"The Clam Box," Ipswich MA...one of the greatest restaurants in the U.S.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

3 Way Combo (clam, scallop, shrimp) Served with 2 of the following: French Fries, Onion Rings, Cole Slaw, $18.50

Even better than The Clam Box is The White Cap, also in Ipswich (but they don't have a Web Site)...

[wtmusic]

1. $18.50 sounds pricey

for deep fry

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

10. It is, but read these reviews...

http://www.boston.com/dining/restaurant/1181

These folks are telling the truth. In the case of The Clam Box, you really do get what you pay for.

[Mr_Lefty]

2. I grew up in Rowley

I miss the Clam Box

[DS1]

3. f*cking freaky! My roommates family is in town, and they asked where it wa

s, they knew it was in Ipswitch :shrug:

[JohnKleeb]

4. damn you, I want that now

though I personally hate scallops but shrimp and clams are great, and all those sides are good too. mmmm and cocktail sauce too.

[Mr_Lefty]

5. Ever try Mcintyre's on route 133 in Rowley?

Very good too. Near route 1 and route 133 intersection.

[SpiralHawk]

6. Been there, done that. Would gladly do it again

With extra tah-tah sauce

[Mr_Lefty]

9. Man I'm homesick....

Been down in Florida so long now- I vacation in Maine every summer but never quite get around to going to my old home town....

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

8. Other than Clam Box and White Cap, all I remember is...

...Woodmans, in Essex. I only went there once or twice as a child, and don't remember my family being overly fond of it.

My personal favorite was The White Cap because there is (or was) a Dairy Queen about a quarter mile down the road for dessert...

[democraticgator]

7. You couldnt be more right

Best fried seafood evah

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

11. One more photo and the Clam Box "secret recipe"

The Deep-Fried Truth About Ipswich Clams

http://www.e-cookbooks.net/articles/ipswich.htm

"Shucked clams are dipped in a bath of evaporated milk, then tossed in a breading mixture of yellow corn flour — not cornmeal, Mrs. Aggelakis emphasized, but finely ground "corn flour." (Later I determined that the corn flour was in fact a very finely ground corn meal; masa harina, widely available, makes a good substitute. Jasper White uses Rhode Island johnnycake meal.)

Quickly, so as not to let the breading get soggy, the clams are dropped in the first of two frying vats. After half a minute, they're removed and dropped into the second vat.

This way, she explained, excess breading is deposited in the first vat, and the oil in the second vat, where the clams spend the rest of their brief culinary life, stays cleaner and fresher. As is true of most of the other fried clam-shack proprietors, Mrs. Aggelakis also filters her oil daily."

[skippysmom]

12. Mmmm...yummy

I can feel my arteries clogging, but as long as you don't eat that stuff too often it's all good.

Tomorrow night I'm meeting the husband for my first fried clams of the summer out in Orleans. Can't wait!

[Westegg]

13. Been there once. Can't WAIT to go back! (n/t)

[papau]

14. Excellent - but I still like Brown's Lobster in Seabrook as the ultimate

experience - as in where else do you see "inbred" folks that have such self-esteem, speak 16th century cockney English, and cook so well for so many years!

I also like open air screened porch picnic bench meals!

But Essex River Clams steamed at Woodman's are great.

But fried clams, scallop, and shrimp from the Clam Box or the White Cap are a great meal also.

It was hell when the red tide close the flats a few times over the last 50 years - but even then the imported supply was cooked to perfection at these places!

Now I am a bit west of Boston and sing the praises of Kelly's of Revere Beach who has a place off Rt 9 in Natick in the Jordan March complex!

:-)

[DrWeird]

15. I prefer the Deep Ones' Bucket.

Down in Innsmouth.

[FarmerOak]

16. Hmmm...

Am I the only one who thinks "The Clam Box" would be a good name for a porno movie?