The Washington Post points out one of the greatest things about the "Ocean State" of Rhode Island: at only 48 miles long by 37 miles wide, you're never far from a great seafood shack. Rhode Island is blessed with clam shacks and seafood restaurants of all kinds, from streetside take-out windows to elaborate restaurants, and visitors can easily crisscross the state on an enjoyable quest to sample each area's specialty. On the casual end, Iggy's Doughboys & Chowder House in Naragansett (pictured), offers aquatic fare such as fried fish, clams, shrimp, and Manhattan and New England chowders, as well as doughboys, which are rolls of deep-fried pizza dough with sugar. (Sounds intriguing enough for a try.) At the upper end of the Rhode Island seafood experience, the Post praises the S.S. Dion restaurant, located a short drive from Providence in Bristol, for serving the state's "consistently best" seafood dinners, with such succulent offerings as lobster, baked scallops, and a local fish called schrod, which is baked whole and served with seasoned bread crumbs. The Westin Providence, the third-tallest building in the city and one of the most beautiful, makes a perfect launching pad for a seafood tour of the state, with an ocean of seafood and amusement available within an hour of the hotel.

Photo via Washington Post