The Old Spot

Hi Everyone,

 Kicking back on the Salem Trolley Tour

I'm back to the blog again as spring comes to Salem.  Last week was taken up by organizing and participating in what is known in the travel industry as a "fam", or familiarization, tour for meeting planners to acquaint them with out lovely little city and its amenities that can accommodate conferences, reunions, weddings.  We took the Salem Trolley tour, went through the House of the Seven Gables,  visited the Witch Museum, as well as sampled really tasty food at Finz and Rockafellas.  What struck me most about both the interactions between the visiting meeting planners and the vendors from different businesses in Salem was how unified Salem is as a community.  Salem was presented as a diverse, interesting, cultured, and a really friendly place to visit.  It made me want to live here.  Oh, wait a minute...I do live here.  I knew there was a reason. 

Which brings me to my next blogging topic, one of my favorite spots to meet friends for a pint.

According to the Old Spot, I am "local colour", which is, to quote the owner, actually fancy talk for a regular.  Located at 121 Essex Street, across from the Hawthorne Hotel, the Old Spot is an English pub with many beers to uphold that assignation.

And it looks and feels like an English pub: low benches with cushions and pillows surround low tables where people gather in groups for a pint and a meal.  There is a fireplace and...only ONE TV!!!  (Yay!)  The wood is dark; so are many of the beers.  They serve Guinness, shandies, black and tans.  (Shandies are beer mixed with lemonade- eww, and black and tans are a stout mixed with a lighter lager.  Black and tans are named after a paramilitary group sent into Ireland in the 20's from England to suppress the Irish.  The Irish don't like the name for this drink).

The food is a mixture of pub fare with more modern and upscale food.  You can order a traditional Cornish pasty- beef, carrots, potatoes, onions, and gravy inside a crust of flaky pastry, or something as nouveau cuisine as their mushroom salad: sautéed portobello, crimini, and button mushrooms, over arugula, with truffle vinaigrette and shaved parmesan.  Traditional English fish and chips or grilled salmon.  I have yet to try the desserts, but there is one I don't even have the courage to ask about- the spotted dick.

Which brings us to the name of the pub.  The Old Spot is the name of the oldest pedigree of spotted pig in the world, from Gloucestershire, England.  We like pigs in Salem- soon I will tell you about In a Pig's Eye, another local favorite bar/restaurant.  And as an aside, my own person artistic path seems to be taking a detour into Piggy Land for some reason; my sketches of pigs have become like a personal diary.  Let me know if you like them and I will publish more as I do them.

Piggies Flirting at the Salem Diner

Piggy Family Camping

  

Comedy at In a Pig's Eye

In a Pig's Eye is a great bar, with a very loyal local following.  With a warm, pubby atmosphere, it is a great place to come after walking along the harbor on a foggy spring night.  And to catch some comedy at the same time?  It doesn't get much better.

 On the last two Sundays in April (18th and 25th)

In a Pig's Eye Restaurant 

148 Derby Street

presents

"April's Fools"

A Three-Piece Suite of Comedy/Drama

Featuring Anne O'Neill, Lauren Ashly Suchecki,  Jim Robinson and Georgette Beck

with Eric Reardon on Guitar

Doors open at 7:00

Show starts at 7:30

Tickets $10.00 

Purchase at the Pig's Eye or call 978-741-4436

The Gulu-Gulu Cafe- Salem Goes Funky

 The patio outside the Gulu-Gulu Cafe

The Gulu-Gulu Cafe (which means Glug-Glug, the drinking sound, in French) is situated on the pretty little park that is home to the Bewitched statue.  The owners met each other in a cafe in Prague with the same name and have done a great job replicating a European flavor here in honor of the cafe where they also celebrated their wedding.

When the weather is fine, (soon to come, we hope), nothing beats sitting outside in Gulu-Gulu's patio seating and drinking a beer from their extraordinary beer menu.  Except, perhaps, indulging in a healthy but delicious panini sandwich as well.

When the weather ain't so good, being inside the Gulu-Gulu ain't so bad.  It is a gathering place for artists, musicians, and other People of Mixed Funkiness and Creativity.  The space is open and big, but the warm wooden trim and cushy sofas make it feel cozy nonetheless. The art on the wall is for sale (and some if it is really, really good).

Apoidea by Glenn Church, for sale at the Gulu-Gulu Cafe

There is also music and movies to be had.  Live music, open mic nights, and old movie nights are scheduled every week with other spicy goodies thrown in- March is Marchstache Month, so grow those handlebars and get ready to compete, or come to the end-of-the-month LGBT Teadance.

So all this is great fun, but let's not forget about the food and the staff.  The menu consists of light meals such as crepes, sandwiches, and salads.  The Gulu-Gulu does its best to buy locally so everything is as fresh as possible, and every meal I've had there has been good.  I thought I'd died and gone to dessert heaven when I had the chocolate mousse cake the last time I was there.  But be prepared to wait; in true European fashion, at the Gulu-Gulu eating is considered a social event and it can sometimes take awhile to get your freshly prepared meal.

The staff is as funky and friendly as the surroundings- piercings, tattoos- anything goes.  Makes an artist like yours truly feel plenty welcome.

The Salem Diner- the Real Thing

The Salem Diner has occupied its corner at 326 Canal Street since 1941, and is still going strong.  If you want to "step back in time"- a phrase often associated with Salem's many historic attractions, the Salem Diner is the place to do it- without a theater, without a ticket, without a tour guide. 

The Salem Diner is a Sterling Streamliner built by the J.B. Judkins Company of Merrimack Mass, and is only one of two remaining.  The Sterling Streamliners were a line of customized, factory-built, “modernistic” diners manufactured in the 1930s and early 1940s. It is a favorite of locals as well as college students (Salem State is directly across the street).

Having eaten many omelets there, I can attest that the food and coffee are great.  The waitresses are laid-back, friendly, and very accommodating. The coffee comes in thick white mugs and the food is delicious- when I returned to research this blog post, my eggs were done perfectly,  the home fries crispy on the outside and creamy inside and my coffee mug was refilled with good black coffee.

They also serve lunch- BLTs, tuna sandwiches, as well as daily specials such as Yankee pot roast  and spinach pie.

Directions from the Salem Inn: go left on Summer Street when you leave the Inn.  Take your first left, and you will come to a major intersection.  Take the second quick right and follow the signs for 1A south.  After you pass the orange brick buildings of Salem State on your left, The Salem Diner will be on your right, turned sideways.

Salem Diner

326 Canal Street

Salem, MA

978-471-7918

Open daily 6-3

Sunday 7-2