Eat
Thanks to the presence of the Montserrat College of Art, downtown Beverly has a funky, college-town feel, and its eateries reflect that — there are several ethnic restaurants, a raw food dining spot, and the requisite coffeehouse. Most are clustered along Beverly’s two main drags, Cabot and Rantoul streets. Craving sushi? City folks are pleasantly surprised by the level of fare at Kame Restaurant (250 Cabot St., 978-922-9333, www.kamerestaurant.com, $6.50 and up) — not bad for the ’burbs! The “Red Sox maki” is a house specialty. NewcomerPrides Osteria (240 Rantoul St., 978-969-0083,www.pridesosteria.com, dinner only, pasta from $16, entrees from $22) is winning fans drawn by farm-to-table fine dining, Italian-style. Delectable handmade pastas (try the gnocchi with clams) share the menu with an array of antipasti, artisan cheeses, and secondi piatti featuring grass-fed beef and local seafood. Raw food enthusiasts find slim pickings in many cities, but they strike gold in Beverly: Organic Garden Cafe (294 Cabot St., 978-922-0004, www.organicgardencafe.com, bowls from $10.95), open all day, is a garden of (organic, vegan) earthly delights that include tasty smoothies and customizable bowls (you add extra toppings). The Thai spice bowl is terrific. If your idea of edible awesomeness is eggs, bacon, and Belgian waffles the size of your head, proceed to North Beverly, home of the popular Depot Diner (23 Enon St., 978-922-6200,www.depot-diner.com, from $4.99), where breakfast is served all day. The baked peach oatmeal ($5.29) is healthful and decadent, and — hash lover alert! — they make their own corned beef hash. Portions are so huge that you’ll probably leave with a doggie bag (or you’ll skip your next meal). It’s all about dogs (and burgers) at The Scotty Dog (437 Rantoul St., 978-969-3487, www.thescottydog.com, from $3) a retro snack shack with carhop service. The Chicago Dog is a specialty; it’s a Vienna Beef dog topped with a pickle spear, peppers, relish, tomatoes, onions, yellow mustard, and a dash of celery salt on a steamed poppy seed bun.
During the Day
With the recent closing of a longtime local retailer, the downtown retail scene is in transition mode as Beverly’s Main Streets program works to attract specialty shops to Cabot and Rantoul streets. For now, there’s fun sleuthing at an array of consignment stores with student-friendly prices. While downtown, be sure to pop into one of the four galleries at the Montserrat College of Art, say, the Montserrat Gallery (23 Essex St., 978-921-4242, www.montserrat.edu ). Inspired? Get your art on at Wicked Art Bar (95 Rantoul St., 978-998-4221,www.wickedartbar.com), a paint-and-sip studio headquartered in an old mill building. As summer days melt into fall, it’s a perfect time to wander the trails of Long Hill (572 Essex St., 978-921-1944, www.thetrustees.org, free), a 114-acre country estate with formal gardens and woodland walking paths. A 1.2-mile loop trail winds through the woods, past vernal pools and massive boulders. Along the Atlantic coast, 16-acre Lynch Park (55 Ober St., 978-921-6067, www.bevrec.com), the site of Taft’s summer White House, functions as Beverly’s backyard. Its maze-like gardens draw bridal parties posing for pictures and hide-and-seek-playing toddlers alike. Presiding over the property, between the rose garden and the seawall, is a statue called “The Falconer,” inspired by the original 1872 piece by George Blackall Simonds in New York’s Central Park. Beverly Farms has a nice stretch of sand, West Beach (978-922-2934, www.beverlyfarms.org) that’s excellent for a beach walk, and it’s open to the public now that the summer season is over. Set inside a train station,Prides Crossing Confections (590 Hale St., 978-927-2185, www.pridescrossingconfections.com) is a dandy place to pick up an edible souvenir; owner and chocolatier Chris Flynn makes the chocolates onsite in this small space, including his best-selling turtles. (Note the benches in front of the building, labeled “Republicans” and “Democrats.”)
At Night
Beverly’s historic Cabot Street Theater still stands, but the curtain has closed on its long-running magic show and movie series, sad to say. On a brighter note, the North Shore Music Theater (62 Dunham Road, 978-232-7200, www.nsmt.org,ticket prices vary) is alive and well, and this delightful theater-in-the-round pulls in award-winning Broadway shows like “Grease,” “Chicago,” and “Les Miserables,” plus a children’s theater series. The NSMT’s production of “A Christmas Carol” has become a North Shore tradition. If you’re looking for a perfectly blended cocktail, stake out a spot at the aptly named Barrel House (252 Cabot St., 978-998-4627,www.barrelhousebeverly.com), where brown spirits rule. Can’t decide what to order? The Whiskey Smash was just named “best cocktail” by Northshore magazine. Named one of the “Top 150 Jazz Rooms in the World” by Downbeat magazine, Chianti Tuscan Restaurant and Jazz Lounge (285 Cabot St., 978-921-2233, www.chiantibeverly.com) hosts live music nightly — Toni Lynn Washington and her band played recently — and there’s no cover charge.
Beverly is 25 miles northeast of Boston. For information, visit www.northofboston.org.
