seek clambake around Boston on Oct 24

"GGGG" wrote in message
...
ARC,
You didn't say - what are you looking for ... atmosphere, shellfish, raw,
fried , cheap, history etc.
Whether or not you like raw oysters, someplace you SHOULD go is "Union
Oyster House", even just to play tourist. IT is the oldest continually
operating restaurant in the United States.and hasn't changed in ~250
years. AND if it's a really hot late afternoon , the smell of fish for
sale on the sidewalk around the corner is something that you won't soon
forget.
http://www.unionoysterhouse.com/
http://local.yahoo.com/info-10146802...eviews#reviews

Nearby, In Quincy Market:
http://www.durgin-park.com
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-10152177R
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Durgin+Park
"The food is old-fashioned, and nobody gets celebrity treatment; in fact,
nobody is even treated very nicely! "
http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/R...20/durgin-park
Part of the "charm" is the way that waitstaff treats you. Don't take
offense - it is supposed to be funny when the waitress asks " What do you
want? You expect me to go all the way back there just to get you some
ketchup ?..."

I haven't been downtown to eat in years ( plenty of good seafood on the
North Shore of Boston), so can't be specific on your picks as of 2009. In
the past few years there has been a lot of changes to traditional (
a.k.a. - OLD) restaurants in town. The NoName USED to be "something to
see" ( like Filene's Basement). It was just a door on a large building (
hence the name - " No Name" ) and you BYOB, but it was all done over and
is now housed in a modern building with modern menu, no BYOB etc. Still
good , but no longer "something to see". James Hook burned down a few
years ago, so the 60 years of "traditional " ( aka slime) was wiped away,
as well as the "something to see" effect.

the Phantom Gourmet is a local TV show that reviews lots of restaurants
around he
Here are the recent " Great 8 Boston Legends"
http://www.phantomgourmet.com/Showpa...atateid=1 031
Here ARE several places to read recent reviews:

http://local.yahoo.com/?csz=Boston+MA
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restau...009/index.html
http://www.yelp.com/c/boston/seafood
And at those sites, you CAN look up reviews - often with links to
restaurant website/menu.
like:
http://www.dailycatch.com/blackboard.html

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-daily-ca...by=rating_desc
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restau...l/barking_crab
http://barkingcrab.com/

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restau...ame_restaurant



Bobb, thank you for your detail Boston restaurant write up. Much thanks.
Please let me show you what I am looking for.
For years when I visited Seattle, I always tried to visit the Crab Pot. That
was great.
From your list, I fancy The Legal Sea Foods, Famous Altantic Fish Company &
Turner Fisheries. Which one of these would you recommend. Thank you.

"K" wrote in message
...
I didn't mean I knew of any particular dinner boat, just that it seemed
likely that there would be some, and there are, but they only seem to offer
clambakes from Memorial Day to Labor Day. You could still call a few,
because what the offer and what they can deliver are two different things.

http://www.bing.com/search?q=cruise+...c=IE-SearchBox

Another thought is to get a bit out of Boston and up to Essex (serviced by
T and short cab ride). Woodman's is the name of the most popular place
there, but there are several several good seafood places within arms
length. Woodmans has a catering arm that specialized in clambakes, but
don't offer one by name from their menu. They do have steamers,
corn-on-the-cob and boiled lobster, so just create your own.

Woodman's menu: http://www.woodmans.com/restaurant/menus.cfm

While I doubt they'll be open that late in the season, this little place
has often surprised us in very-late September. If they don't have a boat
going (or seats available) they'll do your clambake right on their dock.

essex cruises: http://www.essexcruises.com/

Gloucester T station:
http://maps.google.com/maps?rls=com....73441367649442

http://local.gloucestertimes.com/essex+ma/taxis.zq.html

You'll probably have luck using the above, but if all else fails you can
go through some menus. You're looking for boiled lobster, steamed clams,
and corn-on-the-cob. Actually, I just looked at a few menus, and Legal
Seafood (a chain) offers a Lobster Bake, which adds a bowl of chowder.

http://boston.menupages.com/

Have fun in Boston,
Keith

ARC wrote:
"K" wrote in message
...
among the entrees, and corn with the sides.

