Best of Boston

Glowing candles and a well-scrubbed interior may keep it more refined than your average fish shack, but Periwinkles’ sea fare is straight-off-the-boat fresh. The crabmeat pie is a sweet and thick bit of retro revelry; the fresh lobster pizza on sourdough crust is tangy, filling, and scrumptious. Sitting on the deck perched over the Essex River at sunset, with an Ipswich Ale and a plate of grilled swordfish, provides an experience with which few places on earth can compete.