Lindsay & Taylor
Things To Do
Where We Met: Lafayette Park
This is where we met on our very first date! Within a block of this park, you can find the Record Exchange, the Crave bakery & sandwich shop, and a new restaurant called The Babe that we haven't even tried yet.
Drinks: Notch Brewery
We shared a couple of beers and pierogis here on our first date (yes they have food, and NA drinks as well). The taproom is open until midnight for anybody looking to keep the party going after the reception.
All Souls Lounge
Good divey vibes for the late night set (open until 1am). Great food and cocktails. These days when we're in town it's a favorite spot to rest our feet and bend our elbows.
Far From The Tree Cider House
This was the last stop on our first date Salem tour. And craft cider is a great addition (or alternative) to beer hall options.
Deacon Giles Distillery
An unassuming door under a hanging lamp on a side street opens into this craft distillery serving cocktails, tours, and full bottles of gin, rum, and limited edition liqueurs to take home.
Dining: Crave
Incredible egg sandwiches and baked goods served over-the-counter. If you're headed out early the next morning it might be worth getting your breakfast to go from here.
Gulu-Gulu Cafe
The locals know that this is a top spot for breakfast or lunch. We ate here after we toured Hamilton Hall, and we decided to book Hamilton as our venue over a bowl of the house specialty goulash.
The Derby Restaurant & Bar
We had an excellent brunch here on our first anniversary. Morning or evening, if rich and deliciously decadent American pub classics sound like your kind of menu, this one's for you.
Ledger Restaurant & Bar
Housed in a former bank (thus the name), this is a beautiful space in which to enjoy elevated food, drink, and atmosphere. Open for brunch and dinner.
Howling Wolf Taqueria
Local staple for Tex-Mex food and margs. Spitfire Tacos around the corner on Lafayette St is a good over-the-counter option too. And there's yet another beer hall next door. Taylor used to play the Monday night bar trivia here most weeks, though he often came in 2nd to a one-man team by the name of "I Am the One Who Knocks"
Kakawa Chocolate House
This fine chocolatier with hot chocolate flights is the dessert option we recommend for 'classy' vibes.
Goodnight Fatty
And this is the dessert option we recommend if you just want to shove amazing baked goods into your face (in case you couldn't tell from the name). At the corner of Salem Common across from the Witch Museum and tucked behind a wrought-iron gate, Goodnight Fatty is open only on weekends with a secret rotating menu of three cookies each weekend, and a 'cookie flight' option to get one of each kind boxed and ready to go.
Edibles: Seagrass Salem
For cannabis connoisseurs, the Seagrass dispensary is right downtown behind the Hampton Inn and a flea market shop. But if you visit, we recommend sticking to edibles because there's obviously NO SMOKING in the hotels or venue.
History: Peabody Essex Museum
Salem's most illustrious museum. Permanent installations include a shocking amount of world art and sculpture (the benefits of being a major world trading port city for a couple hundred years), an extensive fashion exhibit, and of course historical artifacts from the Witch Trials.
The Burying Point
The Charter St. Cemetery was founded in 1637 and holds the graves of a number of notables: the judge from the Boston Massacre, a member of the court at the Witch Trials, etc. The check-in desk for your visit is inside the 17th-century Pickman House and the Witch Trial Victims Memorial is right at the corner.
Witches, Ghosts, Pirates, and Other Hocus Pocus
There are a LOT of tours and artifact collections to explore in Salem if you're so inclined. We recommend browsing getyourguide.com to find your flavor.
Shops: Hive & Forge
Salem features any number of shops selling herbs, crystals, bones, and other Wiccan/neo-pagan specialties. But if your apothecary needs trend more towards stuff like handmade soap, we suggest Hive & Forge.
OAK + MOSS
One of Lindsay's favorite shops, because of all the plants! Need a grower's guide or a planter? A calming respite from Main Street? Stop in!
The Cheese Shop of Salem
We love cheese! Our farmer's market cheesemonger opened her brick and mortar store in Wakefield recently, but before she did this was our go-to spot for amazing cheeses (and cured meats, and wine, etc etc). Support local business and high quality food!
EMPORIUM 32
If your goal for the weekend was to go home with a fancy hat or antique jewelry or an absinthe spoon, this is the curio shop for you. Red's Sandwiches across the way is also a Salem lunch staple.
Record Exchange
Here's the local spot to hunt down vinyl and CD's for any music collectors out there. Right by the park where we first met!
Gaming: Bit Bar Salem
Pinball, arcade games, and screens above the bar playing 90s throwback video content. Good food & drink but if you're there you know why you're there: buy a bunch of tokens and go nuts. Open 'til 1am too.
Game Zone Salem
Want to take the vintage video games home with you? Shop for cartridges, consoles, and discs ranging from the original NES up to PS4 and everything in between.