Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Exploring Salem, Massachusetts

On Sunday, my parents, Z and I took advantage of the beautiful, almost-Fall day by walking around Salem, Mass. My mother has always expressed interest in visiting some of the museums there, so we visited three on our "field trip."

Witch House.

Salem Witch Museum.

The House of Seven Gables.

Each of the museums were extremely interesting - especially The House of Seven Gables. Admission to each was, on average, about $10, and well worth the money. It was so interesting to be reminded of the witch trials' era, as well as to see how people lived back in the 1600 and 1700's.

It also didn't hurt that Salem is a beautiful waterfront town, and is easily enjoyed on a clear, sunny day like Sunday was.


After all of that walking around, we were famished, and stumbled upon Victoria Station. A few of the restaurants we checked out had few impressive vegetarian options, but Victoria Station had quite a few that stood out, so we went inside and were seated right away. 


To start, I ordered a Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale


We split several appetizers amongst the table, including the Wharf Rat Ale Battered Artichoke Hearts ($8.29), which were served with a tangy bistro sauce... 


...As well as the Beet Goat Cheese Stack ($7.59), which was served on a bed of field greens and lightly dressed with a citrus vinaigrette. 


The fried artichokes were plump, juicy and perfectly crispy - and made for a perfect pairing with the slightly spicy sauce. The beet and goat cheese salad was simple yet obviously fresh and generous on the portion size. 

For my meal, I ordered the Eggplant Parmesan Burger ($8.99), which, at first glance, looked like nothing put a slab of eggplant lasagna inside a hamburger bun.


Surprisingly, though, this sandwich worked - the thin layers of breaded eggplant and ricotta cheese were easy to bite into, and tasted delicious with the buttery roll and crispy French fries. My only warning: This is one filling dish. I ended up eating half, and taking the rest home for lunch the next day. 

It was so wonderful to bask in the beautiful day, learn about some local history and enjoy a delicious meal. It was a very relaxing day trip, and was a welcome break from painting and furniture shopping for the new house.

How did you enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend?

Victoria Station on Urbanspoon

6 comments:

  1. Michelle - thanks for the tip on Salem! We have friends coming in October and I wanted to take them out there for the day, and you've basically planned our entire visit for us. Very considerate.

    We started Sunday with brunch at Gaslight (scattered service, great food) then took a long walk back through Piers Park which was lovely, up the Golden Stairs to Brophy Park and then walked back to the South End.

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  2. I can't believe we were there just a day apart. We went to the Salem Witch Museum and were thinking about checking out The House of Seven Gables, but we ran out of time. That eggplant burger looks fabulous to me!

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  3. I spent Saturday in Amherst and Sunday at Smolak Farms. It was a beautiful weekend!

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  4. Megan - So funny we were there the same weekend!

    Michelle - I love Smolak Farms! One of my co-workers brought in their cider doughnuts the other day, and I almost died. They're crazy delicious!

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  5. I love going to Salem! I went to college in Beverly so we used to visit Salem all the time. Well, the 24 hour Dunks and Wendy's mostly. ;-)

    Michelle - I loved visiting Smolak farms! My husband loved their solar panel array.

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  6. love Salem! sounds like a perfect day!

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