The Village Restaurant

55 Main St., Essex, MA - (978) 768-6400

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Posted By Michael Stern on 2/1/2011 5:23:00 AM

Such a nice place to eat! Dark, wood-paneled, comfortable, and middle-class, The Village has been a town fixture for half a century. One veteran staff member recalled to us that when it opened as a five-booth café, the owner used to leave the door open so that before the staff arrived in the morning, regulars could let themselves in and cook their own breakfasts on the grill!

Menus from those early days are posted in the vestibule, and they are a joy to read, not only for the prices (a dollar for a full dinner), but because they list so many of the very basic items that are still on the Village menu, and that still make this such a true regional eating experience. “We serve Essex clams” boasts a menu from 1956. The Village still serves Essex clams, fried to golden perfection. For dessert, you can have a dish of baked Indian pudding, Grape-Nuts custard, or strawberry shortcake on an old-fashioned biscuit.

Nowadays, the menu is HUGE, with something for everyone; and we must confess that there have been occasions, after long days of eating fried clams up and down Cape Ann, we have come to the Village because we needed a sirloin steak or even, on one occasion, vegetarian pasta! But still, it’s local seafood that stars on these tables, simply fried or broiled, or in more deluxe configurations such as haddock Rockefeller. Lobsters are available boiled, fried, or as a luscious lobster pie, baked in a casserole dish with seasoned breadcrumbs.

Among desserts, we do recommend the Indian pudding, a true Yankee dessert. It is grainy with a powerful molasses kick, and it is served piping-hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting on top. A bit fancier, but true to local character, is blueberry bread pudding, made of cornmeal and molasses bread and set afloat in a pool of sweet rum sauce.

Scorecard

Overall: Legendary - Worth driving from anyplace

Lobster Pie	Indian pudding
lobster	Clam Chowder
clams

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"Each onion ring is a nearly perfect circle. The crust crunches, the inside is soft and sweet."
Michael Stern

"A nice place to dine, part of Essex since 1956."
Michael Stern

"It is rare to find fried clams this good served on a china plate. There are utensils, too, but fried clams are finger food!"
Michael Stern