The North Shore community came out in full force to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Best of the North Shore (BONS) on August 14th at Danversport. Celebrities Billy Costa and Jenny Johnson of NECN’s Dining Playbook served as guest hosts for the evening, interviewing attendees and offering opening remarks and the winners’ toast, along with Northshore magazine’s CEO Rick Sedler, Publisher Paul Reulbach, and Editor Nancy Berry. The atmosphere was fun and festive as over 1,300 guests mingled, danced, dined, and sipped under the stars throughout this perfect summer night.
For 20 years, Billy and Jenny have been food enthusiasts, champions, and ambassadors, bringing viewers and listeners along with them on their adventures to the best eateries and introducing them to talented local chefs with shows like NESN’s Dining Playbook. Now the duo is taking their love for the Boston food world into people’s kitchens with A Taste of Boston, a cookbook featuring recipes from 60 noted chefs.
Two North Shore natives at heart, we thought it would be fun to ask them where they love to dine while out and about in the region. Here are their top picks for dining on the North Shore!
Billy Costa’s List
Clam Shack: Woodman’s of Essex, Essex
Woodman’s is known for their fried clams, lobster rolls, and more. Their classic clam chowder is made with a thinner base. The iconic Essex restaurant uses no flour and no thickeners. It’s just minced onion, minced clam, cream, butter, salt, and pepper, allowing the natural flavor of the bivalve to shine through.
Clam Chowder: Clam Box, Ipswich
Celebrating 90 years in business this year, the Clam Box is known for its clam chowder and fried, whole-belly clams, which are dredged in evaporated milk and a batter of corn and pastry flour and mixed and fried to-order. Beloved for the whip-fresh Ipswich clams and, of course, for its trompe l’oeil exterior (it’s shaped like a box of clams), this restaurant attracts long lines in summer—and it’s not hard to see why.
Lobster Roll: 1606 Restaurant & Oyster Bar, Gloucester
In 2021, Gloucester’s Beauport Hotel expanded. An addition was built to include a raw bar, and the results are stunning. Shades of blue and turquoise mimic the sea, and the ocean views do not disappoint.
Dining with a Water View: Tuscan Sea Grill & Bar, Newburyport
The Merrimack River provides a mighty backdrop at Tuscan, where an Italian-inflected seafood menu is the name of the game. On the sprawling covered back deck, diners can spend a slow and relaxing meal watching the boats cruise through from the open ocean—or wave across the water to the denizens of Salisbury. The view and the meal always bring delight.
Steak: Pellana Prime Steakhouse, Peabody
A multiyear winner of Wine Spectator’s Best Award of Excellence, Pellana offers a broad menu that hits every note: steaks, seafood, sides, and plenty more. Traditionalists will find a chilled shellfish platter, of course, as well as lots of steaks and chops. Any can be topped with a lobster tail or baked shrimp, or served Oscar-style, for a little added old-school whimsy.
Burger: A&B Burgers, Beverly
Downtown Beverly’s A&B Burgers has long been a favorite of the local crowd. With an ambitious roster of burgers—and with plenty of options for both vegetarians and pescatarians—the restaurant provides room for the traditional and creatively inspired.
Italian Food and Cocktails: Davio’s, Lynnfield
With an expansive menu and wine list, this outpost of Davio’s, situated in MarketStreet Lynnfield, has a lot to offer diners. Philly Cheese Steak Spring Rolls are just the beginning; on any given evening, diners can choose between about a dozen different steaks, cut and aged to suit all types of palates.
Pizza: Bravo by the Sea, Manchester
Bravo uses high-quality ingredients to make Roman-style pizza in a clay Forno Bravo oven shipped from California. Grab a traditional Margherita pizza to feel like you’re dining right on the streets of Rome. But don’t forget about their funkier flavors and noteworthy appetizers—they also serve Tuscan style chicken wings, buffalo cauliflower, and a Megins chopped salad.
Brewery: Notch Brewing, Salem
Incorporated in 2010, Notch was the country’s first brewer of exclusively session beer, beer with a lower alcohol content (between three and five percent alcohol by volume), making it highly drinkable and refreshing. At their Salem brewery, find eight to fourteen beers on tap, snacks like sausage and cheese boards, and a beer garden open year-round.
Ice Cream: Harbor Creamery
Seasonal fruits, locally baked cakes and cookies, and maple syrup from Massachusetts trees all make appearances in Harbor Creamery’s weekly rotation of small-batch ice creams made on-site at their downtown Newburyport shop. New owners recently took the reins, but the creative flavors and dedication to quality remain.
Comfort Food: Nightshade Noodle Bar, Lynn
At Nightshade Noodle Bar, in Lynn, which James Beard Award–nominated chef-owner Rachel Miller opened in 2019, the lobster glacé is just one of the restaurant’s dishes that appears on the diverse French- and Vietnamese-inspired seafood-focused tasting menus.
Donut: Kane’s Donuts, Saugus
Open since 1955, Kane’s Donuts remains a North Shore icon. Using real ingredients— actual honey in the honey-dip, for instance— these donuts are the real deal. New flavors drop each month, and pre-orders for some of the more popular (and seasonal) items are available online.
