July 20, 2014 — The classic New England clambake is alive and well — and gluten-free upon request.
The traditional meal features steamed clams and lobster with drawn butter, plus sides including corn on the cob. It is served on a platter in many area seafood restaurants. But the best way to enjoy a clambake is outdoors at water’s edge, with sand or at least grass underfoot, sun in your face, and a salt breeze. For most people these days, that means a catered event.
“They’re looking for a whole experience,” said Sarah Pulsifer, store and catering manager for the Ipswich Shellfish Fish Market. “They want the Maine lobsters — lobsters are huge right now. They want the Ipswich clams, which we’re famous for. The potatoes, the corn, the old-fashioned New England clambake.”
“Their main goal is to have a casual party that’s a New England tradition and have a lot of fun, but no work for the host. That’s what we get the most,” said Wendy Viator, sales office manager at Woodman’s of Essex, the landmark restaurant billed as the birthplace of the fried clam.
Woodman’s caters perhaps 400 events a year, said Viator, who is the first-born of the fourth generation of the Woodman family. A few years ago, Woodman’s added mobile deep-frying equipment, and it now offers fried clams and other items in addition to steamers and lobster.
Read the full story from The Boston Globe