Share
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New
England travel article with your friends...Waterfront restaurants with seafood and outdoor seating
always sounds appealing. How can you go wrong with regional cuisine and
coastal views?
Sadly, some of these restaurants ruin the premise by offering higher
quality in their t-shirts and other souvenir merchandise than the
seafood. Several popular waterfront seafood spots play loud Carribean
or classic rock music to a party crowd that looks like something out of
a beer commercial. Others charge outrageous prices for food simply
because of the scenic location -- paying $26 dollars for an anemic
lobster roll that can be bought for $14 elsewhere is not appetizing at
all. The great outdoors isn't so great, after all, when restaurants
take advantage of what Mother Nature has to offer -- all in the name of
a mighty buck.
Thankfully, Costello's in Noank, Conn., acts as a completely different
type of waterfront restaurant that comes through as the type of New
England dining spot many of us seek in our dreams but rarely find in
the real world. Tucked away in a quiet shipyard within a hidden village
of Groton, Conn., called Noank, Costello's Clam Shack features peaceful
outdoor Connecticut shoreline water views where one can enjoy the
stunning scenery -- and a delicious, affordable seafood meal -- without
the noise, hype and misguided over commercialization that impede so
many other waterfront restaurants.
This unpretentious, seasonal, at-the-end-of-the-dock B.Y.O.B.
restaurant offers two levels of unobstructed waterfront views and
specializes on delicious whole belly fried clams and other seafood
plates from their deep fryer, lobster, hot lobster rolls, lobster
bisque, clear brother clam chowder and crab cakes. Daily specials
include broiled seafood dinners and even some chicken and steak items.
While the food is terrific, it is the views that put Costello's over
the top. With boats in the water and commanding panoramic views,
the experience is pure New England coastal dining nirvana. You clearly
feel like you're in your own world at this off the beaten path
location. For proof that this restaurant is in the "middle of nowhere,"
most GPS systems don't even recognize Noank! The great news is,
however, that while Costello's and Noank feel like being a million
miles away, the popular vacation spot of Mystic, Conn., is only a
10-minute drive. So, you can really have the best of both worlds when
traveling this area.
Plus, we like the owner's sense of humor: its sister restaurant Abbott's
(Lobster in the Rough) is right down the road. So, you have Abbott and
Costello's! Nice comedy team from the past, but we prefer Costello's
(and Abbott's, too), any day!
Costello's Clam Shack is located at 145 Pearl. St., Noank CT.
Tel. 06340. Tel. (860) 572-2779. Seasonal.
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