I can't wrap my head around the fact that this coming weekend is Labor Day weekend. Where did summer go? I don't know about you, but I am trying to squeeze in as much time outdoors, on the water and at the beach as I possibly can before that famous New England fall weather starts blowing in.
In the spirit of savoring summer, last weekend I drove up to Rye, NH with one of my BFFs for a girls only beach day.
When we first graduated from college and moved to Boston, every time we wanted to go to the beach, we went to Good Harbor in Gloucester, MA. We had a whole routine - we met at the same time every Saturday, parked on the same secret street (where you didn't need a resident sticker) and set up our compound in the identical spot. About two years ago when the aforementioned BFF became an avid surfer, we traded Good Harbor for Jenness State Park in Rye.
After our glorious, relaxing beach day we decided to try a new place for dinner on our way out of town. Normally we have burritos at The Secret Spot in Hampton, NH, but we decide to change it up and try a place called The Beach Plum.
The Beach Plum is directly across the street from the entrance and parking lot for North Hampton Beach. The place is packed every single day of the week.
The night we went, this is what the line looked like:
After placing our orders we nabbed a table in the outdoor seating area. Though it was crowded, there were still plenty of open spots.
My bestie ordered the tuna roll. It came in a cardboard serving tray with a side of potato chips and two plastic forks for the tuna carnage that would surely occur as she attempted to bite into that giant sub.
After a few bites, I asked what she thought and she replied, "They definitely did not need to use two full cans of tuna. I wish there had been some garnish - lettuce, tomato, a pickle - I really would have loved a pickle. I did appreciate that the sandwich bread was buttered and toasted though."
The Beach Plum has a surprising number of vegetarian options and I went with the veggie wrap. At the counter the young man taking my order asked if I wanted all of the veggies, to which I said, "yes." He then offered either a white or a wheat wrap; I went with wheat. Unlike my dinner date, whose meal came in a cardboard box, mine came in a plastic to-go container.
The wrap was packed with lettuce, tomato, onion, green peppers, pickles and a generous squeeze of ranch salad dressing. I only wished the wrap also had some cheese.
The classic potato chips that came with both of our sandwiches were a perfect post-beach snack.
Once we had tackled our sandwiches, we were ready to move onto ice cream. The Beach Plum has these hilarious lobster sculptures on either side of the counter. The whole time we were there, people were taking pictures with the lobsters.
We both decided to order frappes so we could take them in the car. Though the ice cream cones looked fantastic, we weren't in the mood to clean up all that mess.
My friend went with a purist approach - a coffee ice cream frappe. It came in a seagull dotted styrofoam cup.
After much deliberation, I picked the coffee Kahlua brownie flavor for my frappe. It was heavenly. In fact, if I close my eyes and concentrate, I can still taste it.
Even though the straws we got for our frappes were wide, I still had a full layer of brownie bites coating the bottom of my cup. No complaining here! I fished them out one by one with giddy satisfaction.
The highlight of our trip to The Beach Plum was definitely the ice cream. Their cones, sundaes and frappes are all super decadent. Though the food is lackluster, it's absolutely worth stopping for a frozen treat on your way out of town.
What could be better than the windows down, the breeze in your hair, the sun on your face and an ice cold frappe?
