A Restaurant Crawl in Newburyport: Cormorant, Park Lunch & Bar-25.

Last Wednesday, I visited my good friend, Adam, in Newburyport, where he docks his fishing boat, the Wharf Rat. Although we didn't go out fishing, we engaged in a short restaurant crawl, with Adam showing me some of the local highlights, including The Cormorant, Park Lunch, and Bar 25. It was a fun and tasty evening, including both food and cocktails, and enticed me to return soon to explore more of the culinary options in Newburyport. 

Our first stop was The Cormorant, a small burger restaurant, reminding me almost of a diner. We began with a winner, and which I give a hearty recommendation. 

The restaurant has a counter, with stools, on the left side, and several tables on the right side. It gives the diner vibe, and we chose to sit at the counter. Adam mentioned that as this restaurant is very popular, you might have to wait in line during the busier times. Fortunately, we had no trouble finding space on a Wednesday evening. 
  

The restaurant is open for Lunch and Dinner, Wednesday to Saturday, and Brunch on Sundays. The Lunch/Dinner menu has Starters (4 options for $17-$18), such as Street Corn, Gauc & Chips; Salads (3 options for $16-$21), such as Salmon Kimchi Salad; Sandwiches (7 options for $17-$20, with fries or salad), including Pork Cutlet Parmesan and Italian Tuna; and Burgers (6 options for $17-$20, with fries or salad, and there's an option to design your own burger). Each day, there's also a number of Specials, such as those in the photo above. If you check their Facebook page, you can see photos of their daily Specials. 

They also serve Wine, Beer and Cocktails. They have a list of seven Housemade Cocktails ($10-$12), and are able to make plenty of other cocktails if you ask. I was intrigued by the Bourbon Cream Soda ($10), made from Bourbon, Cream Soda, and Bitters, over ice. You can also make it a Float for an additional $2. It turned out to be delicious, and wasn't overly sweet. It was refreshing, a great choice for a summery day, and now I want to make them at home. A simple idea but one that worked very well. 

I opted to create my own Burger, with 2 Patties, Cheddar, Swiss, Bacon, and BBQ sauce. The Brioche type bun was butter grilled, and was soft and flavorful, while the burger itself was excellent! The large, smashed patties possessed a nice meaty, grilled taste, enhanced by the toppings, which added a touch of smoke and salt, as well as a mild sweetness. A top notch burger! The French Fries were also delectable, with a great salty crispness to them. I certainly cleaned my plate, immensely pleased with my burger and fries. Overall, the Cormorant now enters my list of my Favorite Burger spots. 

After our burgers, we traveled a short distance to Park Lunch, an old-school sports bar, which has been around since 1957. One of their decorative highlights are all of the university and college flags on their walls, and it's said that wherever you went to school, you'll be able to find its flag. Coincidentally, when I looked up from the booth where we sat, I saw the flag for my own university, Suffolk, on the wall above us. 

Park Lunch has an extensive menu of salads, sandwiches, burgers, pizza, steak, chicken, pasta and more. They are especially well known for their Fried Clams, and that's the reason we stopped there. The restaurant was fairly busy that evening, and it seemed many of them were regulars.

I began with a cup of their Clam Chowder ($5.95), and it was quite tasty. It was on the thinner side, not the overly thick chowders you find elsewhere, and contained plenty of clams and pieces of potato. It had a fine taste, and was something I'd order again. 

We ordered a Small Order of Fried Clams (Market Price, in the $40s), and received quite an ample mound of clams, more than sufficient for two people to share. The clams were generally plump and flavorful, although the coating had a touch of a gritty texture. It definitely wasn't a sandy grit, but it seemed to be an element of the breaded coating. Overall, they were tasty, but they didn't top my favorites from the Clam Box.  

We ended the evening at Bar-25, which has a Middle-Eastern inspired menu and a Prohibition-inspired bar. It has an elegant vibe, an excellent bar, and would be great for an intimate date or just a night with friends. It was relatively quiet that evening, but I can easily see how it would get crowded on the weekends.

They have plenty of offerings of Wine, Beer, Spirits, Cocktails and Mocktails. The Cocktail list (13 options for $13-$16) was inventive and intriguing. I opted for the BLT, made from sun-dried tomato infused Mezcal, bacon washed Ancho Reyes Poblano, Triple Sec, Lime, and Organic Agave. This was a superb cocktail, subtle and complex, well-balanced and absolutely delicious. This will likely end up as one of my favorite cocktails of the year. Highly recommended!  

The Food Menu is primarily divided into Mezze (small plates) and Entrees. The Mezze have about 19 options ($8-$22) and Entrees have about 8 options ($22-$38). Some of the dishes include: Braised Lentil & Naan, Persian Empanada, Fried Chicken Shawarma, Lamb Kebab, and the B25 Burger. There were plenty of options which appealed to me, but at this point, we chose to select just a single Mezze. 

We opted for the Haloum ($14), breaded Halloumi cheese, pecorino romano, and spicy shakshuka. Halloumi originated in Cyprus, and has a texture that reminds me of cheese curds. It's also a great choice for frying, as its melting point is high. Their Haloum had a nice crispy coating over the firm and tasty halloumi, enhanced by the mildly spicy sauce. 

This was a pleasant introduction to their cuisine, but this is definitely a restaurant to which I want to return, because there is no much more on the menu that I want to experience. Plus, I want to try more of their cocktails. 

What are your favorite restaurants in Newburyport?