[Suzanne]

Part of our vacation was spent on Cape Ann in Massachusetts (aka The North Shore). We stayed in Gloucester (home of Gorton's frozen fish) but drove around a lot to eat. One place we went to was so good we ate there twice! It is Essex Seafood, on Route 133 in Essex, MA. Normally at home we hardly ever eat fried stuff, but hey, how could I not try it there? The first time we went, I figured I'd go all out and ordered the Seafood Plate: fried clams, shrimp, scallops, and fish, with french fries AND onion rings. It would have been enough for a family of 4! Paul was being virtuous: he ordered a steamed lobster and corn on the cob. We shared a small (only about 16 oz!) clam chowder. Everything was so fresh and sweet, and the frying was perfect -- not even the onion rings were greasy! The chowder was loaded with pieces of clam and potato, and had just the right balance of milk and cream to stock, neither too thick and gloppy nor too thin. The clams were huge; the shrimp didn't taste the least bit of iodine; the scallops were the most tender and sweetest; even plain old fish was delicate and flavorful. Paul's lobster was not as sweet as some we've had, but it tasted like LOBSTER. And the corn was really fresh, too. If anybody else knows Stroud's fried chicken in Kansas City -- this is the seafood equivalent: simply the best fried version I've ever had.

We went back for lunch the day we left. This time I only had fried scallops with french fries, and Paul had a lobster roll (lobster meat mixed with a tiny amount of mayonnaise, stuffed into a hot-dog bun) and cole slaw. He must have had the equivalent of a whole lobster! We both had more of that chowder.

(Another time we also had a fried clam roll and a lobster roll at Woodman's of Essex, which claims to have invented the fried clam -- they were both quite good, but nowhere as good as at Essex Seafood.)