♪ ♪ >> MISHA COLLINS: It's a beautiful day in Rhode Island.

And when you hear Rhode Island, of course, like everyone, you think about the fact that Rhode Island is the only state in the nation that has an official state appetizer, which is calamari.

>> Calamari.

>> Calamari.

>> Calamari.

>> Calamari will be the official state appetizer.

>> COLLINS: We are here to do some in-depth reporting on calamari in our quest to find out what makes the heart of Rhode Island beat.

We're going to be tracing squid from the sea to the plate in an epic journey that will likely transform you into a better person.

I'm less afraid of squid now.

>> Awesome.

>> COLLINS: Right now, I'm walking up to meet State Representative McNamara, who was at the center of the controversy surrounding the designation of calamari as Rhode Island's official state appetizer.

We're going to get to the bottom of this.

>> They said, "Well, you served calamari to members of the committee," implying... >> COLLINS: That's bribery.

>> That I bribed them with calamari.

>> COLLINS: That is bribery.

Blatant bribery.

>> My response was very simple.

"There was absolutely no squid pro quo involved in this."

And that silenced the critics.

♪ ♪ >> COLLINS: In the 1970s, a young couple set out on the most epic road trip of all time.

Jane and Michael Stern were on a mission to discover every regional dish in America, and over four decades, they burned through 38 cars and published ten editions of their iconic guide, Road Food.

♪ ♪ Now I'm picking up where they left off, exploring what makes America's communities unique and what binds us all together.

And it's delicious.

>> Major funding for this program was provided by: ♪ ♪ >> Yours is a front-yard family.

Because out front... >> How're you doing?

>> ...is where all the neighborhood is.

And your neighbors know you well.

>> Mario, what's up?

>> They seen your robe, your run, even your bathing suit.

>> (laughing) >> They also know your home turf stays open to the whole street.

So you stay out front.

We'll stay real-brewed.

And the world just might get a little golder.

Gold Peak real-brewed tea.

♪ ♪ (shade rustles) (doorbell rings) ♪ ♪ >> (softly): Yes!

♪ ♪ (phone calling out) >> Hello?

>> COLLINS: Hi, Mom.

>> Hi, sweetie.

>> COLLINS: Are you already there?

>> Yeah, I've been here since 2:30.

>> COLLINS: Sorry to make you drive all this way and then make you wait.

So, we're on our way.

We'll be there in, like, 15 minutes, okay?

>> Oh, okay.

So, I'm sitting at the bar drinking a lemonade.

>> COLLINS: You're, you're drinking a lemonade?

(chuckles) Okay, all right.

I'll look for the woman who's drinking a lemonade.

I have a long history of sneaking up on my mom with things and, and sabotaging her, which I think this amounts to.

Hi.

>> (laughing) >> COLLINS: How are you?

>> It's me, (inaudible) later.

>> COLLINS: Now I force you to be on camera.

>> I know.

>> COLLINS: Did hair and makeup come through and... >> Obviously, obviously, (inaudible).

You know, had I known, maybe I would've brought a couple of bobby pins.

>> COLLINS: You look very well-comported, Mom.

>> I know, this was unusual.

>> COLLINS: That's... Well, we got really lucky here.

>> (laughing): You did.

>> COLLINS: This is my mother.

Her name is Rebecca, and we're with her because she's my mother.

(both laughing) There was a nepotistic casting here.

She lives in Massachusetts and Massachusetts is adjacent to Rhode Island, and I was too selfish to actually get in the car and drive to see her, so she drove down to see me.

And I think it was just in the drive over that, that we thought, "Maybe we'll put, maybe we'll put your mom on camera."

So it wasn't-- we didn't intend to... >> (laughing) >> COLLINS: We didn't intend to do this to you.

Or to you, our dear viewers.

But here you go.

♪ ♪ The idea is really to go explore the country, using food as a lens through which to get to know communities, subcultures, political groups, but told through the lens of food.

>> Misha, you are well qualified, because the one scene that I totally remember, you were in your diapers, your diapers were kind of falling off.

You were crawling out to the garden.

