Retro seafood with great view
Little Jack's Seafood Restaurant and Lobster Pound
539 Ocean Blvd., Hampton, N.H.
603-926-8053
Wednesday-Monday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Tuesday.
Visa and Mastercard accepted
Accessible to the handicapped
Little Jack's is more about the view and the nostalgic funk factor than it is about cuisine. But you can get an OK seafood meal there and feel like you've stepped back in time at least 30 years.
First, the logistics. There are no menus. All the food items are listed on signs and boards above, below, and around the outside ordering window. It takes a while to figure it all out and gather the information. Once you do, you go to the counter, order your food, and wait until your number is called. If you happen to order chowder, you are handed a foam cup, and eventually someone will come over and fill it.
While you wait, you can choose a table downstairs or up. We suggest up, because you get a great view of the beach and the Atlantic, and there's a nice cross-breeze on a warm day. Downstairs might be better on a cooler day.
The interior and exterior of Jack's is rustic, authentic seaside funk, harking back to the days when screen windows were the only air conditioning and no one had heard of cholesterol or connected it with fried clams or - heaven forbid -melted butter.
We love the neon sign out front, shaped like a scallop shell proclaiming that wine and beer are sold inside. We like the blue and green dinghies leaning up against the fence in the parking lot, and we're nuts about the mammoth, writhing lobster underneath the Little Jack's sign that can be seen from way up and down the coast.
The food, not as much. Our clam chowder was good, not great, but we did dig our order of steamed clams, $13.85 for a hefty helping served with real melted butter and a cup of broth. These were Maine mollusks that we always find the most tender and sweet without the chlorine taste that steamers sometimes have. They were truly excellent.
Another in our party ordered the fried shrimp platter ($16.60). She was given a choice of "native" or small shrimp or fantail. She chose the latter. She and the others who tried the shrimp liked the tempura-type batter, but felt the shrimp inside were on the mushy side and had an iodine taste. She also wasn't happy with the undercooked french fries and left them on the plate. The cole slaw she deemed fair.
The child member of our crew decided he was in the mood for a steamed lobster dinner ($17), which was served with corn on the cob, cole slaw, and roll and butter.
The lobster was tasty but on the small side. One member of our party thought it was cooked just right; another thought it could have used a minute more in the steamer. We all liked the corn and really got into the idea of looking out over the ocean while cracking and dipping.
The person who ordered the lobster roll ($11.70) in our group was happy with her sandwich, which was definitely well stuffed with lobster and a little bit of mayo and served with a small bag of chips. We all felt it was the best bang for our buck among all the items ordered that day.
We'd love to tell you about Little Jack's desserts, but they don't have any. That's OK - there's plenty of fried dough and ice cream stands on the strip at Hampton Beach, just a short walk away. We opted instead to work off our lunch with a nice walk on the beach, right across the street. If for no other reason, we'd go back to Little Jack's for that and the steamers.
TOM LONG
