The Origin of ‘Clam Up?’

Although they appear unperfidious

They can make you feel super clam-idious

Happy as a Clam.

Patient as an Oyster - from Lewis Carroll

Very clever jjorge. I like it.

Ha, ha! thanks guys!

Your early morning poem
set my day on track
with sea shore day dreams
of the old clam shack.

clam to fame

I hail from New England,
(on the coastal side)
where in clam shacks, and on beaches
We eat 'em steamed, or fried,

that's the bivalve mollusk
our glory, our pride!

Clam shack in Essex
or thereabouts
sold fried clams in cartons
golden, no doubts

Makes me homesick...Woodman's of Essex (MA). Top notch seafood (and spring) all starts with chowing down on the Ipswich clam. Back in 1914 they opened their stand and served their first fried clam July 3, 1916. The first fried clam serving got it's start right here. A local chain Howard Johnson's was then taught how to do this treat by the proprietor of Woodman's. The rest is history.

Singing, "I'm in heaven!"

http://www.woodmans.com/

I was just a kid
visitor to that shore.
Family lived in Malden
but that was before
they all dispersed
forevermore
evermore

from 1958 to 1967 I lived next door to ýa in medford. Highland Cafe in Malden was where I had my first pizza in 1958...or was it Kitty's in North Reading on old Rt. 28?

From 1958 to 1967 I lived next door to 'ya in Medford. Highland Cafe in Malden was where I ate my first pizza in 1958...or was it Kitty's in North Reading the landmark restaurant on old Rt. 28?

Sorry for the dupe. The hamsters got excited

"...Clam shack in Essex..." I know where you mean osso, and I've been there. My brother lives in Gloucester only two or three miles from Essex -as a matter of fact he's on Essex Ave!

Fried Clams 101

Not spurious strips, or corn-breading,
(together, an infernal wedding!)
and certainly not Rhody's 'clam cakes',
they're disgusting --all dough and greasy,
I'd spend not a dime on them,
nor fritter my time with them
'Whole clams only' , will please me!
Only WHOLE clams, REAL clams,
(with bellies intact)
a true clam lover will accept only that,
dredged lightly with flour
deep-fried till their golden
at a real Mollusk Mecca
-like the Essex Clam Shack!


Addendum:

One more thing (I'll shout louder)
ONLY WHITE CLAM CHOWDER!!

Woodman's of course!
When I make my "New England Tour" once or twice a year I stoke up on clams!
My step-daughter is in Rhode Island and when I'm there we go to Gallilee to a place (can't remember their name) where we chow down and watch the Block Island Ferry going out of, and into the harbor. I have a brother in Plymouth County and we get clam platters at a place on the town pier. Then I visit my brother in Gloucester. We may go to Woodman's or to one of several very good places he and his wife frequent in G. I also have sisters in Hull and in Scarborough ME who are clam-o-philes and each knows several good local venues! Last summer I had Fried clams four times in ten days. :-)

Uncle Kibby's in Lubec Me is my favorite fried clam place. Whole clams, lightly breaded in a flour and cracker crumb dredge , lightly fried so as still to be puffy . ALL flavor

Bit of a Tangent

Crab shack in Eka,
right by the bay,
boat to boiler -
what more to say.

Fresh as can be
all the long season,
cooked by the family,
the brothers named Zerlang.

Home to your table
while it's still warm,
time to tuck in the bibs
and eat up a storm.

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/places/crab.htm

When I was a kid, I would get sent to my uncle's summer rental at Misquamicut, R.I. .

A couple of times a week, we would get an inner tube, a bushel basket and the clam rakes out and go wading in the shallows for the quahogs.

You'd rake around slowly listening for just the right 'clagck' that told you it was a clam and not a rock. Then you could either try to scoop it up or, easier for me, reach down and grab it up.

Into the basket floating in the inner tube it would go. We could fill up half a basket in about an hour.

Uncle Marty had had cerebral palsy when he was a kid and his gait on land was shaky, but in the water he could walk about as steady as anybody. He loved that part.

The part we all loved was when he would take his knife and open up a few of those clams right there while we stood thigh deep in the water.

Joe(that's fresh)Nation

@Farmerman
Uncle Kibby's in Lubec Me sounds great!
Glad it's not in New Brunswick -that would be too far to drive! ;- )

@osso
Nice effort! Nice photos! Nice seafood!

@JoeNation
Misquamicut. Great place! Haven't been there in a long time, alas.
You paint a vivid picture of a Summertime idyll!

BTW Some others who may read this might not know that quahog is pronounced (improbably) 'CO-hog'

Everybody that watches Family Guy knows approximately how to pronounce it, jjorge.