Saturday in Spooky Salem for Halloween
Dan, Penny, and I spent Saturday in Salem doing our annual visit to the many Haunted Happenings events in the City which always include tours, food, drinks, and the sights. The weather was damp and chilly, with rain in the morning that stopped after we finished lunch (good timing on our part), but it was still a fun day to spend in the Country’s spookiest City.
Founded in 1626 by Roger Conant, Salem is one of the oldest cities in the Country. Mostly known for the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 that killed twenty people, Salem was also a prominent seaside town in its hay-day in the 1700’s (once it was the sixth largest City in the Country), and has recently experienced a resurgence in development that is attracting more people to spend time in the core downtown area. Haunted Happenings was founded in 1982 and has expanded over the years as a way to organize the many spooky activities going on in Salem during September and October when the crowds come from all over the world to experience Salem around Halloween.
Dan and I have been coming to Salem every October since we moved to Boston in 2009 (we also visit Salem a few other times during the year), and while we’ve done almost all the spooky activities offered, we are always able to find something new each time we go. Penny joined us a few years ago and now it is an annual tradition for the three of us.
Tradition dictates that we start our day having lunch at Tavern in the Square where we watch part of the Nebraska Football game (Dan is a big fan). The food is nothing particularly special — typical bar food — but we always have a good time. This year, I had a Downeast Pumpkin cider on draft with a sugar rim, and it was spectacular!
After lunch, we walked through Salem and were able to take silly pictures of ourselves.
Our scheduled event of the day was a Salem Black Cat Historical Walking Day Tour. The 90-minute tour took us through historical Salem where we discussed the founding of the City, the Salem Witch Trials, historical buildings, and spooky sightings.
We did some more walking around Salem while killing time before our next tour — a Mahi Mahi Boat Haunted Boat Cruise. While the cruise was supposed to be narrated with historical and spooky information in the surrounding area, most people on the top deck (where we sat) were more interested in talking, drinking, and having fun. We met some really nice people while also making friends with the narrator, so we were able to get some information despite the loud crowd. The weather was definitely getting cool as the sun went down, but it was a fun time to be on the water.
Following the cruise, we had dinner at Ledger. Located in the old Salem Savings Bank building that is over 200 years old, Ledger opened in 2017, and this was our third time going there for dinner. For a drink, I ordered a Shacksbury Dry cider and we all shared Popovers that were served with apple butter, and herbed beef drippings. The popovers were very tasty, with a soft inside and crunchy outside. The apple butter was really good, but I skipped the beef drippings (definitely not my thing). We also shared the Fried Calamari with shishito peppers, potato, lemon aioli, and herbs. The calamari was perfectly cooked and had a great texture to it. I wish there were more shishito peppers served with it, but the few we had were good.
We then shared the Roasted Cauliflower with eggplant puree, carrots, shishitos, and a preserved lemon vinaigrette; Wild Mushroom Campanelle with leeks, squash, baby greens, and parmesean; and fingerling potatoes. The cauliflower was good, but I wish the sauce had a bolder flavor. The pasta was one-dimensional and didn’t have much flavor other than mushroom and was unbalanced. The fingerling potatoes were good — I’m always a sucker for potatoes.
Dessert was very good at Ledger. I had an Eden Iced Cider and we all shared the Oracle Apple Tart and Snickerdoodle Creme Brûlée. The apple tart was very good, and the heart donut was perfect with the apple sauce under it. I’m typically not a fan of creme brulee because of the texture, but I loved this one because it was layered with a Snickerdoodle cookie. The flavors in both desserts were perfect for Fall.
We had a great time in Salem at Haunted Happenings, and really enjoyed our day. My only wish is that some of the Fall colors were in Massachusetts, but they are coming late this year. Despite that wish, it was a fun day.
(Saturday, October 13, 2018 / @julieschultz79 / #mycrazylifeblog)