Crawling, crawling, crawling, until you got this, like, perfect tomato.

And I remember seeing the streams of tomato seeds... >> COLLINS: I do, I do remember going out into that garden with a salt shaker and picking tomatoes and eating them.

>> But I just wanted you guys to know the source of where our food came from.

And my favorite... >> COLLINS: That sounds like, that sounds like a setup for this episode.

It sounds like you were, you were prompted to say that.

She wasn't, that wasn't a prompt.

>> No, but it was... >> COLLINS: But we're trying to do that right now.

We're, like, following the squid from the boat to the table.

The Cody, we're looking for the Cody.

What is this?

>> Skate.

>> COLLINS: Skate?

What's your name?

>> Chip.

>> COLLINS: Hi, Chip, nice to meet you.

>> Nice to meet you.

>> COLLINS: So you're using the skate to fish for something else?

What are you fishing for?

>> Lobster.

>> COLLINS: For lobster.

So that goes in the lobster pots.

>> That's why Rhode Island lobsters taste better than Maine lobster.

>> COLLINS: Because you feed them better bait?

>> Yep.

>> COLLINS: (laughing) Do you know a boat called the Cody?

>> Cody, yeah.

Cody is usually in here, kind of a reddish hull.

>> COLLINS: We're looking for a red boat, okay.

>> Yeah, reddish.

>> COLLINS: Okay, thank you.

>> Yeah.

>> COLLINS: That's the Cody.

It says Cody on it.

Jason?

>> Yeah, hi.

>> COLLINS: Misha, hi.

>> Hi, Misha, good to meet you, how are you?

>> COLLINS: Good to meet you.

>> Yeah, just step right there.

Look at you jumping all around.

Yeah, I'm just doing some gear work and stuff right now.

Getting ready for a trip tomorrow night.

>> COLLINS: How long will you go out?

Three or four days, probably.

Oh, I got you a coffee.

>> COLLINS: Thank you.

Cheers.

>> Cheers, man.

I got a hydraulics guy coming over from Rhode Island Engine to take a look at something, but I've just got to work on this net a little bit.

Watch your step here.

This is what happens when you do maintenance.

>> COLLINS: So what is the maintenance that you're doing today?

Do you actually have net mending to do?

I do have a couple of holes here I do need to fix.

>> COLLINS: Can you show me how that works?

>> Sure, when you're mending, it's math.

>> COLLINS: Okay.

>> So these are legs.

So you got to find a three-legger.

See how that's got one, two, three legs go into that one knot?

>> COLLINS: Yep.

>> So that's where you start.

But, so just stick that needle right up through there.

>> COLLINS: Was there ever a time when you thought you might not want to do fishing?

>> Oh, yeah-- oh, yeah.

I've gotten out of it a few times in my life.

I worked for the phone company, I think for a year.

Had a trouble with that one, nine-to-five job's just not me.

And just pinch it off, and you want to put, like, we would call a half-inch.

And now it's a diamond.

No squid getting out of that one.

>> COLLINS: What causes that hole in the first place?

>> Wear and tear.

>> COLLINS: Uh-huh.

>> Sometimes you can fetch on things on the bottom.

Watch your head.

We got satellite TV, we got all the creature comforts of home now.

We didn't have that back in the day.

Back in the day, you had a VCR, a TV, and you watched the same movies over and over again.

And you read the same books over and over again.

>> COLLINS: So who's your crew?

>> I have family.

My older brother works for me.

I just trained him to take the boat.

He's taken it a few times, does a good job.

My son is 28, he's my engineer.

>> COLLINS: You have a 28-year-old son?

>> Yes.

Well, I also have two young daughters.

I started early and I finished late.

So it's one of the reasons why I started doing what I'm doing, because I didn't want to get out of fishing, but I wanted to work for myself so I could make sure that I'm home more.

And you know, when you're the captain, you make the decisions when you go, when you don't go.

It allows me to just be home when I, when, for the important things-- the birthdays, the first day of school, which was today.

>> COLLINS: Yeah, I went through something similar.

Like, I was working on this TV show for 12 years and I was, um...

I was away from my kids all the time.

