Nicole O.
Yelp
Who knew the local town bar would be just what a girl needed to round out her Day Date with Herself? Not this girl, but really, dinner here was the icing on the cake of a wonderful day, and I'm already counting down the days until I go back.
To start off, you can tell this is a place where everybody knows your name, ala Cheers, but DEFINITELY not in Boston: I walked in and the staff was chatting it up with the couple of tables there, and the other few people who were sitting at the bar were right at home, with one basically having his beverage of choice at his seat by the time he was there himself. It was the kind of atmosphere that made me wish I lived closer because I could see myself hanging out there on the regular, even if it was just with my book & a Bloody - or a White Claw, which seemed to be selling like hot cakes as of late!
Anywho, since I was at the coast, I was craving oysters, and this was one of just a handful of places that came up. I was wanting half shells, not shooters, and those were even more surprisingly difficult to find in - say it with me - a COASTAL town, so I took a shot with the middle of the road reviewed oyster bar, and I'm glad I did. the oysters were briny & sweet, shucked perfectly and honestly were some of the best I've had. I may have overdone it with the horseradish on the last one (I think I smelt colors for a second there), but that's on me & my underestimation of the size of the meat (that's what she said!).
Seeing both clam chowder & cole slaw on the menu, I had to try both. I'm from New England, and am VERY particular about my chowder, but this one hit the spot. I won't say it's spot on NE chowder - it was a little bacon heavy, clam light (at least this specific bowl) in my opinion - but I definitely rolled my eyes in happiness and savored it until the very last spoonful. In fact, I had a difficult time deciding if the chowder or an oyster would be my last bite (any other neurospicy Yelpers out there? You know that best bite you save.. yea... that one), but the chowder won out. The slaw was delicious too, confirmed made in house, but it wasn't my favorite of the three... that is not to say it wasn't amazing, but it had 2 very difficult running mates, and I don't think much of anything could have beat out either the chowder or the oysters.
Somehow, amidst all this, I've managed to leave my normally favorite beverage to last: the good ole spicy Bloody Mary. In my opinion, there is no wrong time of day to have one, and this baby proved me right! The next time I go in, however, I think in addition to asking for Tito's, I'm going to ask for it to be made with the horseradish from the kitchen because smelling colors is cool, but also because I think that's about the only dang thing that could make it even better. Oh... or maybe celery & celery salt.. but that's *my* rim/garnish preference, and I'm not a regular... but I want to be...
PS: 90s music on the 'juke box' for the win. My playlist for my 2hr drive home was definitely inspired by Aliyah!