MLD wrote:
> "K" wrote in message
> news:1%t3m.3653$Jb1.1745@flpi144.ffdc.sbc.com...
>>
>>>>>> Keith
>>>>
>>>
>>> Keith, thank you very much. We are interested to tried the Woodman's
>>> or any other clambake restaurants. Can you please tell me what you
>>> mean by going to Es. from Boston by the "T"? Do you mean by train
>>> (or Subway)? Also, in Woodman's menu, their menu shows "Down River"
>>> Combo at
>>> $24.95. Is this what you mean the clambake? Or, are these just oil
>>> fried food?
>>
>> Yes, the Boston Metro system is called the 'T' and stations are
>> marked with a stylized 'T' symbol. I believe the best terminal for
>> Woodman's is West Gloucester. It's still run by the MBTA, but as
>> commuter rail service, not subway service. You'd take the
>> Newburyport/Rockport line out of Boston, then get off at Gloucester
>> West station. You may have to arrange in advance for a cab up to
>> Woodmans, but it's only about 3 scenic miles away. All trains going
>> in that direction originate at Boston's North Station.
>>
> SNIP>>>
> Don't even think of going out this way by public transportation. It's not
> convenient and the above sounds easier than actually doing
> it. You need to be able to drive there. In that area there are
> other good seafood restaurants--for example: In Ipswich there is the
> Clam Box. http://www.ipswichma.com/clambox/
>
> Then one known only to to locals "The Causeway" in Gloucester
> http://www.capeannweb.com/menus/causeway.htm
> http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g41580-d861438-Reviews-Causeway_Restaurant-Gloucester_Cape_Ann_Massachusetts.html
>
> Another thing to consider if you have a place to eat--Local market
> "Market Basket" sells live lobsters (pick the one you want out of the
> tank) and will steam them for you. Price the other day was $4.99 lb
> From any one of these you can drive around the area to look around,
> Gloucester etc
> MLD.
I tend to agree with MLD that Legal Seafood is touristy, and nobody can
disagree that it's a chain. It started out as a decent place over in
Cambridge, and was still good when they opened a new place in Back Bay -
they had the same sources, separate menus, and all was well. It's when they
spread out to the airport, then other airports, then to however many places
there are around the country that things went awry. The exact same thing
happened with Boston Market. They started out with chicken that they did
really well, and gave you great helpings of good sides (like real mashed
potatoes), all for a good price. Then they added ham and meatloaf and other
things, and were bought out by McDonalds in the process, and the only tie to
the original is the name. The chicken is just okay, and most other things
aren't.
Same with Legal. Clams are foreign substances in a lot of their new markets
(as are most of the things on the menu) so they went from fresh to frozen.
Cream is hard to store, so they substitute flour (maybe corn starch) in
their chowder, and so on down the line. The downside is this: even their
'home office', which I believe is in the same building in Cambridge, has to
serve the neutralized stuff they had to come up with to go nationwide.
There are a lot of 'old-line' Boston seafood restaurants that aren't what
they once were. The No-Name used to be great for roughing it ... more like
an indoor picnic than a restaurant, but great food for cheap. Somebody
bought it, and now it may be a bit shinier, but the food is mediocre and
definitely not cheap. Anthony's Pier 1 is another of those. High priced
frozen dinners, I think.
If you're a patient person, and have no grudge against the Red Sox, the
Boston Globe http://www.boston.com/ has a good food and restaurant section,
and possibly an archive. The paper is on and off the list for extinction,
so do your digging now, but every professional review allows personal ones,
and Boston is a vocal place.
I don't know why MLD finds the train to Gloucester difficult. You get on,
you get off, just like any other train. Just make sure you're where you
want to be at each end. Thousands do it every day.
This thread started with the OP looking for a clambake meal, and I've tried
to stick with that. Gloucester is definitely a fishing town, but it's also
a city of Portuguese immigrants, and the Portuguese offer skills with
seafood like no other. For a fabulous Portuguese meal, take the train one
more stop to the Gloucester station. If it's dinnerime, just follow your
nose to the Azorean. If not, ask, but it's right there.
The Causeway can be great, but probably won't be in October when the summer
crowds are gone. When the customers are thick, they keep their oil hot and
fresh, but when the crowds go I think they re-use it, and are willing to
toss a meal in before the oil is ready for it. And it's hardly a
locals-only place. Maybe in winter, but the rest of the year, it's all
tourists. It's their advertising that says 'Where the locals go'
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