Going out to eat along the South County shore is for the most part as casual as a pair of flip-flops, shorts and a T-shirt -- salt still in your hair and sand between your toes. There are only a couple of exceptions to the casual rule, in particular the Weekapaug Inn, which recommends jacket and tie for men at dinner, and the Shelter Harbor Inn, at which a man wearing a jacket would not feel overdressed.

But the rest of the shore is pretty much come-as-you-are.

In Rhode Island, shore dining comes down to a few fine-point variations on the basic themes of lobster, clams, hot dogs and ice cream. Everyone has a favorite spot, usually the one closest to their regular beach.

It's all good, but there are a few places that do it better, making them worth a detour off Route 1.

Favorite lobster roll: St. Clair Annex

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."

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.

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

Fantastic lunch: New Beginnings

Midway between Watch Hill and Matunuck, a fantastic spot for lunch is tucked away on a loop of Charlestown's Old Post Road off Route 1.

"Fantastic" is the magic word to find the place, because the little cafe, called New Beginnings, is part of the entrancing complex of wooden buildings, gardens and shops collectively known as The Fantastic Umbrella Factory.

Don't even ask why the place is called the Umbrella Factory. Owner Robert Bankel, who started the place in 1968 and has kept the same good hippie vibe intact since, never tells where the name came from. There were never any umbrellas made in Charlestown.

Over 38 years -- through a devastating fire and the perpetual turnover of the 30 or so people who are part of the Umbrella Factory community -- Bankel has managed to preserve its spiritual-but-fun atmosphere. A complex of rustic wooden buildings -- including a toy store, clothing and jewelry shops, a greenhouse, an herbary and the cafe -- is hidden in a jungle tangle of flower gardens, fountains, wind-chimes and exotic animals and birds.

This summer, there are fewer domesticated creatures around than there used to be, due to nighttime strikes by devilish fisher cats, wolverine-like mammals that have migrated into the area.

Nate LaRico, who works at the Umbrella Factory and lives there, too, says the fishers have already killed the place's beloved peacock, chickens, guinea hens, "and have eaten each and every emu egg," leaving for visitors to enjoy only "three sheep, three emus, and the geese, who are pretty tough, have serrated bills, and travel in a pack."

Fortunately, people who come to the Umbrella Factory don't have to kill to eat.

THE NEW BEGINNINGS Cafe is the creation of mother and daughter Bonnie and Caitlyn MacGlaflin, who took over what had been called Spice of Life in November and have made it their own since.

"It used to be more Mexican," says Bonnie. "We wanted to do more paninis and have more specials."

She makes four types of foccacia as well as wheat and white breads daily for the sandwiches.

Particularly outstanding is the roast chicken sandwich, made from chicken she roasts herself with lemon, garlic and rosemary. Mixed with a little bit of mayonnaise, with lettuce and tomato on home-made toasted wheat bread, it is about all anyone could ask of a roast chicken sandwich ($5.50).

New Beginnings also serves smoothies, made with real fruits such as peaches, raspberries and strawberries. No sugar added, just ice, and yogurt if you like ($4.50).

Big home-made cookies such as oatmeal with trail mix ($1.50) and lemon-coconut bars or chocolate-dipped macaroons ($1.75) are perfect endings at New Beginnings.

New Beginnings Cafe at the Fantastic Umbrella Factory, 4820 Old Post Rd., Charlestown. (From Route 1 North, take the exit for South Shore Mental Health Center.) (401) 364-9240. Open daily year-round, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (to 6 p.m. on weekends through Labor Day). Beachy casual. No reservations. Parking on site. Wheelchair accessible. Cash preferred; MC and V accepted. Highchairs available. No liquor.

A typical lunch bill for two at New Beginnnings might look like this:

Roast chicken sandwich...$5.50

Tuna salad sandwich...$5.50

Two smoothies...$9.00

Two cookies...$3.00

Food total....$23.00

Tax..........$1.84

Tip.........$5.00

Total......$29.84

Classic shore dinner: Cap'n Jack's

With a salt pond at its back and the sea fog rolling in over the fishing boats next door, South County shore dining doesn't get more classic than Cap'n Jack's in Matunuck.

Located right at the bridge into Jerusalem, the place is named for Jack Piemonte, who opened it with his father, Peter, in 1971. The menu has changed little since: Lobsters, 1 1/4-pounders served boiled or baked ($21.95 or $22.95); fried clam strips or whole clams; clam cakes, fried fish, mussels, steamers, scallops, corn, cole slaw.

Jack's is open year-round, but in summer it is packed nightly, early to late, with both dining rooms filled and the take-out line extending out into the clamshell parking lot.

You can't ever go wrong with the lobster, and the clam cakes are especially good, too: hot brown nuggets, crisp-fried in a light-tasting batter and loaded with clam flavor -- some of the best you'll find anywhere.

The portions are huge, the waitresses run the dining room like air-traffic controllers, and the atmosphere is about as casual and comfy as an old boat shoe: T-shirts, flip-flops, and a light dusting of sand from nearby East Matunuck State Beach.

Cap'n Jack's, 584 Succotash Rd., South Kingstown. (401) 789-4556. Open daily 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Beachy casual. MC, V, DIS. No reservations. Wheelchair accessible. Highchairs available. Full liquor license. Parking in lot.

The bill for dinner for two at Cap'n Jack's might look like this:

Boiled lobster...$21.95

Fried fish and chips...$9.75

6 clam cakes...$3.75

Steamers....$14.95

Two glasses Kendall Jackson Chardonnay ..$13.90

Food total......$64.30

Tax...$5.14

Tip....$13.00

Total...$82.44

kimbrie@projo.com / (401) 277-7630