Gloucester Restaurants

This is a new restaurant on Gloucester's harborfront which will undoubtedly draw big crowds to the outdoor deck once the weather gets warmer. I very much liked the decor; there is a sushi bar with recessed seating (it looks like you'd be having a traditional Japanese supper, but there is actually space to stretch out your legs beneath the bar), surrounded by very creative metal sculpture and overhung by a magnificent octopus, and on another wall, a mural of Gloucester in the days of the sailing ships, quite different in tone. The sushi menu was extensive and somewhat unusual, but there were also interesting salads and main dishes. I found it expensive but generally worth it, and the views were excellent! (Apparently there is no differential between luncheon and dinner menus/prices.) There is quite an extensive wine list.

Favorite Dish: My salad, of arugula, artichoke and white beans, was very good indeed. I liked the sushi but wasn[t adventurous enough to try anything I didn't already enjoy.

Gloucester, like many towns in Massachusetts, has more than it's fair share of sub shops. There is little variation among the Gloucester shops, all carry the usual sub shop suspects. Destino's has the distinction of having the best clam chowder I've ever had. The shop's usually crowded around lunch and dinner time, and it wasn't the closest place to my home growing up, but the chowder made it worth the trip on many occasions and I still stop by for some when I visit my family.

Favorite Dish: Well the chowder, and nothing but the chowder. So help me chowder.

** Visited 3/30/08 and was dumbfounded when the girl behind the counter told me there was no chowder. My steak and cheese sub was really good, and came with a free salad bar.

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Sebastian's is one of those special little places that have a great recipe that locals love. Their pizza sauce is nothing short of phenomenal. I had rediscovered pizza while in Italy this summer, and fell in love with true Italian pizza, but I found myself visiting my parents a few days after returning back to America and left Gloucester with an anchovy pizza from Sebastians. I've always enjoyed the pizza here, since I was a little boy, but that visit added to how much I like this place as I noticed for the first time a large, panoramic photo of Terrasini, Sicily, where my Grandmother's family had come from, and I had been not three days before ordering the anchovy pizza.

Edit: Jess and I had dinner here last week and the recipe has stayed the same. The man who owned the store (and recipe) has recently passed away and it has been under new ownership for approximately four years. Had a nice conversation with one of the owners, who is originally from Terrasini and is carrying on the her dialect from Sicily with her children here in America. Can't wait to go back!

This was the first time I had actually eaten at Sebastians and didn't order take out. While we were eating, just over a year since we were in Terrasini, we remarked at how much this felt like the places we ate when we were over there. The pizza isn't exactly the style you get in Italy (but as good as any I had there) but you'd be hard pressed to find a more Italian style eatery in America.

Favorite Dish: Any pizza here is incredible, but first timers should order the cheese pizza to truly appreciate the flavor of the sauce. You won't regret it (but if for some reason you do, can I have the rest of your pizza?)

Edit: I was able to convince my wife to get a plain cheese pizza when we were recently dining at Sebastians. After some time she agreed, and she said she was very glad she did.

So who goes to a great seafood restaurant and orders a hamburger..... my kids.

My wife and I ordered the fresh-fish-of-the-day and were delighted the way they lightly grilled it. We had wanted the lobster but did not want all the fuss of cracking and stripping and the mess that goes with it.

But the kids weren't having a go at any of the seafood..... good old american burgers they order and were pleased with the ones they were served.

The restaurant was a bit crowded but we expected that because we were told that it was a local legend. The ambiance was old fishing town and the service was fast and courteous.

This all happened back in 1981.

For a more up-to-date tip on Halibut Point see:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/1f7b9/c21e9/2/

Favorite Dish: fresh-fish-of-the-day

Oh this place holds a special place in my heart! Located near Good Harbor Beach and not far from the Rockport line, Long Beach Dairy was a staple for post-beach ice cream. I had my first ever Sundae right here at Long Beach. Going to the beach was something many Gloucester families did. Mother's very frequently would bring young children to the beach while father's were off working. Nothing was better following a long day of playing in the sand and surf than ice cream at Long Beach. At some point the restaurant expanded and a small clam shack opened. When I was in high school and working at the local Stop and Shop grocery store we sometimes drove down here for some fried clams during our break. Great, fast clams and there was rarely a line. Can't beat that!

Favorite Dish: Hot fudge sundae please!

When I was very young Jim's Bagel shop was the location of Joe Popcorn's store and his infamous slush, as well as the original location of Lucido's Barber Shop before he moved further up Main Street. Those old buidings were town down and a strip mall was erected in it's place. Originally Jim's shoppe was called Donut Jim's and it was many a Sunday my parents would send me down there to grab a dozen of his donuts. Until that time I only had eaten Dunkin Donuts and Jim's creations were revolutionary. He still makes his donuts, but now emphasizes his bakery and bagels instead of just his donuts.

Favorite Dish: I still love the chocolate donuts. Classics never go out of style.

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Valentino's is another Gloucester culinary institution. I have to say, I ate here twice in my life, and both times were private parties. One a rehearsal dinner for a wedding, and most recently my Grandmother's 80th Birthday in July 06. The food is authentic Italian and very good from my experience. They are known mostly for their Sicilian (square) pizza. The private room upstairs is not accessable for people who may have mobility issues and luckily we had enough people to help my mother up and down the stairs.

Favorite Dish: Their Sicilian Pizza is very good and well worth a try.

I graduated high school with Lenny and he has owned this shop on Main Street for many years. Great pizza and subs, really good prices. Leonardo's has apparently taken up the catering market for Gloucester since the closing of Trupiano's on Washington Street. My mother used Leonardo's for Chirstmas Eve this year and the food was plentiful, home style and very, very good. All of the essential Italian Christmas Eve dishes were available, and people would have sworn the food was homemade.