Last week, I posted Boys Week – Part One, reporting on Girls Weekend and our voyage to Plymouth and Salem. Today, I’ll wrap up that trip, writing about our first visit to Quincy Bay Marina and finishing up back in Plymouth on a perfect autumn day.
Originally, I was planning on titling this Boys Week – Part Two, but when I looked back on the end of Boys Week, I realized that the most interesting thing we did was to tour both new and old favorite restaurants.
Marina Bay Quincy
Despite decades of cruising the southeast coast, I have never been to Marina Bay in Quincy. It’s a great alternative to Boston with much more of a seaside resort feel.
Despite another day of Small Craft Warnings, the 40-mile run from Salem to Quincy was very smooth.
Much like Hingham, it’s a long run from the open waters in Massachusetts Bay to get to Marina Bay.
It was about five miles through a very well-marked deep channel until you were almost on top of the marina. The final quarter mile is through a tight but well marked channel.
It’s a huge Marina surrounded by restaurants on the water with condos and townhouses behind them.
Beyond the U-shaped restaurant boardwalk are more townhouses. There are no shops to speak of in Marina Bay.
Eating and drinking is clearly the #1 mission in Marina Bay.
Yelp Fail
As you may know, when I arrive at a new port for the first time, I check the Maps View on Yelp to get my first pass at the best restaurants. When I did this for Marina Bay, the five restaurants on the boardwalk had lousy ratings – 3 to 3.5 out of 5.
I’ve been using Yelp long enough to know that more goes into their ratings than just food quality, but as a general rule, I never eat at a three-star, and I’m highly skeptical about three-and-a-half stars.
We started by walking the entire boardwalk, looking for clues that might steer us to the best venue for lunch. Being a cool Wednesday in September, most restaurants were empty.
Peter spotted a horseshoe bar with empty seats on the corner at Victory Pounr, and that’s where we ate.
Victory Point
Despite it being a quiet Wednesday, they had a few specials, and Peter went for the Meatball Sub,
It was huge! Peter skipped the great-looking roll and ate just the meatballs smothered in marinara and mozzarella. By the way, fries and other sides were an option, but Peter opted for chips.
Rudy went classic with Linguini and Clams.
It had a terrific broth. If I had been thinking, I would have grabbed a hunk of Peter’s uneaten roll and begged Rudy for a dunk.
I went for the Wings with Buffalo sauce on the side (for dipping.)
You may have noticed that one of us has ordered wings at almost every meal. We do a lot of meal-sharing and swapping, and wings are an excellent commodity for swappage!
These were among the best wings I’ve ever had. We compared notes the dishes we’d enjoyed at 4 and 4 1/2 star restaurants in Plymouth and Salem and agreed Victory Street was just as good.
Quiet Afternoon
We returned to Amazing Grace and played some music for the few boaters out on that beautiful afternoon.
This may well have been the worst weather for boating on the South Coast in my lifetime, but as far as September’s go, this was simply a splendid day to be on the water.
We were on the outer dock, which gave us an excellent view of the action in and out of the marina.
Siros Restaurant
Looking for a culinary change of pace, I suggested we go Italian, and the crew concurred. And with 3 1/2 stars on the deflated Yelp scale, Siros was the highest-rated restaurant in Marina Bay.
I wanted one glass of a big Cab, but there was none on the wine list, so I decided to treat the crew (and myself) to a bottle of my favorite Cabernet Sauvignon – Silver Oak.
Every now and then, the description of an item on a menu is so interesting it actually draws you into dining there. We all saw the Crispy Short Rib and got that very reaction!
cornmeal crusted boneless short rib, crispy wonton strings, korean-style bbq sauce
Fortunately, it came in three pieces, so we each got one. It’s totally delectable and the only reason one needs to visit Siros.
Peter got the Chicken Marsala, which offers a perfectly cooked split chicken breast and a mountain of excellently prepared button mushrooms.
lots of mushrooms, over angle hair pasta
Rudy got the pistachio-encrusted Salmon. It was perfectly cooked, beautifully constructed, and plated, and a big portion for $27.
chive risotto, sautéed baby spinach, caper burre blanc
I ordered the Bolognaise, which is a vegetarian dish I’ve only had a few times.
traditional Italian meat sauce, fresh cream, Romano cheese, rigatoni pasta
It too was unique. They had added fresh cream which really made it mouthwatering.
Siros was the best-rated Marina Bay restaurant with a puny 3 1/2 star rating. No way, Jose – this was delicious cooking with a unique spin on every dish! Equally striking were the prices, which were quite reasonable.
As I walked home, it was easy to imagine Marina Bay hopping on a warm summer night with all the open-air bars.
Day Four – Back to Plymouth
My original plan was to start in Marina Bay, then Salem, and end up in Plymouth before heading home on Friday. Due to the rain on Monday, we opted to layover in Plymouth and save our first visit to Marina Bay for a nice day.