One more thought: There are many dinner cruises in Boston Harbor,
and you might well find a clambake cruise among them.

enjoy
Keith


Keith, thank you very much. We are interested to tried the Woodman's or any
other clambake restaurants. Can you please tell me what you mean by going to
Essex from Boston by the "T"? Do you mean by train (or Subway)?
Also, in Woodman's menu, their menu shows "Down River" Combo at $24.95. Is
this what you mean the clambake? Or, are these just oil fried food?

Keith Blakeslee:
Another thought is to get a bit out of Boston and up to Essex (serviced by
T and short cab ride). Woodman's is the name of the most popular place
there, but there are several several good seafood places within arms
length. Woodmans has a catering arm that specialized in clambakes, but
don't offer one by name from their menu. They do have steamers,
corn-on-the-cob and boiled lobster, so just create your own.

Woodman's menu: http://www.woodmans.com/restaurant/menus.cfm

While I doubt they'll be open that late in the season, this little place
has often surprised us in very-late September. If they don't have a boat
going (or seats available) they'll do your clambake right on their dock.

essex cruises: http://www.essexcruises.com/

Gloucester T station:

http://maps.google.com/maps?rls=com....73441367649442

http://local.gloucestertimes.com/essex+ma/taxis.zq.html

A.R.C.:
Can you please tell me what you mean by going to
Essex from Boston by the "T"? Do you mean by train (or Subway)?

"T" in Boston often means the subway, but it's short for MBTA, which
operates the whole transit system and the suburban commuter trains.
In this case Keith is talking about a commuter train, which only runs
every couple of hours. See http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/rail.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "E-mail is idiot-proof. (I know this because I have
| received E-mail from idiots.)" -- Beppi Crosariol

My text in this article is in the public domain.

Keith


Keith, thank you very much. We are interested to tried the Woodman's
or any other clambake restaurants. Can you please tell me what you
mean by going to Essex from Boston by the "T"? Do you mean by train
(or Subway)? Also, in Woodman's menu, their menu shows "Down River" Combo
at
$24.95. Is this what you mean the clambake? Or, are these just oil
fried food?

Yes, the Boston Metro system is called the 'T' and stations are marked with
a stylized 'T' symbol. I believe the best terminal for Woodman's is West
Gloucester. It's still run by the MBTA, but as commuter rail service, not
subway service. You'd take the Newburyport/Rockport line out of Boston,
then get off at Gloucester West station. You may have to arrange in advance
for a cab up to Woodmans, but it's only about 3 scenic miles away. All
trains going in that direction originate at Boston's North Station.

As for the menu, you'll have to create your own clambake. Order steamers
for an appetizer, and select your lobster while they cook your steamers.

If you haven't eaten steamers before, there is a how-to here
http://www.newenglandtravelplanner.c...eat_clams.html
There is also a video he http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ_GB9MP52A

If your group are true seafood lovers, you'll want a lot of steamers. Our
family of four gets them by the peck and there are never leftovers. If this
is your first experience, you may want to try a smaller order and hold the
lobsters until you see how the steamers go over, leaving time to order more
steamers. As a note: in the video the lady leaves the best part of the clam
stuck to the shell. It's a good idea to get the entire meat of the clam out
using a spoon, then pull the foreskin off and start dipping.

My wife reminds me that we'll be in the area for a week in September. If
you think to remind me through this board before you leave, I'll let you
know if we've discovered any thrilling new places.

Keith

Mark Brader wrote:
Keith Blakeslee:
Another thought is to get a bit out of Boston and up to Essex
(serviced by T and short cab ride). Woodman's is the name of the
most popular place there, but there are several several good
seafood places within arms length. Woodmans has a catering arm that
specialized in clambakes, but don't offer one by name from their
menu. They do have steamers, corn-on-the-cob and boiled lobster,
so just create your own.

