If you happen to be driving down Forest Avenue and are suddenly in the mood for a whopping lobster roll, I would advise staying away from Susan’s Fish N Chips to satisfy the craving.

I would go there for what they do best--fried fish that’s piled so valiantly high on the plate. I’m a big fan of Susan’s. But my recent experience with their lobster roll was wholly disappointing.

I have no issue with the amount of lobster that’s stuffed into the roll. It held big chunks of meat and was served plain, which is the way I like it. But the lobster meat was less than tasteless and very watery, as though it might have been frozen and thawed.

I love the clams and other fried fare there, but lobster does not seem to be their forte. It’s best found elsewhere.

Perhaps my mistake was to order it in the first place. It’s akin to going into an Italian restaurant for tacos. Susan’s Fish N Chips is just as the name implies: fried fare dipped into their wonderful coatings and expertly cooked.

Besides the lobster roll, I ordered a small cup of clam chowder. The soup was so hot that the roof of my mouth got badly burned; I’m still suffering from the scalding. Once it cooled, the consistency came down to being no better than wallpaper paste. I was able to taste some semblance of clam chowder--a muddle of potato chunks that overwhelmed mere flecks of clam.

The Cole slaw, however, was about the best I’ve had recently. It’s made with a boiled dressing, which in my mind is the best kind for slaw.

Next time I’ll stick to what they do best.

I like Asian cooking well enough. Sometimes, though, I have a sharp yen for great Chinese food, the best of which in this country is only available in New York or San Francisco. I’ve yet to find a place worth traveling to in Boston’s Chinatown.

Several months ago I was invited to someone’s house for dinner in Portland, an American woman who has studied Chinese cookery for years. She prepared an authentic feast that was a revelation. I can’t wait to go there again.

Other than that, we’re steeped in a wasteland of banal Asian cookery, from the plethora of Thai restaurants that are as common as hotdog stands to lackluster Chinese food mishandled as marauding finery in strip malls around town.

What I don’t understand is how so many Thai restaurants have found their way to Maine. From Millinocket to Kittery, they’re everywhere-- good, bad or indifferent.

Recently I went to Thai Taste in Cape Elizabeth on Cottage Road and that was better than most. I could be led blind folded, though, into any of our other Thai restaurants in Portland and feel that I’ve been to them all in one sitting.

Just by chance we went last night to Siam on Fore Street for dinner. I’ve gone several times over the years and always liked it. Usually the place has been empty. But last night, dreary and weather weary as it’s been, it was packed—truly a nonstop lineup of diners arriving by the minute. When we left at 9 pm, the place was still full. In my opinion, it should be full every evening.

If we have something of a contest going on here to find the finest example of fried clams, I think I’ve come upon the best in our area so far. Not only are the clams perfectly cooked but the waterfront setting in which they are served is an added bonus.

It’s our very own Falmouth Sea Grill. I went there for lunch yesterday and had the fried clam platter, which is served with French fries and Cole slaw. These were Casco Bay clams--fresh, moist and utterly delicious. The highly seasoned fries are great and the Sea Grill’s Cole slaw is a good one too.

I was with a friend who loves fried clams. She eats them all the time and still manages to maintain her perfect slim figure with the gift of an amenable metabolism.

The Falmouth Sea Grill is what it does best: serving plainly prepared seafood in an an easy neighborhood setting on the water. I find that their fancier dishes aren’t as appealing as the straightforward platters of grilled, baked or fried fish.

We both had ordered the clam platterr. My friend thought that these clams were almost as good as the ones served at Pier 77 in Cape Porpoise.

Pier 77 is actually one of my favorite restaurants in southern Maine. Its waterfront setting on the harbor is beautiful, and the restaurant itself has a great looking space, serving really fine food that chef/ owner Peter Morency and his wife Kate tend to perfectly. Whenever I’m there I’ve overlooked the clams in favor of more ambitious fare from the menu.

Yet simple dishes prepared by a gifted chef can be elevated to exalted status. And I’ll try the clams the next time I’m there.

It’s interesting how each place prepares their clams differently. From lobster shacks to fine restaurants, the manner in which these are done are often poles apart.

To me what qualifies as a good example is the freshness and juiciness of the clams that still maintain high flavor after emerging from the deep-fryer. The preference for either a batter or breadcrumb coating is an individual choice, too. I prefer the bread coating because it's lighter. Yet when they’re batter dipped and done well it’s also appealing.

The subject of fried clams that I’ve written about here has drawn lots of reader comments. Keep them coming and let us all know about your favorite places.

Fine dining has taken a back seat to good eats lately. By that I mean I’ve been trolling around various places where foie gras and demi glace don't exist. Instead I’ve focused on good enough solid food, like clam rolls, French fries, biscuits, onion rings, Cole slaw, and so forth.

I don’t plan to make a steady diet of this. But summer is approaching, and lobster pounds and barbecue beckon.

