5 top spots for enjoying the regional sensation born on July 4, 1916, on the Massachusetts coast
Lobster gets the love. But fried clams – real whole-belly fried clams – are the signature regional taste of summer among the rocky coves, bays and inlets of coastal New England.
New England lobster is enjoyed almost anywhere and at almost any time of year.
Fried clams are sold almost exclusively in New England at seaside take-out eateries – clam shacks – most of them open only from spring to summer.
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"Clams don't freeze, they don't travel well and they don't live long," Maureen Woodman of Woodman's of Essex, Massachusetts, a culinary landmark, explained to Fox News Digital.
The Woodman family is widely acclaimed for inventing the fried clam.
Whole-belly fried clams, a signature seasonal seafood taste of summertime in New England. Tony's Clams, Quincy, Massachusetts. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
Concession-stand owners Chubby and Bessie Woodman, Maureen Woodman's grandparents, were inspired by a local fisherman to shuck and batter clams, according to the eatery’s website.
They fried the coated clams in hot lard.
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"The next day, during the 4th of July parade, Chubby and Bessie presented the first fried clam to the citizens of Essex," Woodman’s website notes. "The world has never been the same since!"
New England whole-belly fried clams disappear somewhere on the way to New York City. Then. Poof! They're gone faster than a seagull swooping in to snatch a fallen fried clam from a jetty.
Left, a clam strip at Grand Central Oyster Bar, New York City. Right, a plump, delicious whole-belly fried clam from New England. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
Seafood restaurants in New York City, just 30 miles from the border of New England’s Connecticut, may offer fried clams.
But the so-called "fried clam" hustled in Gotham is usually a sinister impostor. It's the dreaded clam strip. It’s the arms of the clam without the belly. It's a fraud.
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"Clam strips are horrible. They're horrible!" Vincent Errichetti, founder of Taste of Massachusetts, told Fox News Digital.
He added, "They're stupid. Silly stupid."
All the flavor of the fried clam is found in the belly. Its soft, meaty center of satisfying umami also provides contrast to the crispy cornmeal crust. It's a dichotomy of texture essential to many delicacies.
Massachusetts is the birthplace of fried clams.
It's New England’s most populous state and boasts the greatest concentration of seaside clam shacks.
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Here are five of the best.
5 beloved Massachusetts clam shacks
Classic whole-belly fried clams are served throughout New England, typically at seasonal seaside takeout eateries such as Tony's Clam Shop on Wollaston Beach in Quincy, Massachusetts. (Kerry J. Byrne/Fox News Digital)
1. Giordano’s, Oak Bluffs (Martha’s Vineyard)
This popular summertime eatery, and its plain-old picnic benches for takeout, sit on the catbird seat of downtown Oak Bluffs on the resort island of Martha’s Vineyard.
The community is famous for its gingerbread village of whimsical pastel-colored Victorian-style homes overlooking the glittering ocean.
It's a postcard location for classic fried clams.
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2. Kelly’s Roast Beef, Revere
Yes, roast beef is on the marquee. But Kelly’s is as famous for its fried clams as it is for its signature sandwiches.
It’s a local culinary landmark on Revere Beach, the oldest public beach in the United States.
3. Sullivan’s, South Boston
Larry Brown takes a selfie along his wife Nancy as they wait in line on the annual opening day at Sullivan's on Castle Island in Boston on Feb. 24, 2018. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Bostonians mark the arrival of spring with Opening Day at Fenway Park and the first Frying of the Clams at Sullivan’s, a takeout-only spot on the historic landmark of Castle Island.
Sullivan's next Fort Independence, a muscular granite 17th century redoubt – the castle of Castle Island — is at the mouth of Boston Harbor.
4. Tony’s Clams, Quincy
This venerable landmark serves crispy fried clams and other summer culinary classics from a seaside perch on busy Wollaston Beach.
The patio looks over the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park and is a short distance from the Adams National Historical Park.
5. Woodman’s, Essex
Woodman's of Essex restaurant in Essex, Massachusetts, pictured on April 24, 2020, has been doing take-out since the coronavirus pandemic started. (Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The birthplace of fried clams is perpetually popular and one of the few clam shacks open year round.
The family that invented fried clams in 1916 still makes fried clams today.
Maureen Woodman said 38 family members work at the eatery.
"It's truly shore-to-table dining," she said.
"You dig ‘em. You shuck ’em. You fry ‘em. You eat ’em. Boom!"
Kerry J. Byrne is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital.
