Love fluffy, velvety mashed potatoes? Now imagine them encased in a crisp, fried onion ring-like shell. Yes, such a culinary masterpiece exists at the new waterfront restaurant, Maritime Parc.
“With mashed potatoes, you can come up with all kinds of things, but ultimately, it’s mashed potatoes. So unless you flavor it with cheese or truffle, it’s been played and done,” says executive chef and partner Christopher Siversen of his delicious creation. “But I was like, ‘Let’s do something unique. You always try to find interesting ways to serve food that’s very familiar.”
Before you start thinking of Maritime Parc as some sort of Denny’s fast-food joint — stop right there. Siversen describes his seafood-rich menu as “true American” and serves dishes such as New York Strip with whipped bone marrow and grilled oysters with leek and bacon cream, for which he sources his ingredients locally from sustainable farms, mostly in New Jersey.
Rivaling the food, the other draw to this 30,000-square-foot restaurant is its location on Jersey City’s Liberty State Park, right on the Hudson, with close-up views of the Manhattan skyline. One option to get there is to take Statue Cruises’ seven-minute, European-feeling ferry ride.
“It’s such a refreshing place,” says Siversen. “The whole tri-state area is very fast-moving, so you’re always looking for a retreat. When people get here they realize they’ve been transported. They can’t believe this restaurant is here.”
Why this location?
“I wanted New Jersey to have a great
restaurant. When you think of Jersey restaurants, you don’t think it’s
something relatively good. I can tell you that living in Jersey — not to
knock the other restaurants — but it’s a hard thing from what you’ve
come to expect from NYC and even Brooklyn these days,” says Siversen.
“There’s not too many restaurateurs who want to open up outside of New
York City.”
Maritime Parc Mashed Potato Ring Recipe
6 Idaho Potatoes-peeled
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
3 Eggs
2 Cups Panko Breadcrumbs
Salt and Pepper
Canola Oil for frying
Instructions: Place potatoes in a large pot covered with water and place over high heat. Cook until tender and drain very well.
While potatoes are cooking bring butter and cream to a simmer and reserve. Pass the potatoes through a ricer and combine with cream/butter. Season with salt and pepper.
Spread onto a cookie sheet while keeping a thickness of 1/2 inch. Place sheet in freezer until potatoes harden. Using a 2 1/2 inch cutter, cut the potatoes into circles then using a 1 inch cutter, cut the circles into rings (reserve the centers for tater tots following remainder of recipe).
Place the flour, egg and breadcrumbs into separate shallow bowls. Coat the rings (while still frozen) with the flour, shaking off excess, then the egg and finally the breadcrumbs.
Place them into a fryer set at 350 degrees and cook until golden. If fryer is too hot the outside will be golden and the inside will still be frozen. Serve immediately or reserve in a warm oven until ready no more than 1/2 hour.
Makes approximately 6 based on the size of the potato
Maritime Parc
84 Audrey Zapp Drive
Liberty State Park, NJ,
201-413-0050
