A Truly Local Fave: What's Yours?
Everyone has, or at least needs, at least one truly local favorite joint in their lives, a go-to place for real, honest food served in a straightforward setting. I have a bunch of them in New York City, and I live and long to discover them elsewhere. Sometimes all it takes to discover a local favorite is friends who live in proximity to one of these gems. Our friends Tom and Vicky Kaiser have a house in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, a shore town an hour or so from Boston that's just north of New Bedford, and they turned me on to the Oxford Creamery, a truly undiscovered and unhyped local fave.
Just how under the radar is the Oxford Creamery? Jane and Michael Stern, my friends over at Roadfood, live less than two and a half hours from the Oxford Creamery, and they have written nary a word about it. There are two books dedicated to seafood shacks, The New England Clam Shack Cookbook and New England's Favorite Seafood Shacks, and neither mentions the Oxford Creamery.
Just what is there to discover at the Oxford Creamery?
Befitting its name, there's a zillion flavors of pretty good ice cream, frappes, freezes (can anyone tell me what the difference is?), milk floats, milk shakes (no ice cream), sundaes, and soda floats galore. I like the butter pecan most of all. The soft ice cream is not even as good as Carvel or Dairy Queen, and the hot fudge is a sludgy, overly sweet disappointment.
The fried clams are crisp, greaseless, and well-salted, and the roll they come in is toasted and buttered. The french fries are standard-issue frozen fries. The lobster roll is a great bargain ($9.95 with fries and cole slaw), and features moist and tender lobster meat mercifully not overcooked. The crab roll ($7.25) might be even better, full of sweet, not stringy crab meat. Burgers are thin with a nicely griddled exterior, though not particularly moist. And then there's cacoila, slow-cooked shredded meat Portuguese style that's meltingly tender if a little too lean.
When you walk into the Oxford Creamery, you'll be walking into a time warp. You'll be surrounded by local teenagers, families, and senior citizens who have known each other all their lives. Yet it's one of those magical local places that makes outsiders feel most welcome.
I'm not saying that the Oxford Creamery has the best ice cream or the best lobster roll or the best fried clams. It doesn't have the best anything, to be honest with you. What it does have is real, honest, and crazy cheap (adding cheese to any sandwich costs 30¢ and a cheeseburger is $2.75) local food served up in unpretentious style by welcoming people. It's what I hope to find in every town I pass through, and yet it's becoming increasingly rare. If the Slow Food movement wants to take up a cause in this country, then it should take up the cause of joints like the Oxford Creamery. Because my greatest fear is that one of these days, I'll get a call from Tom and Vicky telling me that the Oxford Creamery is no more, and a McDonald's is going in in its stead.
So if you ever find yourself driving to Cape Cod from either Boston or New York, stop for a bite at the Oxford Creamery. It's less than five minutes off Route 195.
Have you discovered an Oxford Creamery–like place? Do tell.
Oxford Creamery
Address: 98 County Road, Route 6, Mattapoisett MA 02739
Phone: 508-758-3847
Notes: Open Easter through Columbus Day only
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22 Comments:
okay, i've lived a bunch of places so...
north miami, fla-
little havana restaurant
http://www.littlehavanarestaurant.com/
12727 Biscayne Blvd
North Miami, FL 33181
a highlight for cuban food. sangria, fried pork chunks, yuca are all yummy!
scorch
13750 Biscayne Blvd
North Miami Beach, FL 33181
adorable ambiance, amazing sangria and grilled steak, seafood!
gainesville, fla-
satchel's pizza
satchelspizza.com
1800 NE 23rd Ave
Gainesville, FL 32609
off the beaten path, away from the students at the university of fla, adorable house remodled with quirky art, satchel's salad and secret dressing are an amazing opening to some of the best pizza. organic ingredients. hippie hang out in the old warehouse district of gainesville.
morgantown, pa-
emily's pub
emilyuspub.com
3790 Morgantown Rd
Mohnton, PA 19540
okay, so mohnton is not the gormet capital of the world but this delicious restaurant has a great wine list and is in an old post office. the bar stores their wine in old po boxes. the food is great and the patio is great during the warm months.
sorry, for the long post but i think that restaurants define the locations i have lived in. in fact, my best memories involve showing down with people in these places. i hope you enjoy them!
rubyjnkie at 10:48AM on 08/27/07
What a great list, Ruby. I have never heard of any of them. What kind of oven does Satchel's use?