I’ve come to the conclusion that in the world of clam rolls, the farther you are from Portland, the better that staple will be. Though I’ve had some decent enough examples of clam rolls around town, the best I've found include Susan’s Fish and Chips and Scales. Scales is particularly good, and Susan’s tartar sauce is wonderful, served stuffed into one of those large mayonnaise jars.

As I said previously, I didn’t like Harraseeket’s clam roll, a strips-only version that had the appeal of eating confetti. But at Two Lights Lobster Shack the roll was very passable; their Cole slaw was flavored with pineapple, a tasty addition if one likes a sweet slaw.

Other spots I’ve been to recently are the following: Buffleshead at Hills Beach in Biddeford, Hattie’s in Biddeford Pool and Wormwood in Camp Ellis.

Coincidentally I found myself in Freeport yesterday afternoon at around one in the afternoon. As I was driving along Route 1, coming upon South Freeport Road, I decided to go to Harraseeket Lunch. Given my somewhat negative comments that I posted here yesterday, I decided to go there out of convenience. I was hungry. And how bad could it be?

It was a beautiful day and the drive down that road is a pretty one--only getting nicer as you turn onto Pine Street, which leads you to the harbor.

There weren’t many people there, an unusual event. And if I griped in the past about the long wait to get served I thought it would be interesting to witness the pace on a slow day.

I ordered a clam roll, which is only available in strips, not bellies. With that I had Cole slaw, fried onion rings and a soda.

One of these days, sooner than later, it will be warm and stay that way for a while. The first thing that comes to mind is lobster, lobster pounds and where the best can be had. My favorites include Five Islands Lobster, at the end of the Georgetown peninsula, Miller’s Lobster in Spruce Head, the Cod End Cookhouse in Tenant’s Harbor, the Dip Net in Port Clyde and Young’s Lobster Pound on Route 1 in East Belfast.

The other day, on a chilly, big-cloud afternoon, I went to Two Lights Lobster for, I thought, a quick bite to eat. I figured it would be quiet there at two in the afternoon on a brisk spring afternoon. Wrong. To my surprise there was a line out the door at least 10 strong, laying claim perhaps that Two Lights is more tourist attraction than food destination.

While Two Lights is full of views it’s not my favorite lobster eatery. The food is fine and decent but not memorable. I go there for convenience when I’m in the area.

Five Islands is probably my favorite of all the spots for seafood in the rough. The views are sensational and the food is very well prepared. I generally order the grilled haddock sandwich that is served with a fried crab cake on top and a dollop of cilantro sauce. The very good onion rings are coated in a rich batter; the lobsters are very well prepared as are all the shellfish dishes. I’ll often go there in the summer combined with a day trip to Reid State Park beach followed by a late lunch at Five Islands. Lately I’ve been tempted to go across the harbor to McMahon Island, which is home to a private summer colony, to see one of the houses that is for sale for the first time in years.

While you can, rush over to Five Fifty- Five to catch what still might be the remnants of their celebratory Cinco de Mayo menu that was served last night. I stopped in there yesterday but unfortunately couldn’t stay for the entire dinner because of another engagement.

But I managed to sample a scallop seviche that was superb, a tortilla soup that was the real thing and 2 beautifully prepared miniature chimi’s stuffed with duck confit, served on a bed of chopped yucca, cilantro and red onion.

All I can say is that it was a terrific treat. It’s difficult enough to get good Mexican food anywhere, and nearly impossible in our parts. I hope they do the menu again. Better yet, from judging the teaser sample I tasted last night, perhaps chef and proprietor Steve and Michelle Corry should be urged to open a second dining venue—a Mexican outpost for all of us to enjoy.

I’ve cited my dislike of small restaurants often: rabbit warrens where elbow room is a commodity and seating options no better than a busload at rush hour. Yet the trend some years ago championed small restaurants over impersonal rooms. Especially in New York, stylish dining was defined by a new generation of Lilliputian haunts, with 5 to 10 tables.

They were meant to be palaces of precious proportions. There can be something very appealing about walking into an opulently furnished room, or even a stark backdrop, where every touch is exquisite, as mere background for the discriminating diner to delectate. The now defunct Cello, in the East Seventies, brought the notion of exquisite, precious food, served in stark simplicity, to a very high level. It had a short, sweet reign as one of New York’s most highly regarded restaurants where only a handful of diners could be at any one time.

One of my other favorites was the Box Tree, across the street from the renowned Lutece. It occupied half the floor of a brownstone on East 52nd Street where extraordinary food was served in prudent surroundings.

I recall inviting a lady friend at the time, who was visiting from London, to join me for lunch. She could have doubled as Dynasty’s Joan Collins, both in looks and quick wit. Of course she took her time in getting there, arriving 30 minutes late. But she breezed in finally, took a quick, sharp look around and proclaimed in her deadly British clip, “Well, if I didn’t know it was chic, I wouldn’t have known.”

Such are the merits of understatement. Needless to say we had a great lunch, and I haven’t seen her in years. I could translate her observation to current options by saying, if it weren’t so small it could be a good restaurant.