Woodman's menu: http://www.woodmans.com/restaurant/menus.cfm

While I doubt they'll be open that late in the season, this little
place has often surprised us in very-late September. If they don't
have a boat going (or seats available) they'll do your clambake
right on their dock.

essex cruises: http://www.essexcruises.com/

Gloucester T station:

http://maps.google.com/maps?rls=com....73441367649442

http://local.gloucestertimes.com/essex+ma/taxis.zq.html

A.R.C.:
Can you please tell me what you mean by going to
Essex from Boston by the "T"? Do you mean by train (or Subway)?

"T" in Boston often means the subway, but it's short for MBTA, which
operates the whole transit system and the suburban commuter trains.
In this case Keith is talking about a commuter train, which only runs
every couple of hours. See
http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/rail.

The inbound schedule is hourly or better most of the day. Outbound from
Boston, the sched is erratic, but it is commuter rail, and from rush hr
until late evening the schedule is again hourly or better. Woodmans servers
their full menu from lunchtime on,

One thing I never thought to ask ARC is if they'll have a car. A car in
Boston is no fun even if you really know your way around. However, a day
not paying for parking in Boston should easily cover the cost for gas out to
Essex (about 35 mi each way), and a few of those lobsters.

Keith

On 7/3/09 10:38 AM, in article ,
"ARC" wrote:

"GGGG" wrote in message
...
ARC,
You didn't say - what are you looking for ... atmosphere, shellfish, raw,
fried , cheap, history etc.
Whether or not you like raw oysters, someplace you SHOULD go is "Union
Oyster House", even just to play tourist. IT is the oldest continually
operating restaurant in the United States.and hasn't changed in ~250
years. AND if it's a really hot late afternoon , the smell of fish for
sale on the sidewalk around the corner is something that you won't soon
forget.
http://www.unionoysterhouse.com/
http://local.yahoo.com/info-10146802...-boston?tab=re
views#reviews

Nearby, In Quincy Market:
http://www.durgin-park.com
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-10152177R
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Durgin+Park
"The food is old-fashioned, and nobody gets celebrity treatment; in fact,
nobody is even treated very nicely! "
http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/R...20/durgin-park
Part of the "charm" is the way that waitstaff treats you. Don't take
offense - it is supposed to be funny when the waitress asks " What do you
want? You expect me to go all the way back there just to get you some
ketchup ?..."

I haven't been downtown to eat in years ( plenty of good seafood on the
North Shore of Boston), so can't be specific on your picks as of 2009. In
the past few years there has been a lot of changes to traditional (
a.k.a. - OLD) restaurants in town. The NoName USED to be "something to
see" ( like Filene's Basement). It was just a door on a large building (
hence the name - " No Name" ) and you BYOB, but it was all done over and
is now housed in a modern building with modern menu, no BYOB etc. Still
good , but no longer "something to see". James Hook burned down a few
years ago, so the 60 years of "traditional " ( aka slime) was wiped away,
as well as the "something to see" effect.

the Phantom Gourmet is a local TV show that reviews lots of restaurants
around he
Here are the recent " Great 8 Boston Legends"
http://www.phantomgourmet.com/Showpa...ails&greatatei
d=1031
Here ARE several places to read recent reviews:

http://local.yahoo.com/?csz=Boston+MA
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restau...009/index.html
http://www.yelp.com/c/boston/seafood
And at those sites, you CAN look up reviews - often with links to
restaurant website/menu.
like:
http://www.dailycatch.com/blackboard.html

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-daily-ca...by=rating_desc
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restau...l/barking_crab
http://barkingcrab.com/

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restau...ame_restaurant



Bobb, thank you for your detail Boston restaurant write up. Much thanks.
Please let me show you what I am looking for.
For years when I visited Seattle, I always tried to visit the Crab Pot. That
was great.
From your list, I fancy The Legal Sea Foods, Famous Altantic Fish Company &
Turner Fisheries. Which one of these would you recommend. Thank you.

I can't respond to other than the Legal Sea Foods. I went there for dinner
when I was in Boston 4 years ago. I mentioned I was allergic to shrimps. The
server called the manager who explained to me exactly what they were willing
to serve me. (It had to be grilled.) I have never encountered such care in
any other restaurant. I was most impressed. I didn't have the clambake but I
had among the best oysters Rockefeller I have ever eaten. My husband said
the clam chowder was the best he had in Boston. So I can recommend the
quality of the food.
--
Martha Canada
..

