Three hours in Lawrence

We found ourselves in Lowell's scrappy sister city yest. and leave it to GG to sniff out a winner. Two winners actually. First stop, the Rose & Dove Gourmet, roseanddove.com Hidden in the KGR bldg. on canal street, is a fun, if frilly wine/gift shop. Lots of lace and finery, but still a nice, focused selection of wine and an owner willing to uncork a bottle just for us to taste. That's the kind of service you won't get at Conlons. It was a Washington white which didn't leave me swooning, so we went w/ a South African chard. On the owner's recommendation we walked to Salvatore's around the corner. Around the corner in this behemoth industrial zone is like a block in Berlin — large, gaping, and on a night like this, frostily wind-swept. When we finally landed inside Salvatore's along w/ half of Lawrence, we were more-than-ready to partake. We sat at the bar and dined on clams casino. I remember my fathering ordering this meal and this was nothing like the grilled, slightly breaded clams he savored. But it was hot, we were cold and a jazz trio was setting up behind us. There were no complaints. (except, what happened to the rest of the order? there where only three clams.)
Next came fried calamari served w/ zesty tom. sauce on an ample bed o'greens, these rings were right on. They are known for their riceballs, pic above, which sounded tempting, but I've been doing the carbo load lately. The cab. by the glass was so tasty, I inquired about the label. Jekyll 2005. voluptuous. Stay away from the high-priced, insipid chianti by the glass. $9 for that? pu-lese. Ambiance is a 9 here. Soft, low lights, candles and high/low ceiling divide make for pleasing acoustics. With three TV-s in exactly the right spots there is a reason this is the king daddy of the Sal's pizza chain.
salvatoreslawrence.com