>> It sucks.

>> COLLINS: I mean, I'd go for stretches of two weeks all the time, not seeing them.

And my daughter said... She was six at the time, she said, "You know, Dad, sometimes I feel like I only have one parent."

And I was, like... (moans) Knife in the heart.

But also just, like, just not wanting to miss that, that childhood, like...

It's a little hard, you know?

>> You know, it's all about, it's all about the time you do have.

You know, my girls hate it, you know, when they...

When they know Dad's going fishing, you know, they know-- they know what it means.

It means I'm going to be gone for a few days.

But it's only a few days.

My son, back in the '90s, when I was telling him I was going fishing, he knew he wasn't going to see me for maybe a month, and that's tough.

And now he's got two little kids.

I'm a grandfather.

>> COLLINS: Uh-huh.

>> And, you know, he, he's doing it right.

He fishes, but he makes sure he's home for them, you know?

And when you're fishing, and you want to have a family, you've got to find a balance.

>> COLLINS: What would you want the wider world to know about your life that we haven't talked about?

>> Not... You know what?

The one thing I'd like to say, everybody's got a, everybody's got a stigma about fishermen.

Not all fishermen are druggies, not all fishermen are drunks.

Have we all done our share of partying?

Yeah, absolutely.

But we're just-- we're guys that are trying to raise kids, have families, and make a life for ourself, and this affords us the ability to make a decent life.

Because the money's good-- the job is dangerous, yes.

But me, personally, I'm in it for the money to support my kids and to build a life for myself, for retirement or whatever.

When I was younger, absolutely.

Loved to party, bars every night, whatever.

But we change.

>> COLLINS: So Jason and a bunch of the other fishermen on the docks sell their squid to a processor called Sea Fresh.

We're going to go see all of Sea Fresh's seafood.

You see what I did there?

(laughs) ♪ ♪ Are these my boots?

>> Those are your boots.

>> COLLINS: Okay.

>> I hope they fit you.

>> COLLINS: They're brand-new.

>> They're brand-new.

>> COLLINS: Oh, my God.

>> Because you're special.

>> COLLINS: Oh, that's fancy.

Excuse me.

(woman speaking over intercom) >> COLLINS: Wow, what an operation.

♪ ♪ Hola.

>> Hola.

>> COLLINS: Como se llama?

>> Tomasa.

>> COLLINS: Tomasa?

I'm... Yo Misha.

>> Misha.

>> COLLINS: Yes.

>> Okay, mucho gusto... >> COLLINS: Mucho gusto.

So... Oh, wow.

(speaking Spanish) >> (speaking Spanish) >> COLLINS: No.

>> Yeah.

>> COLLINS: Really?

>> Yeah.

>> COLLINS: Wow.

>> (speaking Spanish) >> COLLINS: Uh-huh.

>> I'm happy you want to learn this one.

>> COLLINS: Yeah?

>> Yeah.

>> COLLINS: Can you, can you teach me how to do this?

>> (speaking Spanish) >> Okay.

>> Okay.

>> COLLINS: That's so weird.

(laughs) Okay, let me try it.

>> One, push... >> COLLINS: Okay.

>> You want to push this.

>> COLLINS: Did I get it?

Is that right?

>> Yeah... >> COLLINS: No, no, no.

>> No, no, no, that's wrong.

>> COLLINS: That's wrong?

>> Yeah.

I not speak English a little.

>> COLLINS: I don't speak Spanish.

>> Muy poquito?

>> COLLINS: (speaking Spanish hesitantly) >> No, no... >> COLLINS: Like that?

>> Yeah.

>> COLLINS: And I twist it around... No!

Okay, so in... >> No, this... in... >> COLLINS: No.

How's this?

>> Yes.

>> COLLINS: Is that better?

>> Yes.

>> COLLINS: Okay, thank you.

I'm learning slowly.

(laughs) This is great.

Muchas gracias.

>> Nada.

♪ ♪ >> COLLINS: Well, since we're talking about squid, maybe we should get some calamari?

>> Absolutely.

>> COLLINS: Thank you.

>> Oh, now we're talking.

