Catch a taste of the local favorite in Gloucester

Gloucester is renowned for its fishing fleet, so it stands to reason that a trip up there wouldn't be complete without a stop for seafood. A meal after a day at the beach should be simple and satisfying. But that doesn't mean you have to eat greasy fried clams from paper plates. Do what the locals do: Get fresh, well-prepared fish -- and some of the biggest portions of pasta this side of an Italian grandmother's dinner table -- at the Causeway Restaurant. Walk into the Causeway's small space, across Route 133 from the Cape Ann Marina, and you might think you've walked into your grandmother's paneled basement rec room -- if your grandmother had a thing for lobster paintings and lobster figurines in chef's whites, that is.

Don't let the '70s-style faux wood on the walls, the fishing-village murals, or the tchotchkes fool you, though -- what comes out of the kitchen is very good. And diners who take one of the seats at the bar can look across a counter into the kitchen, where the cooks dance around each other, tossing pasta and shrimp in skillets, pulling baskets out of the Fryolator, and plating seafood entrees with the grace and precision of a Flying Wallendas routine.

Fish is the star in this kitchen, and no wonder. Owner and chef Peter Zappa was a fisherman on a dragger for five years, and he clearly knows how to treat seafood. The scallops are meltingly tender in the scallop and prosciutto appetizer ($6.95), and the prosciutto is cooked to a perfect crispness. Calamari, which can be tough and rubbery if overcooked, was also beautifully tender in the fried calamari appetizer ($7.95). The batter wasn't quite crisp enough for my taste, but it was light and not at all greasy. The dish comes with tartar sauce, but you can ask for tangy cocktail sauce.

The portions here are huge; an entree can easily provide a second meal, maybe even a third. The shrimp and scallops marinara ($13.95) is served on a (king-size) bed of perfectly al dente linguine, and, as is the custom in Italy, there is just enough sauce to flavor the dish, but not so much that the seafood swims in marinara.

The chicken gorgonzola ($11.95) was a huge plateful of moist chicken breast pieces in a surprisingly light but flavorful gorgonzola sauce served over penne, and again the pasta was perfectly al dente.

The shrimp scampi special with sundried tomatoes and artichokes hearts ($12.95) was a generous portion of shrimp in a refreshingly light wine and lemon sauce, though the sundried tomatoes were not quite soft enough.

The Causeway's serving staff is friendly and efficient, and they know many of their customers by name (or by favorite dish). Be prepared to wait for a table, though: There's always a crowd of locals on the benches outside. Work up an appetite (which you'll need) by walking across Route 133 to look at the lovely green and blue salt marshes and the Annisquam River. When it's finally your turn to sit down, you'll be treated to the best catch in Gloucester.