Friday night dinner at a lobster spot in New England, we thought, would be good for food and for people-watching. And we were right on both counts, once we found Captain Scott's Lobster Dock. At the end of a dead-end street on an arm of land with a marina on one side and the Amtrak line on the other (with wistful passengers probably watching us eat), it's a place no one finds by accident. Large family groups, a few celebrations, the occasional BYO bottle of wine, even one table with its own BYO tablecloth, and even at 5:30 p.m., a line waiting to order, all made us happily patient.
We couldn't resist the chance for more clam bellies, those fried clams that are so much more tender and full of clammy flavor than the strips. And here was a chance to try clam fritters, too. The bellies were great, hot and perfectly greaseless. The fritters? Well, New England just loves fried dough. There's a reason why this part of the country is so serious about doughnuts. And while the fritters were competently done, they just don't have the clam oomph that the bellies do. We're sure they're great with some cold beer and a Red Sox game, but as an appetizer, not for us.
Lobster dinners, please. That's what it's all about. Crack your own, suck the meat out of the little legs, dip into the melted butter, try to get the succulent, tender claw meat out in one piece, attack the knuckles to get every last bit, don't forget the tomalley, get messy because its worth the trouble. Corn on the cob? Steamer potatoes? Just a polite gesture in the direction of a balanced diet.
Little packets of hand wipes are a nice gesture, but plastic bibs are a necessity. Ocean breezes can drive dribbles of butter off-course, no matter how far a diner leans over the plate. After washing up and depositing trash in its bin, trays and lobster crackers in the right spot, we dropped by Captain Scott's fish market in the same building. Both of them are only open in season. And that's another reason places like this are so popular. A year's worth of building an appetite has to be satiated in only six months.
We're glad we were there at the right time.
Captain Scott's Lobster Dock
80 Hamilton Street, New London, CT
860-439-1741
Lunch and dinner daily in season (roughly May-Oct.)
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Fair
Smoking: No
Entrees and sandwiches: $5-"market price”