Yesterday a few friends and I went to Crane’s Beach in Ipswich and then to Woodman’s seafood in Essex. I thought we would be among the masses since it is the official start of Memorial Day weekend for those who are willing to skip work. I was wrong (sorry Sio). The beach was populated but there was definitely plenty of space to claim your territory and not have to worry about some lil kid kicking up sand as they run circles around you. After an hour or so we were hungry and what do you crave when at the beach? Seafood. Which in itself is a little creepy, made even more so by the Horseshoe Crab carcas laying 10 feet away from us.
Off we went to Woodman’s. The place looks like it hasn’t been touched by anything but salt air and tourists for at least 20 years. We heard we were lucky because the line is usually out the door and around the corner (literally) but looking at the place you would hardly give it a second look. At first glance their prices seem a little on the high side, but when you see what you get, it’s worth it. The plates range from $8.95 for popcorn shrimp to $21.95 for fried lobster tails. One thing that was on the annoying side is you order and pay for your food in one place and then you have to go to a side bar to order and pay for your drinks. It was just wierd and not in a good way.
The food looks excellent in all of it’s fried, tan-colored glory and is heaped on the plate. The clam strips were good, so were the popcorn shrimp. The only thing is, everything also tasted like grease. The french fries, onion rings, etc. all left the same greasy aftertaste in your mouth but you kinda knew that was going to happen when you saw that the sides were actually dripping with excess grease. The scallops were extremely tender and the popcorn shrimp was yummy, as well as the cole slaw. I would say the whole experience was a B/B+. It’s not like you go there when you are on a diet, but once in a while I like my fried fish to taste like fish, not the fryalator at McD’s.
Plates from Woodman's
