Tag Archives: lobster rolls

And the Drive In Between: East Coast Driving (Massachusetts)

When my friend Dave asked me to join him on a trip to his childhood home, I was so excited to meet his family and to see where he had grown up outside of Boston. Our first day, we would hang out in Boston and Salem and then we had also made plans for a trip to Portland, Maine to meet up with his childhood friend, Alan.

We arrived early in the morning, loaded up the rental car and began our journey heading north.  The scenic coastline was dotted with historical buildings, beautifully built of stone and brick.  Reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell painting, we stopped on several occasions to take photographs and enjoy the scenery.

Stained glass windows, colorful siding and delicate roof tiles added so much character to our drive.  We played a game trying to guess the year in which each year they had been built based on their architecture.  From churches and chapels, we were completely entertained and amusing ourselves over the next couple of hours.

The further north we drove, the natural beauty of the coastal rock formations popped up along the Atlantic.  The occasional inlet would appear filled with yachts and sailboats and I wished we had more time to hang out or at least stop for lunch, but we decided that we would stop at Kelly’s Roast Beef in Saugus for their infamous roast beef and lobster rolls and I couldn’t wait.

I loved seeing all of the old signs in Saugus, like the Hilltop Steakhouse which had been opened by local businessman, Frank Giuffrida in 1961.  The restaurant was a popular spot from the 60s through the 90s expanding to 1500 seats.  I learned that it had recently closed and thought of all of the patrons the restaurant must have served over the years.  It also made me think of how hungry I was and couldn’t wait to order some lobster….are we close to Kelly’s?

It was such a great day driving the coast.  Do you enjoy road trips?  What is your favorite activity when you travel?  I would love to hear about your travels if you would kindly leave a message in the comments section below. Thank you for reading about my drive around the NE coast and wishing you many Happy Travels!

What to See and Do:

Take a Coastal Drive!

Where to Stay:

Red Roof Inn Plus+ Boston-Logan
920 Broadway, I-93 North to Rt. 1
Saugus, MA  01906
Telephone:  888 665 1356

Where to Eat:

Kelly’s Roast Beef
410 Revere Beach Blvd.
Revere, MA  02151
Phone:  781 284 9129

What to Eat:

    • Boston Baked Beans
    • Cape Cod Potato Chips
    • Clam Chowder
    • Fluffernutters – a sandwich with peanut butter and marshmallow fluff….amazing!
    • Fresh Seafood
    • Fried Clams
    • Grilled Blueberry Muffins
    • Hoodsie Cups – baby cups of ice cream
    • Lobster Rolls, of course
    • Seared Scallops

What to Read:

  • Mystic River, by Dennis Lehane
  • Sacred, by Dennis Lehane
  • The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood

Photo Guide for Boston:

  • Acorn Street
  • The Amazing Coast
  • Boston Athenaeum
  • Boston Common
  • Boston Public Library
  • Café Susu
  • Fan Pier Park
  • Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
  • Louisburg Square
  • Marshall Street & Union Oyster House
  • Old Signs Along Saugus
  • Public Garden Foot Bridge
  • Rouvalis Flowers

Craving Kelly’s Roast Beef in Revere, Massachusetts

My friend, Dave and I would be driving along the east coast of Boston and then up to Portland, Maine with our home base in Saugus.  We picked up the rental car, spent a couple of hours sightseeing and I had become so hungry that even seeing food signs along the roadways were giving me stomach pangs.   Passing the “Leaning Tower of Pizza”, was pure torture.

Along the coast of Revere Beach is my go-to restaurant for a hearty roast beef sandwich.  By the time we had arrived, I could have eaten a whole cow, but it was much easier to order a delicious, melt-in-your-mouth roast beef which has made Kelly’s Roast Beef famous for years.  The restaurant opened in 1951 when Frank McCarthy and Raymond Carey invented the roast beef sandwich and it continues to serve thousands of locals and tourists each year.

According to the story, both McCarthy and Carey owned a hot dog stand  and worked together at a local restaurant which catered weddings.  So when the restaurant ran out of food for a wedding celebration, the two decided to take the leftover roast beef from the restaurant, put it between two slices of bread and invented the Original Roast Beef Sandwich.  The wedding mishap resulted in McCarthy and Carey going into business together and today they have  twelve locations throughout the coast of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Florida.

Kelly’s Roast Beef loves to make their customer happy, so their menu is made-to-order, just the way you like it….and I like it just the way it is.

Have you been to Kelly’s Roast Beef?  What did you order off of their menu?  I would love to hear about your visit if you would kindly leave a message in the comments section below.  Wishing you many Happy Travels!

Where to Eat: 

Kelly’s Roast Beef
410 Revere Beach Boulevard
Revere, MA  02151
Telephone:  781 284 9129