>> A calamari, plain, with marinara on the side.

>> COLLINS: Thank you.

>> And then these are our signature Irish nachos.

>> COLLINS: Well, the calamari is delicious.

You're also famous for a DNC video?

>> I was representing Rhode Island.

They're doing the run-through.

Massachusetts said, "Oh, the home of chowder."

Then they got to Maryland, and Maryland is saying, "Maryland, we're home of the best crabs," blah, blah, blah.

So when it came to Rhode Island, I said... "And our state appetizer, calamari, is available in all 50 states."

Everyone went crazy.

>> COLLINS: (chuckles) >> That was our theme, that was our story.

Rhode Island, the Calamari Comeback State.

And, uh...

The rest is history.

>> COLLINS: Yeah.

What was it like to actually, like, go, get launched into another stratosphere of that?

Going, going viral, as the kids say.

>> Yeah, I was surprised.

I still get a newspaper delivered, and I went out to pick up my newspaper, and my neighbor came out and said, "Joe, you're on the front page of The New York Times and the Post."

And I said, "For what?"

They said, "You went viral," right?

I said, "Wow!"

>> COLLINS: That's amazing.

Hey, there.

>> Hey.

Stu.

>> COLLINS: How are you?

Hey, Stu, Misha, nice to meet you.

>> Good to meet you, thanks for coming.

>> COLLINS: Thanks for having me, I love your hat.

>> Oh, thank you.

>> COLLINS: Thanks for letting us come in and invade your fish shop here.

You sell a lot of fish to restaurants.

What is your... Is it all retail, just to "ordinary citizens?"

>> Yeah.

Yes, yes, yeah.

>> COLLINS: What are non-restaurant people called?

>> Uh, yeah, just, right, folks cooking fish for dinner is kind of, you know, what we like to say.

>> COLLINS: Do people buy squid from you?

>> Yes, they do.

>> COLLINS: So people do cook squid at home.

I thought it was, like, all squid was consumed in restaurants, because no one knows how to cook it.

Because they see it in the case and it looks like a terrifying alien from another planet.

>> Yeah, it's one of those things that, obviously, a lot of people have eaten it.

You know, fried calamari and all that, but very few have cooked it at home.

And we've turned quite a few people on to it, and they absolutely love it.

Like, it couldn't be easier.

That's the thing people don't often realize.

>> COLLINS: Do you sell your squid already cleaned, or how does that... >> Yeah, mostly what we do is sell squid cleaned.

Basically, there's clean squid and there's dirty squid.

So dirty squid means unprocessed, right?

So that means skin on, wings on, the guts are in and all that needs to kind of be removed.

>> COLLINS: Just from a marketing standpoint, I think maybe don't lead with "dirty squid."

"We sell dirty squid" is probably not... >> Yeah, not the...

Although, you know, people like to get freaked out every once in a while.

>> COLLINS: I also heard that you make a warm squid salad, and I have to say, that doesn't sound super-appetizing.

>> (laughs): Yeah.

>> COLLINS: I'm picturing the signage out front now.

It's the, "We sell dirty squid and warm squid salad."

>> Sales out the roof.

>> COLLINS: The lines are going to be across the parking lot.

Can you make some warm squid salad here?

>> Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

>> COLLINS: While the cameras weren't rolling, Buck mentioned that they've watched Cooking Fast and Fresh, my son's videos.

The pasta with jam sauce looks delicious.

Let's see how it tastes.

Mm... How did you find Cooking Fast and Fresh?

>> Maybe somebody posted it on Tumblr... Um, you know, that was kind of the hub for... >> COLLINS: Oh, you're one of the Tumblr people.

Oh, I see.

>> Yeah...

I honestly feel like maybe my sister and I were just looking for all things Castiel/Misha Collins, you know?

>> COLLINS: Oh, wow, you know what?

I'm really glad that I drew you into this conversation, then.

It makes me feel relevant again for a moment.

Thank you.

Well, nice to meet you.

>> That's awesome.

>> COLLINS: How did you come to be here?

>> Well, I was actually hired not more than a couple of months ago.

I just graduated from Bard College as an anthropology major.

