As I drove to Dog Watch Café in Stonington Borough, I thought of the great but little-known Harry Chapin song “Dogtown.” Although the song is about Gloucester, Massachusetts, not Stonington, its lyrics perfectly capture the bleakness of a 19th century Portuguese fishing village, where at home with the faithful dog, the women waited to be widowed by the sea. I excerpt some of the lyrics below:
Up in Massachusetts, there’s a little spit of land.
The men who make the maps, yes, they call the place Cape Ann.
The men who do the fishing call it Gloucester Harbor Sound,
But the women left behind, they call the place Dogtown…
There’s all these gray-faced women in their black widow’s gowns,
Living in this graveyard granite town.
Yeah, you soon learn there’s many more than one way to drown;
That’s while going to the dogs here in Dogtown…
And I have seen the splintered timbers of a hundred shattered hulls,
Known the silence of the granite and the screeching of the gulls.
I’ve heard that crazy widow Cather walk the harbor as she raves
At the endless rolling whisper of the waves…
Stonington Borough is utterly charming in summer, but in wintry weather, with a cutting wind scouring the point, it can be a desolate place indeed. I have visited this town since my teen years, and more recently, I even wrote food pieces for Alexis Ann, the grand gal who owns the fiercely independent biweekly Resident newspaper based in Stonington.
The wintry bleakness of Stonington Borough notwithstanding, the name Dog Watch has nothing to do with the subject of the Harry Chapin ballad. Anyone versed in naval terminology would realize that Dog Watch was named for the shift between 1600 and 2000 (4 p.m. and 8 p.m.), which is split into first and second dog so that everyone standing watch in a two-shift rotation has the chance to eat dinner.
In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a cheerier place than Dog Watch, which is doing booming business in Dodson Boatyard (yet another explanation for the restaurant’s name?) in the space once occupied by Boom. The sun was sinking as my companions and I arrived, producing a sunset that lit our surroundings with an orange glow.
If our waterside location hadn’t put us in a good mood, the incredibly friendly ownership and solicitous staff would have. Our Parker Station Pinot Noir didn’t hurt either, proving to be food-friendly enough to accompany a mostly seafood dinner. Soon we were seated at a nice table slurping beautiful briny Watch Hill oysters.
We followed up our oysters with crab-stuffed mushrooms in a Manchego béchamel sauce, a nice conceit.
Crab cakes seemed like a must-order in our seaside setting. The serving was generous, the cakes were crabby and accompanied by a tomato coulis and lively pico de gallo.
Rounding out our starters was a duck salad with slices of Long Island duck breast resting atop greens, crispy oriental noodles and walnuts in a raspberry vinaigrette.
Our entrées proved to be even better than our starters. Dogwatch already has a reputation for its bouillabaisse, which features fresh fish, shellfish and lobster tail in an incredible saffron-infused tomato broth with garlic toast.
But the fresh fish on offer was also stunning. My companion had swordfish
while I had the mahi mahi, both of which were accompanied by generous portions of mashed potatoes and green beans.
Desserts put the final stamp on a very pleasant evening. I had the carrot cake, which was better than most.
One of my companions had the flourless chocolate cake, which looked too rich for my taste.
My other companion had the delightful flute limoncello, described as “refreshing lemon gelato swirled together with limoncello presented in a Champagne glass that’s yours to keep.” We forgot to keep the glass.
What we won’t forget to keep is Dog Watch in mind for a pleasant seaside evening. It’s not unusual for restaurants with scenic settings to pay insufficient attention to their food. But Dog Watch Café matches its appealing setting with equally appealing food.
Dog Watch Café, 194 Water Street, Stonington Borough, 860-415-4510
I would rank this as one of the best restaurants along the shoreline. I’ve lived in SE CT 22 years and found the Dog Watch several years ago. Although it is slightly off the beaten path, it is well-worth the effort to get to. The views are spectacular in the fall and at sunset of the harbor. The food is also consistently terrific.