Ask a local

     I've discovered in my travels that those slick booklets in the hotel rooms advertising area eateries aren't always the best way to find a good place to eat.  More often than not the places listed are only there because they have paid for the advertising space and their inclusion on the page has little to do with the quality of their food.  What I have learned to do is to ask a local about a good place to eat.  Word of mouth is always the best indicator.  And a full parking lot verifies their wisdom.

     So with that in mind I asked the person behind the counter at my lodging where I could find an authentic Yankee meal.  She promptly pulled out a map of the area and drew me a direct route to Anthony's.  I later discovered that apparently so many people ask that they had printed the directions on a pink sheet of paper that was on the desk of every room.

 

     Anthony's began in 1956 as a fish market.  Then somewhere down the line the management decided to cook some of the seafood they sold and added a small dining area to their original store.  It is a typical understated New England establishment as the photograph below indicates.  But the food is anything but understated.

 

     So for my first night in The Ocean State I went all out and began with a cup of the clear, briny Rhode Island Clam Chowder and then made my way through the massive Mega Shore Dinner.  That included the long neck steamers, mussels, chourico, corn on the cob, boiled potatoes, onions and a whole steamed lobster, along with clam broth and melted butter on the side. 

 

     It was a daunting task, but I managed to down every last delicious morsel and was barely able to waddle out of the place to my waiting vehicle.