>> COLLINS: Oh, very cool.

So you were completely unemployable.

>> (laughing) >> I'm completely unemployable.

There was no future for me.

And Stu took me in, very kindly.

>> Yeah, the fish business is a safe haven for unemployable... >> He took some pity on me.

>> COLLINS: Yeah, all of the anthropologists and the psychology majors, they, they show up and... Are you enjoying it here?

>> I love it, it's, it's fantastic work.

I've always been really passionate about food, and it's awesome to be in this industry much earlier along in the process.

You know, not quite restaurant service, not all the way to cooking, like, the acquisition of those resources.

>> COLLINS: So you wake up in the morning and you're excited to go to work most days.

>> Yep, absolutely.

>> COLLINS: You have to say that, 'cause you're here with your boss.

Are you in the same vein as Buck?

Are you excited to come to work in the morning?

>> I am, yeah.

I think what I love most is just talking to people about fish and, like, being at the counter, showing them something they've never seen before.

"Oh, what's that?

How do I cook it?

What does it taste like?"

And, like, in terms of learning from people, I'm always learning stuff from customers because, you know, fish, obviously, like, any food, really, but there's so much culture from around the world that goes into it.

We have Japanese customers or Spanish or Portuguese customers that bring their culture, and we learn what they do with all these different species, and it's awesome.

Careful, I don't want to splash you here.

>> COLLINS: Well, that's, that's great.

You know, there are so many people who don't love what they're doing and don't feel like they're in the right line of work.

I question that for myself... >> (laughing) >> COLLINS: What am I doing with my life?

And I'm curious as to how you came to finding this.

>> I got into fish because I liked food and was into the connection with the environment that fish has.

Like, I think, you know, fish really brings us in close contact with how we treat our environment.

So we've been, we've been super-fortunate.

People have really, really responded to us here.

>> COLLINS: That's great.

>> Yeah.

>> COLLINS: Sounds like a very well-engineered life.

>> (laughs) All right, so here's... (laughs): Yeah, maybe in need of a rebrand.

Warm squid salad.

Squeeze a lemon here, we'll just give it a little garnish.

>> COLLINS: Okay.

It's delicious.

>> I mean...

Simple, three minutes is all that squid needs.

>> COLLINS: This is fantastic.

Why Fearless Fish?

Is it because fish are not afraid of things?

>> Yeah, right.

Fearless is maybe a little bit of a hyperbole, right?

But there's just a lot of questions and, like, fear or trepidation around it, and so, you know, we want to help people become more confident buying fish, cooking fish, trying new things.

>> COLLINS: I'm less afraid of squid now.

>> Well, good.

>> COLLINS: So, it's working.

>> It's working, awesome.

>> COLLINS: Thank you so much for this fascinating morning, and it was really nice to meet you.

>> Yeah, thanks, man.

>> COLLINS: Thank you for the squid.

(talking in background) >> COLLINS: Thank you for inviting us into your restaurant here.

>> You're very welcome.

Thanks for coming in today.

Got a perfect day, we're right here, we're right on the Narragansett Bay.

We started off with a small little clam shack.

It was a family business, we only had ten employees.

And over the years, we've grown to this massive clam shack.

My mom's retired, my dad passed away when I was in college, when we were only about five years into it.

So I've been doing this for 34 years, and my dad passed away in my fifth year of college.

And one of the last things he said, he made me promise, "Dave, please, don't let nothing happen to the shack."

I go, "Dad, it's kind of like your hobby.

You're a hairdresser, and this is like a hobby."

And he said, "Please promise nothing will ever happen to it."

And that's been my passion and drive behind it for the last, you know, 27 years.

>> COLLINS: Wow.

>> Clam cakes, doughboys.

>> So some of the specialties, guys.

>> Calamari.

>> Here's our classic fried calamari tossed with banana peppers, cherry peppers, a little bit of garlic and oil.

>> It's so pretty.

>> And a little bit of seasoning.

'Cause this is what people come for all over the country.

>> COLLINS: Well, thank you.

>> Thank you very much, guys, enjoy dinner.

>> Taste it.