Seafood: My Place by the Sea, Rockport
Located in the heart of historic Rockport, Massachusetts, My Place by the Sea features New American cuisine highlighted by fresh local seafood including The “Appetizer Kit” with chowder, crab cake, and tempura shrimp.
Jenny Johnston’s List
Clam Shack: Woodman’s of Essex, Essex
Woodman’s is known for their fried clams, lobster rolls, and more. Their classic clam chowder is made with a thinner base. The iconic Essex restaurant uses no flour and no thickeners. It’s just minced onion, minced clam, cream, butter, salt, and pepper, allowing the natural flavor of the bivalve to shine through.
Clam Chowder: Clam Box, Ipswich
Celebrating 90 years in business this year, the Clam Box is known for its clam chowder and fried, whole-belly clams, which are dredged in evaporated milk and a batter of corn and pastry flour and mixed and fried to-order. Beloved for the whip-fresh Ipswich clams and, of course, for its trompe l’oeil exterior (it’s shaped like a box of clams), this restaurant attracts long lines in summer—and it’s not hard to see why.
Dining with a Water View: My Place by the Sea, Rockport
Located in the heart of historic Rockport, Massachusetts, My Place by the Sea features New American cuisine highlighted by fresh local seafood including The “Appetizer Kit” with chowder, crab cake, and tempura shrimp.
Burger: Davio’s, Lynnfield
With an expansive menu and wine list, this outpost of Davio’s, situated in MarketStreet Lynnfield, has a lot to offer diners. Philly Cheese Steak Spring Rolls are just the beginning; on any given evening, diners can choose between about a dozen different steaks, cut and aged to suit all types of palates.
Pizza: La Gallina, Lynnfield
La Gallina (The Hen) is a coastal Mediterranean eatery and bar at MarketStreet Lynnfield. Their menu serves up fresh takes on classic dishes from Spain to Greece and beyond.
Italian: Tonno, Gloucester
Drawing its name from the Italian for tuna, this Gloucester haunt dives into coastal cuisine. The Mediterranean-inflected menu highlights local seafood, like clams stewed in tomato broth with white beans and pancetta; grilled swordfish with tomatoes, olives, and capers; cod oreganata; and tuna tartare in a citrus vinaigrette with chive oil and house crostini.
Grocery Store: Common Crow, Gloucester
This women owned, local and independent organic and natural food store carries a vast array of produce, cheese, grocery items, and bulk spices. Their cafe and bakery offers grab and go items including coffee, smoothies, bowls, sandwiches, and hot soup.
General Excellence: Bernadette, Salem
A follow-up to husband-and-wife team Aaron and Shanna Chambers’s successful Settler, Bernadette, a cozy bistro that opened last fall, offers up a concise-yet-satisfying menu of instant classics, like roast poulet rouge, bone marrow with shallot compote, pork rillettes, and, naturally, pomme frites. It’s the kind of neighborhood restaurant you might want to sidle up to once weekly, assuming you can secure a seat at the ever-popular bar.
Ice Cream: Treadwell’s Ice Cream
One of the few places open year round, Treadwell’s has had a loyal following since it opened in 1946. Known for generous portions of extra-luscious ice cream, those who also love chunks, pieces, and swirls rave about the amount of goodies in each bite. A diverse menu serves up several kinds of sundaes, from classic banana split to brownie, and the must-share, topping-loaded 12-scoop Kitchen Sink.
Comfort Food: Joy Nest, Newburyport
The Joy Nest, the Newburyport restaurant from Caroline Jolliffe, who also owns Brown Sugar by the Sea across the street, evokes a 1920s-era supper club—but one with Asian-inspired street food and gin-forward cocktails, both as beautifully presented as they are delicious.
Seafood: Tuscan Sea Grill & Bar, Newburyport
The Merrimack River provides a mighty backdrop at Tuscan, where an Italian-inflected seafood menu is the name of the game. On the sprawling covered back deck, diners can spend a slow and relaxing meal watching the boats cruise through from the open ocean—or wave across the water to the denizens of Salisbury. The view and the meal always bring delight.
Take Out: Short and Main, Gloucester
It may feel as though Neapolitan pies are in short supply on the North Shore, but no matter. Gloucester’s Short & Main churns out pitch-perfect wood-fired pies—as well as pastas, ever-changing appetizers, and other menu items. The menu changes daily and owes its freshness and ingenuity to whatever the farmers and fishermen are hauling in.
Date Night: Settler, Salem
With an intimate feel and a Mediterranean menu from chef-owner Aaron Chambers, Settler, in Salem, offers far more than neighborhood fare. Some of the restaurant’s touchstones include homemade sourdough bread, made from Chambers’s decades-old starter, and warm madeleines, served as part of the dessert menu.
Patio Dining: Salem Waterfront Hotel Mainstay Social
Inside the Salem Waterfront Hotel, this sleek and modern restaurant with a charming nautical flair serves seasonal New England favorites and classic American bistro fare. Their bar features a global wine list, bottled and draft beers, signature cocktails, and themed martinis.