One of the most common uses of those huge, painfully expensive to run powerboats
is to stay at the dock and drink
and eat on the transom at back,
enjoying the salt air while the passing peasants gawk. Admiring the view of Wakefield's Salt Pond
Marina, it occurred to me that I was doing even better while gazing through the windows at Hanson's Landing restaurant and reaching for more calamari. The breeze through the screen was even strained of mosquitoes. All that
was missing was the pretentiousness, and for that I could always lift a pinky.

The place is popular enough to not take reservations during the summer, even during the week, when we arrived with Left Coast émigrés eager for seafood the way they remembered it. For our estimated 30-minute hiatus, the hostess suggested that we wait on the downstairs open deck, where drinks and burgers and appetizers are served daily, from noon to 4 p.m. and during the restaurant's evening hours, but where I'd have to keep checking back to see if a table was ready. (Will someone please sell these folks a PA system?)

Fortunately, the upstairs bar provided a sweeping view of the water and was quieter, since there's a band on the deck Wednesday through Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon. As a little bonus over our extra half-hour of conversation, I discovered a summer drink that instantly became my new favorite -- a Dark & Stormy (dark rum and ginger beer). Who says that being idle is unproductive?

It was worth the wait to get our window seats, although the place is small enough to offer a view of wheeling gulls and bobbing boats
at every spot. Come nightfall, I'd guess that the shaded oil lamps and the copper-sheathed tables would make for a cozy atmosphere. Our waitress, Stephanie, immediately impressed us by rattling off, with descriptions, the numerous wines by the glass, which are detailed on a list that was in short supply at the moment. (At the risk of prompting well-meaning brochures in my mail, let me recommend the pleasantly low-priced [$4.50] Basa sauvignon blanc, for its refreshing melon note and crispness.)

One of the things that attracted me to the restaurant was a signature appetizer they bill as their lobster "cheesecake" ($7.95). The wedge has three cheeses, plenty of lobster meat, and does a nice textural contrast between the crusty pan-side layer and the oozy contents. It's scrumptious and doesn't overpower its active ingredient if you don't fork up too much cheese (Gouda, cream cheese and Parmesan) at the same time.

One of the former New Englanders at the table was raised in Vermont, so he requested the "RI Calamari" ($6.95). I hardly ever order squid that way because, well, life offers Fudge Ripple and even Rocky Road as well as plain vanilla. But the Hanson's Landing rendition was certainly worthwhile, with tender, greaseless rings and cocktail sauce on the side.

The main events were at least as successful as the preliminaries. There are several cod dishes, and the fish & chips ($9.95) version contained a half-pound, lightly battered and not overcooked. Johnnie had the Block Island Fisherman's Stew ($16.95), which, as well as cod, contained mussels and clams, in-shell, plus shrimp and scallops in a tomato broth that put our basket of squishy-soft herbed French bread to good use.

I went for the marinated tuna ($15.95), lured by the menu's bragging of how Bon Appetit requested the recipe. The 10-ounce steak had been absorbing sesame oil, soy sauce, and garlic before being char-broiled. I didn't get it "near rare" as I've learned to request it to get it medium, but the marinade was so tangy that even the dry edges and oily dark sections of the tuna were delicious.

Hanson's has steaks and chicken, but when you come to this place, you're talking seafood. Numerous choices are served over pasta, including a new item on the menu, the "Portuguese-style" mussels and clams ($12.95) chosen by our Vermonter. The linguini was nicely al dente, he reported, and I could see that the chorizo was plentiful, swimming with the shellfish in garlicked-up clam broth and white wine.

Desserts aren't made here. Priced from $3.95 to $5.95, they range from Key lime pie through cheesecake to a mega-chocolate cake. All of us had been filled up nicely, so nobody could manage
indulging. Maybe next time. Chef Ellen Boyle, who opened the place six years ago, and her brother,
Mat, who joined her in the kitchen more recently, had taken us on a satisfying little seafood-faring excursion. They wouldn't likely steer us wrong afterwards.

Bill Rodriguez can be reached at billrod@reporters.net.

Issue Date: August 9 - 15, 2002