* * * C O N T I N U E D F R O M L A S T M E S S A G E * * * I wonder what is going to happen to Stromberg's when the new Salem-Beverly bridge opens - the new road will go past the back of the restaurant, which of course fronts on the old road. If the place goes down the tubes, that will be a bit of a pity. This is a bit of an old-lady restaurant inside (but a drunken rowdy pickup spot out on the deck), but the only way to tell is by the rather anachronis- tic tub of cheese spread and crackers that greet you when you sit down. Appetizers include a plate of fried clams for about $7 (available also as a plate for about $11), a quart of steamed mussels or clams ($4), or a quart of sauteed mussels ($5). The clams are excellent, at least as good as at either Winter Island or the Sail Loft, and the batter is pleasantly neutral. Steamers are fresh and first-rate, with the usual drawn butter and broth. The sauteed mussels were a tad greasy; they were grit-free, though, and tasted quite good, especially when helped down by a bit of the buttery, garlicky broth that accompanied them. Salads: average; breads: soft and characterless. For main courses, lobsters seem to be the big thing there - a single 1 1/4 at about $14, twin 1 1/4s at about $20, baked stuffed with scallops at $20, baked stuffed with more lobster at $21, a surf and turf of 10 oz rib roast and 1/2 a baked stuffed at $17. I broke the mold and had a steak (12 or 16 oz at about a buck an oz; I ordered it extra rare, and it came rare, which was better than I expected, and it was fairly tasty; as always, I ordered rice - the standard "you may call it rice, but I call it poison" middle- American steakhouse ersatz Rice-a-roni. The "prime" rib (why do they call it that when it's choice rib at best?) was okay, a little resilient and cooked one notch higher than ordered. Lobsters were fresh, superfresh. They had that elusive sweetness and lively flavor, and for lobsters that good, boiled is the only way to go. The baked stuffed were pretty good, but the buttery salty breadcrumb topping did not do the lobster meat any favors. Again let me pound in a point and say that I have no idea why anyone would order a baked stuffed lobster when boiled ones are to be had. Accompaniments included fries that tasted like nothing and mashed that tasted and acted like glue. The appetizers were very, very fine; main courses were better than acceptable; but you gotta work on those extras, folks. Desserts include the usual cheesecakey, puddingy, ice creamy things. After our blowout we didn't feel like any dessert, much less what's offered. - - - Now for the piece de resistance. Taco Bell on South Willow Street in Manchester NH. Why? It was there. We'd finished playing a big fancy Haydn quartet. We were thirsty (some of us were hungry). I got me a nice cup of Slice (like Sprite but with more bitterness). Other things that we ate: taco supreme; big beef burrito; Mexican pizza. They all taste about the same - canned-tasting beans, meat that tastes like hash, cheese that might be cheese but might not, wheat tortillas and corn tortillas tasting like each other and both tasting like nothing. Tomatoes: fresh and unblemished, but sort of like chopped up rubber balls. Lettuce: fresh and unblemished, but what can you say about iceberg lettuce? Sauce: it was red. For afters, a bag of "cinnamon twists," a takeoff on bunuelos, one guesses. Cinnamon sugar sprinkled on pieces of something that might remind one of breakfast cereal, Cheez Doodles without the Cheez, or perhaps styrofoam. Wonderful, especially so because some of the tomatoes had fallen out of one of the tacos and onto these things (you could hardly tell the difference). For two tacos, two drinks, a humongous burrito, and a large Mexican pizza (aka tostada): $8. I'm posting this to Aura but am sending a copy to ne.food, where maybe Ellis and Adam can snarf some data for their guide. * KingQWK 1.05 # 187 *
Massachusetts