J.T. Farnham's Fried Clams and a Day at the Beach

Another year, another last-minute realization that the time when dogs are allowed at Crane Beach was coming to an end! Since we had such a great time the last two years, we schedule a trip and hoped that it wouldn't be TOO cold or windy. Somehow we lucked out with blue skies and temps in the 30's, which was practically a heat wave given the winter we've had!

Nick the dog whisperer

The Naumkeag Ordinary - a Trip to Salem, Massachusetts

When you see friends' dreams come true, it is always something exciting.  This is definitely the case when it comes to Naumkeag Ordinary. After working as the GM at CoDa for a number of years, our friend Matt Brady and chef Dan Bitler took their culinary skills to Salem to open their own restaurant, which as most of you know is no easy task!  After a couple of months renovating the space of a former Polish restaurant, Matt and Dan opened Naumkeag Ordinary, which specializes in local cuisine and seasonal influences.  The bar has a rotation of beers on tap that can change daily depending on what the locals favor.  One beer was gone within the day after word got out that Naumkeag had it on tap!

Deviled Eggs

To give some context behind the restaurant's name: "Naumkeag" is the name of the native American tribe that originally lived in Salem and the name that was originally used for the town, and an "Ordinary" is a colonial term for a tavern.  The name harkens back to the history that Salem is so famous for (when you're there, you can see some cool historical photographs, including those of a baseball team with "Naumkeag" across their uniforms!)

Apple Picking at Smolak Farms

For some reason, this fall I have been on an apple picking mission.  I haven't been on a true apple picking trip since elementary school, and I decided that this was my year to change that.  Given Nick's attachment to Smolak Farms and the two amazing Whim Dinners we have been to, we figured it was time to see the farm during its peak apple picking season.

Eating while picking :)

We arrived at Smolak Farms at around 10:30AM and while the Farm was crowded, there's plenty of room to spread out, so it never seemed too bad.  Shortly after parking, we walked directly to the Antique Orchard that had many varieties of apples not generally sold in stores.  It was about $5 more for a peck bag than the standard Macintosh/Cortland orchard, but it was so fun to get to taste so many apples!  In addition to Macs and Cortlands, the Antique Orchard featured varieties like Pink Ladies, Northern Spy, Winter Banana (which actually taste a bit like banana!), Smokehouse and Sheepnose.