Aunt Carrie's

Posted By Michael Stern on May 25, 2007 3:36 AM

Aunt Carrie's, at Point Judith on the ocean, has been a summertime destination since the 1920s. It remains one of the few places in Rhode Island that still lists a full shore dinner on its menu. It starts with chowder (your choice of white, red, or Rhode Island-style, which is clear and bacon-flavored). That's accompanied by crusty-gold balls of deep-fried clam-flavored dough called clam cakes as well as steamers with broth and butter for dipping. Then come filet of sole with corn on the cob and French fries, accompanied by homemade bread and butter. After that you get a whole lobster and finally warm Indian pudding topped with ice cream or a slice of pie. Abbreviated versions of the big feed are available (without the lobster, or without the fish); or you can order à la carte and get whatever combination of chowder, clam cakes, fish, or lobster you like.

We very much enjoyed our shore dinners on occasions when we visited last summer, but weren't happy with the other eat-in-the-rough shoreline fare we tried. Fried clams were thick and drab; and the tired meat in the lobster roll was a sorry contrast to the fresh meat we picked from the whole lobster in the shore dinner. Desserts, however, were as good as ever: swell sweet/tart rhubarb pie, seriously good Indian pudding and, at the very end of the summer, pumpkin pie. We missed visiting during strawberry season, when Aunt Carrie's traditionally offers Yankee strawberry shortcake.

Rhubarb Pie

Lobster

Indian Pudding

Shore Dinner

Steamers

chowder

Clam Cakes

fried clams