Restaurant review: Arnold's

We cannot come to Cape Cod without stopping for a fried seafood feast at the most delicious clam shack on earth: Arnold's. Located on Route 6 in Eastham, Arnold's Lobster and Clam Bar is one-stop shopping for a wonderful night. Not only do they serve fresh fried seafood and lobster rolls, but they also have a delicious ice-cream stand *and* an 18-hole mini golf course.

We first discovered Arnold's more than 10 years ago, and it's been in business for more than 30 years, but the secret is out of the bag and it now draws annoyingly enormous crowds of hungry Cape vacationers. This photo was taken last Sunday night - a Sunday night! It took almost 45 minutes from arriving in the parking lot to placing our order inside. I will not wait in this kind of line for just any fried clams, scallops, and onion rings. But Arnold's makes the BEST of each that I've ever had.

Once you finally make it to the line and place your order, be prepared to wait another 20-25 minutes for food to be ready. They'll give you a Cheesecake-Factory-style beeper/buzzer device, which will flash and make noise when your order is ready to pick up. During that time I suggest you stop by the bar (pictured above) and get yourself a large and cold beer - the perfect accompaniment to fried seafood. You'll also need to devote a few of those minutes to finding a table - as I said, it gets crowded, and there's no host or hostess to seat you.

I also suggest ordering a cup of Arnold's clam chowder. It is creamy and clammy and rich enough that you'll only want a small serving, no matter how hungry you are after waiting in that long line.

For dinner on Sunday, we went to town. We shared a large order of fried clams strips and onion rings. Then, my mom and I each ordered fried Wellfleet scallops. I do love those clams, but I think the fried scallops are the best item on the menu. They're huge and succulent and surprisingly light for things that have been breaded and deep fried, before I slather them in tartar sauce at least. Arnold's also sells baked scallops, but I can get an unfried scallop anywhere. Plus, the baked scallops come with a baked potato (BO-ring!) and a small side salad - no thanks. Not at Arnolds'. I get all the vegetable I need from the pickle bits in the tartar sauce and those marvelous onion rings.

Judd and Kristy each got a 2-lb lobster. Ordering a whole lobster is always too messy a project for me for me, but I do love lobster meat and was happy to eat a drawn-butter dipped nibble of what they'd worked so hard to get out of those hard shells.

I spend 51 weeks per year wondering what I'll get at Arnold's during the one or two nights per year that I get to stand at the counter and place my order. I'm not kidding. Judd teases me about it all the time. But I think he's just worried that this could be the summer where I leave him for Arnold.

***

Details:

3580 Route 6

Eastham, Massachusetts

(508) 255-2575 - (Arnold, call me!)

Shellfish feast for four: $140 (CASH ONLY!)