Block Island is NOT Rhode Island (Part 2)

Another reason Block Island is not Rhode Island (even though it claims to be).

There is barely any good food on Block Island. Already covered in last year's blog on our Block Island Vacation, is the Dell's Lemonade. We figured out what it was. The stand that sells the Dell's must substitute the Dell Mix for Sugar. This makes the drink unbearably sweet and completely unlike the 'real' Dell's sold on the mainland. Block Island, have you no pride in a drink 2nd only to the Official State Drink, Coffee Milk?

More on the food situation. Rhode Islander's love food. From Federal Hill, to the storied restaurants of Newport, Rhode Island loves to eat. Except Block Island. There are barely any decent restaurants on Block Island.

ZERO restaurants on Block Island made it in Rhode Island Monthly's Best Of 2007. Helloooo Block Island, you're supposed to be Rhode Island's 'gateway' to tourism and your food sucks.

Dead Eye Dicks has been around the island since the 1930's and I have a feeling that was when the last good meal was served. When we dined at Dead Eye's we overheard another table complain that their food was not cooked, it was raw. We ordered the calamari and was one of worst we have tasted. While it was flash fried fairly well, a little underdone, the pairing of the sweet red peppers and some sort of sauce both overshadowed the calamari. Our main course was linguine and clams. The clams seemed to have been stewed in wine making them tough and rubbery. They tasted so much like wine my BAC must have been over .08 when I left. Dead Eye's also magically ran out of specials that night. Most of the places we ate are like Dead Eye's, they try their best to put lipstick on a pig but in the end it's still a pig.

Finn's Seafood, the fish store, has one of the worst selection of fish I've ever seen. Not only is there a dearth of supply, they ran out of swordfish one night, but their sanitation is questionable. I came to buy muscles from Finn's one day and the found the kids storing their energy drinks in the display case along side the muscles. The servers always, and this is true of last year, hand my my muscles in a tied, plastic bag. What are they thinking!? Didn't anyone teach these kids that muscles need air to breathe?

I came in to get muscles at Finn's two days later. There were so many dead muscles in the display case I was wondering if I would get the two pounds I ordered. The kid pulled at least three pounds of dead muscles. He did not even remove the dead muscles from the display case; just left them there in the ice next to the dead ones the kid put there from the day before.

I recently read another review that Finn's is using frozen seafood in their restaurant. Finn's is the place recommended by the locals. If this is the only seafood store on the island then Block Island has problems.

The only good food on the island appears to be Aldo's Bakery and the Beachhead. Both places hit the target with fresh, local food and dishes that are done right, straightforward, with no gussying up. Many of the restaurants on the island could learn a thing or two from these.

People want fresh food. Block Island, with it's location, should be synonymous with fresh seafood. If you're on Block Island for anything but a swordfish steak, get lost.