Folly Cove, Rockport, Massachusetts
Our well-fed Yankee reader says that the stars of this culinary show are, from left to right, fried Ipswich clams, clam chowder, fried haddock, and sweet potato fries.
View From Your Table
13 Responses to View From Your Table
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Mr. Patrick says:
Was there really no way to fry the chowder?
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Nate says:
Lord have mercy.
How do I get me some of that? -
MH - Secular Misanthropist says:
My mouth is watering. Now I need to make a trip out to the Clam Box in Ipswich.
FYI Rockport was a dry town, but in 2005 allowed alcohol sales in restaurants. I think there are only eight dry towns left in Massachusetts now.
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Hunsdon says:
Rod: For the more provincial amongst us, it does come in handy to have the food and drink identified, as in this case. Salud.
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JS123 says:
I’ve been to the clam shack in Folly Cove. Your poster should have included a view of the ocean as well.
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tmatt says:
OK, I gotta know.
We talking Woodman’s or not? I thought the tables at Woodman’s had red-checked covers.
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Liam says:
Not Woodmans. Woodmans and the other classic clam shacks in Essex/Ipswich/Rowley (namely, the Clam Box, which is the Grail, Farnhams, Essex Seafood, et cet.) don’t offer sweet potato fries. Too yuppified. (That should be onion rings, dredged in a a whisper of flour/cornmeal, not battered, thank you very much; battered rings are more traditional down east past the midpoint of the Maine coast.)
And whole belly clams, of course. Large-bellied at the Clam Box, if they have them. (That said, in summer season, there’s not enough local Ipswich clams to meet demand, so supply in many places often comes From Away.) Clam strips are an abomination for people From Away.
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Oh, and please indulge my chowder rant (Rod, you can rant on Louisiana classics). Clam chowder, if it’s any good, should *not* be thick and goupy. Ideally, no roux at all, just the starch from the potatoes and pilot crackers. You should taste the sea of the broth; dairy should be in such quantity as to get in the way of that (though, many Americans actually dislike the taste of the sea, so that tells you something about what’s popular). Roux-thickened (or corn starch-thickened) chowder was largely popularized by the hotel-restaurant trade, to hold milky chowders over heat without curdling (heavy cream won’t curdle so easily, but if you add too much, you defeat the taste of the sea that is the necessary touchstone of chowder). Ideally, salt pork is the meat, not American-style bacon; smoked bacon gets in the way of the taste of the sea.
So, when I ask, “How thick is your chowder?” and the server beams “Very thick and creamy” I know to pass. That tends to be the case at places that are popular with tourists and even many locals. You have to really search for old-style chowder, but it can be found even in some of the most unlikely places.
Here endeth the chowder rant.
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Liam, you sound like you have excellent taste in chowder. Who in eastern Massachusetts do you like best?
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MH-SM
Here’s a good rundown: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/714558
The Clam Box in Ipswich is excellent, and JT Farnham’s can be great; it seems that the Clam Shack Heaven heavyweights stick to the older ways.
In Boston, I’ve never been to Neptune Oyster in the North End (but Rod must if he ever visits Boston), but it has a highly regarded chowder. And believe it or not Kelly’s Roast Beef has a very credible old-fashioned brothy chowder.
On Cape Cod, the Bee-Hive Tavern on Rte 6A in East Sandwich at least used to have an old-style brothier chowder (it’s been a few years since I’ve been there, but it was very excellent).
As you head along the south coast towards RI, you get closer to the home of the broth with little or no dairy style of chowder.
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James C. says:
I took the photo. The restaurant is the Lobster Pool. JS123, I did want to frame the food with Folly Cove in the background, but the outside picnic tables by the water were, alas, not available. A thunderstorm was raging at the time!
I was introducing a friend from Peru to this kind of food, and the sweet potato fries were his idea. I just don’t eat fries—more seafood, please!
As for chowder, it’s all a matter of taste. Unlike you, Liam, I do enjoy chowders on the creamy side, as long as it’s not too thick and the clams are fresh (and yes, NO corn starch, please!). I also like the more “authentic” brothy kind–which I had today, incidentally—of course it has the added advantage of being more healthy! Unlike most people around these parts, I don’t have a definite preference.
In the photo, the haddock was very good but the clams were surprisingly excellent. Surprising because I don’t usually go to the Lobster Pool for clams—not with the Clam Box nearby. I had a Groupon for the place, and I must say I was most satisfied—especially with the market price for Ipswich clams being so so high right now (my medium box was 20 bucks! Probably good; the things are addictive! Once you try them, you can never go back to “strips”).
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Liam, thanks for list. I am glad to hear that the Clam Box made your list as I really like it.
I think there’s an Ipswitch Ale missing from this shot…