Do you know someone who always makes you feel good every time you see them? Someone who always has a kind word and inspires you? You leave them feeling better about who you are as a person. I call them uplifters.
My wife, Nina, and I both lead our companies – I run an auto auction in Kittery, Maine, and she manages an insurance agency in Lynn. We both work with great teams and have very supportive ownership. Due to our often busy schedules, eating out is both convenient and a good way to relax and talk about our day.
We dine out a few times a week, sometimes with friends, and sometimes just the two of us. We have our favorite spots, and we love to try new places, too. While we usually stay local, we sometimes venture out to Portsmouth or Boston.
On a busy Wednesday night, after leaving the wake of a friend, Ron Teel, whom I affectionately called Uncle Ron (introduced to me years ago by my good friend Mike Colburn during breakfast at Marie’s in Salisbury), I was reminded of how much Ron meant to our circle.
He was really Mike’s uncle, having married Mike’s aunt Nancy Colburn, Uncle Ron was a familiar face at all our breakfast spots – Marie’s (now Richard’s), Vinny’s at the beach, Nancy’s Marshview and Connie’s Stagecoach. He always had the Newburyport Daily News under his arm and a kind word for everyone. Uncle Ron was one of those people who made my “Curious Traveler” column come alive, inspiring me to keep writing. Ron was an uplifter.
After leaving the wake, I hurried home, grabbed Nina, and completed a Salisbury Community TV & Media Center video call while she drove us to Red’s in Seabrook, a local chain that began as a sandwich shop in Salem 50 years ago. It offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with a menu filled with Greek meals, pizzas and American classics – nothing fancy, but always good. The Seabrook location features windows that open onto a patio with a large gas fire pit, perfect for a late summer night.
As we looked over the menu, we decided to share a meal to cut calories and keep our dinner costs down. We considered the “Mexican pizza special” with traditional taco toppings, but ultimately narrowed it down to the turkey dinner (with mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, butternut squash, cranberry sauce, and turkey) and the pastrami Reuben.
We chose the Reuben – sometimes you just crave a Reuben! It was Ladies Night, with martini specials for only $7, so Nina went for a rum-inspired martini while I stuck to soda water with cranberry. Our Reuben arrived split onto two plates with fries; the only regret was that we didn’t order the sweet potato fries, though I was happy with the traditional french style. The meal was just right, leaving us with just enough room for dessert.
We skipped Red’s dessert menu, which comes from Montilio’s Bakery, the legendary French and Italian Boston area bakery. We instead headed toward our favorite dessert spot.
Driving up 286 toward Seabrook, we spotted the late model Land Rover owned by my good friend Cam Kaszuba and his wife, Alita. I jumped out of my Jeep, eager to say hello – this wasn’t the first time we’d bumped into each other here, not even the first time this month. We share the same tradition: dessert at Tripoli’s. While everyone raves about Mike’s Pastry and Modern Pastry on Hanover Street in Boston, we have our own traditional Italian bakery right in our neighborhood.
Tripoli’s offers fresh-baked bread, cannoli’s, cakes (including cheesecake, carrot cake, chocolate cake, tres leches, flan), lobster tails, Bismarcks, and Italian cookies – my favorite being the chocolate rainbow cookies, which remind me of going to the bakery with my grandmother as a little boy.
Tripoli’s also has a small frozen section with arancinis, chicken parmesan and other Italian favorites, including frozen slices of their famous beach pizza. The original bakery owned by the Zappala family is still operated by the fourth generation in Lawrence; in 1945, they opened a garage door-style place on Salisbury Beach. The aroma when you walk into the Seabrook location is out of this world. The crew cycles the sweet pizza slices through the oven as orders come in, cutting full trays into squares and warming slices to a perfect crust.
As I greeted Cam and Alita, I noticed their niece Giana in the back seat, enjoying a corner with extra cheese and pepperoni – just the way I like it. The corners provide a handle to help hold the piece until you finish. The thick crust is crispy, on the outside, while airy and almost moist on the inside. Having just eaten dinner at Red’s, I wasn’t there for pizza (though I was tempted), I was there for a piece of cheesecake for Nina, and pina colada cake for myself. But first, I had to be doted on by Alita.
Alita, an uplifter always, makes you feel better about who you are. She inspires creativity and encourages you to push forward in whatever you’re doing. She pays attention to you in a way that you don’t fully realize until you see her, showering you with compliments. Her nephew, the young troubadour Gavin Marengi, who is an amazing songwriter, the entire family is talented, with Alita being their biggest cheerleader. I can’t help but think that Gavin’s prolific songwriting at just 17 is fueled by the inspiration that comes from having someone so gifted in encouragement right by his side.
When I write a story, it usually comes from deep within me, from something I’ve been pondering for months or even years. Sometimes, though, it comes to me in an instant – like this story did as I spoke with Giana, Alita and Cam, a founding member of Salisbury Golf Association (SGA), and voted most handsome member three years straight.
Salisbury’s livelihood has always depended on a welcoming spirit. Loving where you live is in the DNA of this far northeast corner of the commonwealth. The world is full of artists, musicians, writers, and poets. Without luminaries like Alita and Uncle Ron, the beautiful things we create wouldn’t exist.
”Dinner Date” is a series of stories written by Salisbury resident C.J. Fitzwater about the places and people he meets locally for dinner. If you are interested in meeting and telling your story, send him an email at cfitzwater@ymail.com.
Curious Traveler 
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