Ed Levine at 11:03AM on 08/27/07
If I lived in San Rafael, Ca I would eat at Western Boat & Tackle as often as I could.
Yep, a boat shop.
But they have a fish counter where they sell the absolute best crab sandwich I've ever had in my entire life. Nearly 1/2 lb fresh Dungeness crab, served on white bread with mayo on one slice, cocktail sauce on the other and a squirt of lemon. Eaten on their back deck, it's one of the nicest food experiences I've had in years.
Seriously good eats.
theheadhen at 11:21AM on 08/27/07
I want one of those crab sandwiches now. Sounds seriously delicious.
Ed Levine at 11:30AM on 08/27/07
A couple miles down the road is Muscoot, at the intersection of routes 35 & 100 in Somers, NY. I posted a thread in Talk (dives) about this place. It looks like a dump; has twelve tables, a tiny bar and a pellet stove that gets fired up in the winter. The food is simple -- steamers, pasta, steak and fries, sandwiches, pizza. Most of the time only one waitress works the room, and the atmosphere is always friendly and laid back. I love to go there for steamers and a salad; the steaks are always great. I've never tried their pizza! It is always fun to go and enjoy the quirkiness of the place, and I always come away satisfied. Come on up to Westchester, Ed!
ride&cook at 12:16PM on 08/27/07
Harmar Tavern in Marietta, Ohio. Great burgers and the soon-to-be-famous bologna sandwich.
El Farolito's in San Francisco. The Super Quesadilla Suiza is heart stoppingly (literally) fantastic.
Pho 2000 in Falls Church, VA. Great Pho.
NSW at 12:30PM on 08/27/07
Ed:
http://satchelspizza.com/pages/photo31.html
Some pics of the pizza are here - http://satchelspizza.com/pages/news.html
Prairie at 12:42PM on 08/27/07
Tommaso's for spinach pizza in San Francisco. There's a table in the back with a sign that says "reserved for family" which makes you feel like part of the mob or something if you get seated there.
Liled's Candy in Vallejo, CA (NE of San Francisco) for great homemade ice cream and candy in what was probably once a nice neighborhood but is now a bit run down.
This might just be a personal favorite since I used to work there, but for a California deli it's pretty darn good: Village Delicatessen in Benicia, CA (also NE of San Francisco, you can pass through on the way to Napa). Though they have changed hands recently so I can't promise anything.
Perhaps it's time I get a local fave in a city in which I actually reside...
LizNYC at 1:11PM on 08/27/07
So Ed, what are your local faves here in NYC?
FKC at 2:15PM on 08/27/07
Salumeria Biellese on Eighth Avenue for Italian sandwiches, Blue Ribbon Market for open-faced sandwiches, Roast Pork Egg Foo Young at La Caridad, 78th and Broadway, Isabella's Oven for Neapolitan-style pies, Sal and Carmine's for perhaps my favorite slice in Manhattan, Roast chicken hero at the Dominican restaurant on 25th Street just east of Seventh Avenue, Chinese Barbecue Spare Ribs at Pig Heaven, I could go on for a long time. Again, I'm listing places that are generally under the radar.
Ed Levine at 3:08PM on 08/27/07
I was lucky enough to go to high school a block away from 2Amys, the amazing pizza place in Washington, DC (and I live about a mile away, so it's totally accessible all the time!). Some friends of mine would skip school lunch several times a week and walk over to get pizzas instead! It's not exactly a secret that their pizza is amazing, but I do have some difficulty explaining just how incredible their Margherita is to my college friends, most of whom are content to eat Dominos (although I do go to school in Chicago, so it's not like we lack our own amazing local pizza). When I plan well enough, 2Amys is the first thing I eat when I get back to DC, and the last thing I eat before I leave!
