Since 1971, from approximately May through October, The Place in Guilford, CT has been grilling seriously good local seafood, over a massive, 18ft long, central open fire pit.
The restaurant is entirely outdoors with one section tented, and the dining situation is entirely unique. You will be crushing clam shells underneath your feet most places you walk; your seat will be a tree stump surrounding one of their iconic red tables, and it’s not only BYOB, with no corkage fee, but you also bring your own salads and appetizers and charcuterie (and they also still take checks). Typically, you will see a table of 4-5 people with two packed coolers, one for drinks and the other for salads/salumi, and it’s not uncommon to see tables of random people sharing sides, recipes and stories.
Everything on the menu is delicious, and I recommend bringing at least a group of 4 so you can taste through as much as possible. That said, there are three must order dishes at The Place, you will see them on virtually every table, and as soon as you taste any one of them, you realize very quickly why The Place has been this popular for this long.
Roasted corn — I’m not sure whether it’s the butter, the grill, or a cooking time so perfect, that the very top of each kernel has just that little bit of char on it, but either which way, it’s a truly memorable corn experience, and the later in the season, the better it gets.
Roasted lobster –– The people working the grill are so dialed in with their cook times that it’s possible you’ve never had a lobster this good before. The combination of perfect texture and smoky flavor imparted from the grill is simply unmatched by any other grilled lobster I’ve ever had. Simply boiled lobsters that are not finished on the grill are also available, but I’m confident our regular readers know better than to do that unless you are with a big group and want to compare/contrast the different preparations.
Clam Special — Local Littleneck clams cooked directly on the grill and once opened, topped with a dab of cocktail sauce/butter mixture left to cook just long enough for the piping hot sauce to stick to the clam so it doesn’t slip off as you pull it out of the shell. They also have plain grilled clams, but for me, the only reason to order those is to have something to eat while you wait for the sauce on the special to cool down, I recommend at least 30 seconds.
Other notable dishes are the fantastic steamer clams, the local, simply grilled bluefish, and you will see piles of the peel and eat shrimp on most tables as well. They also have desserts, with the cheesecake and key lime mousse being my favorites, but many customers bring their own from their favorite local spots as well.
If you enjoy pairing wine with seafood, this is one of the best places to do it. The freshness of the ingredients combined with simple preparation techniques and the perfect touch of smoke and char from the grill that hits everything on the menu, lays a foundation for proper sparkling and white wines to show off their best qualities. So bust out that high end champagne from the cellar, bring that gift bottle you aren’t sure when to open, or stop at a wine shop along the way and splurge for a white burgundy or high-end Chablis to drink with the grilled lobster, clams and steamers. You will not regret it.