I realized Wednesday afternoon that my fuel gauge wasn’t actually measuring the fuel level I had on board – it was calculated based on RPMs and engine load. And the glass fuel tube in the engine room had to be manually reset every time.
This turned out to be a bit of critical information because it meant that the 879 gallons of diesel being reported at the helm was actually only 459 gallons!
Fortunately, Marina Bay is a Safe Harbor marina, and I was able to load 600 gallons of diesel at $3.99/gallon.
Thursday morning was picture-perfect as we ran past Boston before heading south off Minot Light.
I was really looking forward to an order of Burnt Ends at the Surfside Smokehouse, and they did not disappoint!
As you know, we’ve spent a lot of time in Plymouth this season, and someone in our party has ordered burnt ends three or four times. They are incredible, but be warned – this is a large portion. There are four ends in the $23 platter, and the most I’ve been able to eat is two!
We docked with the sky deck facing south, and it was just warm enough to hang out and read all afternoon.
East Bay Grille and OpenTable
East Bay Grille has always been on OpenTable but hasn’t had any tables over the past few years. I gave Peter the assignment of trying to get a reservation, and he started on OpenTable.
He went through every day for the next month, and the only date available was October 18 and only at 5:00!
I said, “Peter, something’s wrong, it’s October, they can’t be sold out for the next month, call them…”
Peter did, and he got us a table at 7:00 without a problem. He told the girl on the phone that OpenTable was showing them sold out for a month, and she said, “Yeah, we’ve been having trouble with OpenTable!”
That said, every time I’ve stopped, they’re packed, but I think you can get a reservation by dialing old-school style!
We were ready for dinner at 6:30, so we headed over and found three seats at the bar.
For some reason, oysters have been hit-or-miss this season, and twice we’ve gotten them, they were too small to even pick up with a fork. So, I asked the bartender about the oysters they were serving.
He said they were just “okay,” not bad, not too small, but not as good as past years. I asked him what people order, and he said “The Shrimp, everyone loves the shrimp.”
So, I cut my oyster order to two and added a shrimp.
The oysters were precisely as described- “okay,” but the shrimp was outstanding. Large, crisp, and still moist.
Overall, it was a very good raw bar appetizer, but what made it great were the accouterments. Beyond the basics – ketchup, horseradish, and lemon, the iced tray included a nice mignonette, oyster crackers and seaweed salad. Simply brilliant!
Peter got the Steak Frites…
char-grilled 7x skirt steak, garlic & herb butter, parmesan truffle fries, broccolini
It was excellent, but my new approach to steak frites is to order them “deconstructed.” As Peter discovered, the fries were soggy from the steamed broccolini.
Rudy loves his fish, so he went with the Seabass.
oven roasted chilean seabass, black berry compote, mushroom risotto, julienne vegetables
It was prepared correctly but unique in the blackberry compote topping.
I gave the $42 Steak Frites serious consideration, but then I spotted the Steaks and Chops section!
This is an excellent list of high-end meats, and the best part is that it’s not all carte. I was torn between the Kurobuta Pork Chop and the Ribeye, but for six more dollars, the 18-ounce wet-aged Ribeye won out.
I added onion rings and the Au Poivre sauce. It was prepared exactly as one would find in a big city steakhouse.
The boys left very happy!
Tropical Storms – Cruising September 2023
Somehow, I managed to spend six days on Amazing Grace in between Hurricane Lee and Tropical Storm Ophelia.
Peter had purchased a cruise at the Mattapoisett Boatyard Fundraiser last October, and we planned to take his siblings to Block Island for lunch, but with Ophelia bearing down on Newport, we canceled the trip and decided to head back to Onset while the getting was good!
By the way, my next post will talk a little more about the sad state of boating in New England this fall.
The Water Street Cafe
Knowing we’d need to be tied up in Onset before the storm came in, we decided to have breakfast in Plymouth around 8:30 and shove off before 10:00.
I’ve walked by The Water Street Cafe dozens of times but never eaten there. It’s the closest restaurant to the marina, so we decided to try it out.
It’s very bright and the staff was very friendly.
They also offer a bustling To-Go counter at the front of the house.
I ordered the American Classic- Eggs Over Easy, Sausage, Home Fries, and Wheat Toast.
It was okay but rather pedestrian. The home fries were actually French Fries cut in the shape of a home fry. The sausage wasn’t great – I’m pretty sure it was Swanson’s Minute Ready store-bought.
Peter fared better with Crunchy French Toast.
Served with 100% pure maple syrup, Texas Toast traditionally done with a crunch! A Water Street favorite! With Bacon, Ham or Sausage – add $2.00
$11.95
The seas remained relatively calm as we made the 40-mile run back to Onset.
As we passed under the Rail Road Bridge, I heard toots and shouts from an East Bay 43 going by. It turned out to be MBY Owner Dave Kaiser in his new boat heading to Provincetown to ride out Ophelia.
He shot a nice photo of Amazing Grace…
Mrs. Horne’s Ryder Cup is scheduled for the second week in September in Bermuda 2024, and Boys Week 2024 is already locked in.