ChristineB at 4:13PM on 08/27/07
I almost forgot to mention my absolute favorite under the radar joint here in NYC. Kar Won, a grubby little chinese joint on 60th btwn Lex & Park makes Dan Dan noodle soup that is the best hangover cure in existence. And their pork & pickles soup is pretty spectacular as well.
Out in my neck of the woods (Bay Ridge) my favorite go-to restaurant is Polonica on 3rd Ave. The clear borscht with mushroom uzka and their pirogies are perfect.
theheadhen at 4:14PM on 08/27/07
Grannie's Restaurant in Starke, Florida.
1stmakearoux at 4:58PM on 08/27/07
I love 2Amys, ChristineB. I wrote about it in my pizza book, Slice of Heaven.
Ed Levine at 5:20PM on 08/27/07
The best burger place in central California has to be in Lodi. Andre's Cafe has several different kinds of burgers and 18 different flavored fries. The MOS (mushroom onion swiss) burger with parmesan garlic fries is wonderful (which my husband LOVED!), as is the burger with an onion ring, bacon and BBQ sauce. They also have a Mad Dog burger, which is (I think) three pounds of meat, and whoever can finish it, plus all the fries, gets it for free.
I also love the little Mexican restaurants there. La Compana taqueria and tortilla factory makes excellent breakfast burritos. There was a place called Mombo's that had the best big burritos with tasty homemade tortillas, but when it changed ownership, the quality went down quite a bit. My mom and I liked to eat at a little place called El Rosal. Good enchiladas. I miss the food there, now that I live in the Bay Area and haven't found a good Mexican restaurant yet.
misseditor at 7:10PM on 08/27/07
in los angeles:
IL TRAMEZZINO BEVERLY HILLS-
chicken special (pesto sauce, provolone, grilled chicken. sundried tomatoes panini-ed to perfection)
croissant nutella (nutella alone or with bananas and/or strawberries also panini-ed to perfection on a croissant)
IRV'S BURGERS WEST HOLLYWOOD-
amazing burgers and good prices to boot
BRENT'S DELI NORTHRIDGE-
better then any nyc deli guaranteed
SUSHI MON LOS ANGELES
nothing beats spicy tuna mixed with fresh slices of tomatoes on top of rolls and amazing quality and quantity for the price!
smtanner82 at 2:17AM on 08/28/07
I have a local place that I think you would enjoy:
http://www.goodlifepizza.com/
Its pizza and its DAMN GOOD
choc_puddin at 5:20AM on 08/28/07
I'm pretty sure other New Englanders might have different answers (which is the sign of a truly local food, imho), but a frappe is ice cream and milk while a freeze is ice cream and soda water (and maybe syrup or other ingredients).
dombett at 10:41AM on 08/28/07
Not a specific place: but near St. Louis you can find a unique and underrated type of bbq: bbq pork steak.
coolname at 3:52PM on 08/28/07
My respect for Ed has just gone up another 10,000% for recognizing Sal and Carmine's as the best new york style slice in NYC, hence THE WORLD. I hope to see you there someday Ed, I usually get my slices after I move my car for alternate side parking.
There are a couple pizza places upstate that you would be interested in trying the next time you're there. Picnic Pizza: they have two locations, one in Kingston right off the thruway exit, and one in Saugerties, in the little strip of commercial area where the Grand Union used to be. They boast WOOD FIRED ovens, and make a mean neapolitan style pie.
My local fave for real sit down food, is PicNic (purely coincidental) between 101st and 102nd on bway. Very good food if a little pricey, but sometimes you just want quality.
seyo at 5:05PM on 08/28/07
Picnic pizza? Barf. Bad food, bad service, bad prices.
fatboy at 12:39AM on 09/14/07
PS: Crap still tastes like crap, even when cooked in a WOOD FIRED oven.
fatboy at 12:41AM on 09/14/07