Saturday, June 11, 2011

Eating Out Near the Ocean


Part of the fun of any mini-vacation is going out to eat.

Some people might frown on recreational dining out. To me, it's one of the best parts of being on vacation, even if it's just an overnight away from home.

Such was the case when we drove to the ocean in Connecticut. 

Lunch one day was at Dad's Restaurant. How could anybody go wrong with that?  Because we were close to the water, New England clam chowder had to be part of the lunch. This was thick, creamy chowder with chunks of clams and potatoes.  It was good. (The previous night's clam chowder, however, was better as it was richer and creamier. It was probably made with cream and had eight million calories a bite.)





Also, at Dad's, clams were a must. These were not the strips of clams one often finds. These were what we call "fat bellied" clams...you get whole clams and they are "yummified" to a diehard clam lover. Of course, they came with tartar sauce and a soft roll.

Trust me, it was difficult to snap this photo without snatching one of these succulent beauties but hey, in blogland, one has to do what one has to do, right? And that means photos first, scarfing second.




My husband, who almost never eats lunch, ordered just a dish of black raspberry ice cream.



Talk about unique trash containers they had them at Dad's. They were huge animal heads  with big mouths open and ready for, of course, trash. Kids who go to Dad's must love these. Above each animal trash collector was a sign, "Please feed the animals."  Cute.

Actually, if these were installed in every school, YMCA, camp,  and day care center, probably there'd never again be a problem with trash being left behind.





We could have eaten outside at tables with umbrellas. However, I don't like the immediate convention of flies buzzing around my food so we opted to for an indoor table.



WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT FOR LUNCH WHEN YOU ARE TRAVELING?

17 comments:

Chatty Crone said...

Okay - Loved the trash cans and I loved the ice cream - but clam chowder - just not a fan. Sorry! Looked like fun though. lol

A Few Pennies said...

Love fried clams! and that ice cream looks heavenly!

Rebecca said...

"Recreational dining out"! That's one of OUR favorite entertainments. (Guess I SHOULD be embarrassed about that, but it's true.) As to a favorite thing to eat for lunch...I'm not sure. BUT eating "lunch" - a late lunch - is what we like to do when traveling.

Then we don't eat an evening meal - except for sometimes a snack or ice cream treat....

Actually we just had lunch "out" yesterday at the Leo Diner. I had a fish sandwich & a piece of their most yummy peanut butter pie. My husband had a breaded tenderloin sandwhich, a cup of clam chowder & a piece of pie :)

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

New England clam chowder ~ the best :) The "fat bellied" clams (no thank you)

I love going out to lunch anywhere and anytime.

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Wherever we go in the world, I love trying out the cuisine of that area or country (as long as it is pescetarian, of course). We need those kinds of trash containers in Kuwait. I don't blog about the negative things but litter in this country is a huge, ugly problem and one of my biggest pet peeves. People still throw their garbage in the streets and out their windows and it totally dusgusts me. I am so sad today because I had to put my outside Sweet Kitty to sleep. She truly was a sweetie and I feel like I didn't do right by her long ago. :( hope your day is a good one. Tammy

Anonymous said...

I love the photos of the trash cans!!
Eating out is much more delightful when you travel( a nugget for sure). My reading material would be next on the list when I travel. I leave tomorrow for my mini vacation to Orange Beach, AL. I can hardly wait!!!Magazines, a bottle of wine, and camera WOOHOO!
Have a special Saturday dear lady!
Chris
Chris

Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble Christmas said...

Okay, what caught my eye was the ice cream! Every Sunday as a child, my parents and I would take a drive for ice cream and guess what was my favorite flavor.....Black raspberry!!

Love the animal pics too!

hugs,
Deb

Linda @ A La Carte said...

I love stopping at fun places to eat when traveling also. I love diners and seeing what the locals eat! I love clam chowder...yum that looked good.

Unknown said...

Oh this looks like a fun stop! I think that my fav is just to munch the whole way.... When we travel is when we kind of splurge. :)

Cute post!

~Liz

Victorian1885 said...

I love eating whatever is from the area and trying new things.. Have a great time!

Wanda

mo said...

Hi Susan,

Wow! Thank you for taking us back in time. Back to where the trashcans were animal heads!

How cool is that.

What a fantastic post. I thought the clams looked great until...

I saw the icecream.

You guys have great taste.

Wish I was in Connecticut!

Love it!

*hugs*

mo

diane stetson said...

I love clam chowder, clam rolls and especially lobster when I'm on the east coast. Your pictures made me hungry..I could taste the food just by looking at your photo shots. I love to try cuisine of any country when I'm traveling. Everything looked yummy in Conn.

Bookie said...

No lunch for hubby? That is an unusual habit...does this make it hard for you to eat when and how you want? I would pass on the fishy things too. I guess a Midwesterner just has to work harder to love stuff from the "bottom". :)

Anonymous said...

Susan,
This is my favorite thing to do too!

Anonymous said...

susan, It's me, Blogger allowed me to post as anonymous,FINALLY.
Linda O'Connell

Kathy said...

It is wonderful to go out and have fun! The food looks great! reposting - not sure if the comment worked earlier! I think I'm sleepy :)
Kathy

BECKY said...

Of course I love to go out to lunch, in or out of town! The diner looks cute. I'm not a fan of clam chowder or clam anything..Sorry! But, I do love most seafood and shrimp, etc. That ice cream looked fabulous. I've never tried that flavor.

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