Roadfood_ Revised Edition - Jane Stern [26]
Beyond the signature beef, Kelly’s menu is mostly beach cuisine: fried clams, lobster rolls, scallops, shrimp and, of course, French fries and onion rings.
Marty’s Donut Land
8 Central St.
978–356–4580
Ipswich, MA
B | $
Marty’s makes big, hefty donuts. They include the honey dew, which is a simple raised, glazed sinker with a substantial sweet cake texture that is perfect for dunking, as well as a honey dipped, which is an airy raised round of which we can easily eat half a dozen with a few cups of coffee. Chocolate-frosted donuts are weighty with a crunchy exterior, and there are jelly-filled and powdered and coconut-spangled donuts, too. Many regular customers come for big goopy coffee rolls.
A simple storefront with scarcely any decoration other than a wonderful oil portrait of Marty hanging on the back wall, Marty’s has a counter where take-out dozens are sold and where customers sit and converse. And there are counter seats in the front window that afford a view of passing traffic on Route 133. It is a true local hangout; one Cape Ann native told us that when he or his friends go on a ski trip, they stop by Marty’s long before the doors officially open to get boxes of hot donuts to go. Although the donuts are ready—and especially delicious while still hot!—the counter gals haven’t yet arrived, so the boys help themselves to what they need and leave their money on the counter. (Not a recommended strategy for out-of-towners!)
At the register after a satisfying Marty’s breakfast, we asked the cashier if she had a business card she could give us with the address, phone number, etc., of the establishment for our records. “This is Marty’s, hon’,” she informed us. “We don’t do business cards.”
Nick’s Famous Roast Beef
139 Dodge St.
978–922–9075
North Beverly, MA
LD | $
Roast beef is huge north of Boston. You can hardly drive a mile without passing a restaurant that advertises beef sandwiches. Some are chains, many are mediocre. Nick’s, where the motto is “We’re the Only One,” is in the top tier of excellence.
Like all the local roast beef houses, it is a self-service joint where you place your order and wait for your number to be called, then carry your own tray to a table somewhere in the small strip-mall storefront eatery. The choices include a large beef sandwich, a junior beef sandwich, and a super beef sandwich on an onion roll. (There are also many other kinds of sandwiches available.) Super beef is the one we recommend. It is a well-stacked pile of moist, tender, full-flavored pink beef inside a giant rectangular roll that is egg-yellow and studded with squiggles of onion. Many condiments and add-ins are available, including horseradish, cheese, mayo, and mustard, but the people’s choice is barbecue sauce, which has a spicy sweetness that makes it beef’s good companion. And speaking of companions, you definitely want onion rings! Nick’s onion rings are beautiful—golden brown and wickedly crunchy—requiring only a hail of salt to attain perfection.
Decoration at Nick’s consists of hundreds of snapshots taken of roast beef fans all over America and the world that show them standing in front of famous places holding up a Nick’s Beef bumper sticker.
Santarpio’s
111 Chelsea St.
617–567–9871
Boston, MA
LD | $$
Many Bostonians consider Santarpio’s the city’s premier pizza place. Arriving on battered metal trays carried by a staff of take-no-prisoners waitresses (who are as efficient as they are brusque), this kitchen’s thin-crusted pies are a joy to eat. The outer rim of the pizza is a balance of bready crunch and chew, featuring an occasional blistered-black spot from the oven, and while the inside of the circle