In Watch Hill, St. Clair Annex -- the place with the popcorn machine on the front porch and the screen door that swings nearly continuously from May through Columbus Day -- has drawn summertime throngs since the '30s and looks today pretty much the same as it did in 1959, when I first saw it. (My grandmother would take me there for ice cream after a ride on the carousel.)

St. Clair's lobster rolls -- not over-stuffed, and not loaded with mayonnaise, served in a butter-grilled bun -- are still among the best I've had. And they're not too pricey, either, by today's standards, at $10.75 with fries.

Located just a couple of doorways down Bay Street from the Flying Horses carousel and Watch Hill Beach, St. Clair's has been a family-owned and family-run business for four generations, says owner George Nicholas, who runs it with his wife, Joann. When the family moved the restaurant from downtown Westerly to Watch Hill about 70 years ago, there was another restaurant named St. Clair's across the driveway, and so the present restaurant was named "the Annex."

Now, with the original St. Clair's long gone, there is just St. Clair Annex -- one of those South County idiosyncracies.

INSIDE THE SCREEN door, there's a counter to the left where you can select from 32 flavors of ice cream and sherbets the Nicholases make themselves, particular favorites being black raspberry and mint chocolate crunch, according to Nicholas.

Tables are Formica-topped, vintage 1950s. The walls are lined with family photos of St. Clair's and Watch Hill dating back to before the '38 Hurricane, and the wooden floor is worn soft from decades of sandy shoes shuffling up to the counter.

Nicholas says the recipe for his lobster rolls is the same as for everything he makes at St. Clair's: "Keep it simple, but do it well, using the best ingredients, what I would want to eat myself."

Details, details

St. Clair Annex, 141 Bay St., Watch Hill, Westerly. (401) 348-8407. Open daily May through Columbus Day, 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. (later for ice cream). Beachy casual. No reservations, no credit cards. Wheelchair accessible. Highchairs available. Street parking. No liquor.

BILL OF FARE

A bill for a typical lunch for two at St. Clair's might look like this:

Two lobster rolls with fries............$21.50

Milk shake........................................$3.75

Soda..............................................$1.50

Two ice cream cones...................... $5.70

Food total.......................................$32.45

Tax....................................................$2.60

(It's self-serve; no tip needed.)

Total.............................................$35.05