>> COLLINS: Yeah, here.

Why don't you take it?

You're going to dribble all over the table.

I remember when I was a kid, we didn't have a lot of money, and having lobster or going out to a restaurant was, like, a fancy affair.

>> A big deal.

>> COLLINS: And this, this was, like... >> Once a year.

>> COLLINS: Lobster was a once-a-year thing.

And it wasn't pre-cracked for you.

You had to crack it, back in the old days.

You couldn't just pull the claw out and eat it.

>> We probably used a hammer.

>> COLLINS: We probably used a hammer.

>> (laughs, hums) >> COLLINS: It was my birthday, like, ten days ago, not even ten days ago.

Ten days ago.

>> Ten days ago.

>> COLLINS: Yeah, you were going to make me a special birthday dinner.

>> You said the day's not over.

>> COLLINS: Okay.

Pineapple upside down cake.

>> Excuse me.

>> COLLINS: That's what you always made me.

>> Well, because you said, quite frankly, it was your favorite.

>> COLLINS: It was my favorite.

>> So what?

We are waiting on my mom to bring me a cake, but I'm going to pretend that I don't know that she's bringing me a cake.

>> ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ >> COLLINS: ♪ Happy birthday to me ♪ (laughing): Ma... >> ♪ Happy Birthday, dear Misha ♪ >> COLLINS: Mom, what a surprise!

>> But look at... Look, this is a surprise.

>> COLLINS: It is a surprise.

What am I looking at?

>> You're looking at it.

>> COLLINS: It's tomato upside down cake?

>> It's tomato upside down cake!

We had to have a variation on the theme.

>> COLLINS: That is a serious variation, Mom.

(blows softly) >> (exhales, applauds) (laughs) >> COLLINS: Mom, this is both exciting and terrifying at once.

>> It is-- I haven't tasted it yet, myself.

>> COLLINS: All right, you want some cake?

Al dente.

(laughing) >> Uh-oh.

>> COLLINS: And the tomato-cake combination is pretty intense.

(both laughing) >> It's the al dente situation.

>> COLLINS: It's the raw tomato... (both laughing) >> It's gross.

>> COLLINS: No, it's gross.

(both laughing) >> Wait, wait, this part might be cooked.

>> COLLINS: Okay, let's go for a piece that's cooked with no tomato.

Oh, much better.

I could eat that all day.

Thank you?

>> (laughing) >> COLLINS: When I was little, we didn't have a lot of, like, material comforts, right?

But food was something that I felt like was consistent, that we could count on.

And then also just was, like, a unifying force in the family.

And I also feel like, with my kids now, when I make them food, making them food is the way I show them love.

This is not just food.

It's something more meaningful.

>> In terms of food and the making of it and the preparing of it and the smelling of it as it's cooking and everything, and to have that time to sit together, and come together, and be a family.

That is so good.

>> COLLINS: Well, Mom, thanks for coming to visit me.

We followed the squids from the docks to the table, and now, more than anything, I just need to wash the flavor of that tomato cake out of my mouth.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> COLLINS: If you want to see extended footage of these conversations, or of me spilling food on my shirt, or if you want to know more about the restaurants and recipes from this episode, go to roadfood.com.

In the 1970s, a young couple set out on the most epic road trip of all time.

Jane and Michael Stern were on a mission to discover every regional dish in America, and over four decades, they burned through 38 cars and published ten editions of their iconic guide, Road Food.

♪ ♪ Now I'm picking up where they left off, exploring what makes America's communities unique and what binds us all together.

And it's delicious.

>> Major funding for this program was provided by: ♪ ♪ >> Yours is a front-yard family.

Because out front... >> How're you doing?

>> ...is where all the neighborhood is.

And your neighbors know you well.

>> Mario, what's up?

>> They seen your robe, your run, even your bathing suit.

>> (laughing) >> They also know your home turf stays open to the whole street.

So you stay out front.

We'll stay real-brewed.

And the world just might get a little golder.

Gold Peak real-brewed tea.

♪ ♪ (shade rustles) (doorbell rings) ♪ ♪ >> (softly): Yes!

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