster Pot Pie laced with sherry, and, of course, her famous Blueberry Crumble Pie. With her mouthwatering recipes and moving family stories, Rebecca will inspire everyone to create fond summer memories of their own. “Deliciously entertaining. A novel with recipes.” - USA Weekend “Will remind you of the best summers you ever had.” - O, The Oprah Magazine “I remember Rebecca’s grandmother Pearle...made the best shortbread cookies, and Rebecca’s book is just as delicious as those cookies!” - Beverly Sills “Dessert at Pearl means one thing for me: a wedge of magnificent lemon-scented blueberry pie.” - Eric Asimov, the New York Times “A pleasure to read. . . . You’ll have this book plastered open on your kitchen counter all summer.” - New York Times “An interesting, mouth-watering read.” - Bangor Daily News “A satisfying mix of memoir and cookbook.” - Boston Globe “A charming, well written account of three generations of women and their summer adventures in Kennebunkport.” - Portland Phoenix “A book bound to leave readers feeling that summer just can’t come soon enough.” - Los Angeles Times “A homespun travelogue that’s breezy, practical and likely to charm even armchair gourmands not partial to the beach.” - Baltimore Sun “I always run into long lines at Pearl Oyster Bar, but I eat there anyway because I love the food. - Jeffrey Steingarten, Vogue “The decor is pure Yankee, with a tin ceiling, gray wainscoting, and lampshades that look like they were copped from a windswept pier.” - Village Voice, Best of 2000 “A meal at the Pearl Oyster Bar is like a day on a beach in Maine.” - Gael Greene “I love this book because it brings me back to the counter at Pearl Oyster Bar, with its perfect steamer clams and incomparable lobster rolls. It deliciously connects everyone to fish straight from the sea and fresh, local produce from the farmers’ market.” - Alice Waters, owner, Chez Panisse Restaurant “A charming memoir of summers spent on the coast of Maine.” - Daily News “Personal and evocative.” - San Francisco Examiner “The key to a very special American cuisine and a unique variety of gastronomic bliss.” - Jay McInerney, author of Bacchus and Me: Adventures in the Wine Cellar “I remember Rebecca’s grandmother Pearle who was in the chorus when I sang at New York City Opera. She made the best shortbread cookies, and Rebecca’s book is just as delicious as those cookies!” - Beverly Sills “Rebecca Charles’s food at Pearl Oyster Bar sings the clear song of joy and gustatory delight at the operatic level of La Scala. Her recipes are simple, direct, and almost as easy as eating at my favorite lunch spot on the planet―just down Cornelia Street.” - Mario Batali, chef/owner, Babbo, Lupa, Esca, and Otto “Why do New Yorkers put up with overcrowding, steaming subway platforms, and ruinous monthly rents? Because it puts them within striking distance of restaurants like Pearl Oyster Bar.” - Gourmet “Dessert at Pearl means one thing for me: a wedge of magnificent lemon-scented blueberry pie, topped with crumbs and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It’s another Maine treat that made me think of foghorns and rocky shores.” - Eric