Ice House

Wow! Try the onion nuggets – light and crispy with a soft heart! This is where I come to get my onion fix. Located a stone’s throw from Wentworth by the Sea, this local eatery is now in its 31st year under the continued ownership of Cathy and Keith Malinow.The casual, bright interior has lacquered wood tables and booths with pine walls. A mounted antique ice saw provides a historical reference. The license plates that line the rafters will provide light reading while you wait. In all the years I have eaten there the quick service has always been super friendly. Often it’s a family member serving you.I, of course, had the onion nuggets plus a clam roll with an old-fashioned Boylan black cherry soda. My partner had the BLT burger and a Coke. The clams were lightly fried, fresh and tender. The burger was fat with bacon, tomato and lettuce. Dessert was ice cream, although the homemade strawberry rhubarb crisp and blueberry pie were a tease. Ice cream flavors run rampart. Our final decisions were Almond Joy and Oreo cookie.Everything is made in-house except for the wicked good ice cream shipped from a Massachusetts dairy. Chowders are popular items and so is the chili. Besides the nuggets, there are cheese fries, French fries, sweet potato fries, spicy fries and hand-cut onion rings plus sides of zucchini sticks, potato skins, Mexican skins with chili and cheese and house-pickled beets. The chowder family includes fish, seafood, corn and scallop and clam. Or go light with a fresh salad – Caesar, garden, chef or baby spinach.If you’d like to picnic at one of the tables under the big trees or on the grass in the back, choose take-out or just ice cream from the ice cream stand attached to the restaurant. Besides cones and cups, there are outrageous sundaes like the Kitchen Sink or Double Jeopardy. – Frisky M. Stal