Sam the Clam was a restaurant and bar I hesitated to visit for lunch last year while day tripping. I hesitated at the shack like appearance and the large Marilyn and gangster statues out front.  I took a risk and dined on the large deck. The food, wait staff and fellow diners were great. But the traffic of customers was light and so I didn’t think I experienced the full ambiance of the place.

The second time was a charm. I dined inside at a booth with an undersea port hole. I learned that it is a biker handout, but that most of the bikers were lawyers engineers - white collar workers. . I arrived at 4:30 PM for an early dinner and watched it become packed by 5:00 PM.

I enjoyed my lobster roll which I ordered with onion rings. After I ate, I worked the crowd to find out what others ordered and why. The reply I got was that the neighborhood folks frequented the place, some nights there was live music and the food was consistently good.

It had karma, food and a price point that makes me glad to have chosen it. I left with  the  feeling that I would visit again.

What kind of place do you seek when you are dining solo?