"ARC" wrote in message
...
"GGGG" wrote in message
...
ARC,
You didn't say - what are you looking for ... atmosphere, shellfish, raw,
fried , cheap, history etc.
Whether or not you like raw oysters, someplace you SHOULD go is "Union
Oyster House", even just to play tourist. IT is the oldest continually
operating restaurant in the United States.and hasn't changed in ~250
years. AND if it's a really hot late afternoon , the smell of fish for
sale on the sidewalk around the corner is something that you won't soon
forget.
http://www.unionoysterhouse.com/
http://local.yahoo.com/info-10146802...eviews#reviews

Nearby, In Quincy Market:
http://www.durgin-park.com
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-10152177R
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Durgin+Park
"The food is old-fashioned, and nobody gets celebrity treatment; in fact,
nobody is even treated very nicely! "
http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/R...20/durgin-park
Part of the "charm" is the way that waitstaff treats you. Don't take
offense - it is supposed to be funny when the waitress asks " What do you
want? You expect me to go all the way back there just to get you some
ketchup ?..."

I haven't been downtown to eat in years ( plenty of good seafood on the
North Shore of Boston), so can't be specific on your picks as of 2009. In
the past few years there has been a lot of changes to traditional (
a.k.a. - OLD) restaurants in town. The NoName USED to be "something to
see" ( like Filene's Basement). It was just a door on a large building
( hence the name - " No Name" ) and you BYOB, but it was all done over
and is now housed in a modern building with modern menu, no BYOB etc.
Still good , but no longer "something to see". James Hook burned down a
few years ago, so the 60 years of "traditional " ( aka slime) was wiped
away, as well as the "something to see" effect.

the Phantom Gourmet is a local TV show that reviews lots of restaurants
around he
Here are the recent " Great 8 Boston Legends"
http://www.phantomgourmet.com/Showpa...atateid=1 031
Here ARE several places to read recent reviews:

http://local.yahoo.com/?csz=Boston+MA
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restau...009/index.html
http://www.yelp.com/c/boston/seafood
And at those sites, you CAN look up reviews - often with links to
restaurant website/menu.
like:
http://www.dailycatch.com/blackboard.html

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-daily-ca...by=rating_desc
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restau...l/barking_crab
http://barkingcrab.com/

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restau...ame_restaurant



Bobb, thank you for your detail Boston restaurant write up. Much thanks.
Please let me show you what I am looking for.
For years when I visited Seattle, I always tried to visit the Crab Pot.
That was great.
From your list, I fancy The Legal Sea Foods, Famous Altantic Fish Company
& Turner Fisheries. Which one of these would you recommend. Thank you.
Legal's is an expensive tourist trap. High prices, small portions. You can
do a lot better elsewhere.
MLD

"K" wrote in message
...

Keith


Keith, thank you very much. We are interested to tried the Woodman's
or any other clambake restaurants. Can you please tell me what you
mean by going to Essex from Boston by the "T"? Do you mean by train
(or Subway)? Also, in Woodman's menu, their menu shows "Down River" Combo
at
$24.95. Is this what you mean the clambake? Or, are these just oil
fried food?

Yes, the Boston Metro system is called the 'T' and stations are marked
with a stylized 'T' symbol. I believe the best terminal for Woodman's is
West Gloucester. It's still run by the MBTA, but as commuter rail
service, not subway service. You'd take the Newburyport/Rockport line out
of Boston, then get off at Gloucester West station. You may have to
arrange in advance for a cab up to Woodmans, but it's only about 3 scenic
miles away. All trains going in that direction originate at Boston's
North Station.

SNIP
Don't even think of going out this way by public transportation. It's not
convenient and the above sounds easier than actually doing it. You need to
be able to drive there. In that area there are other good seafood
restaurants--for example: In Ipswich there is the Clam Box.
http://www.ipswichma.com/clambox/

Then one known only to to locals "The Causeway" in Gloucester
http://www.capeannweb.com/menus/causeway.htm
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...achusetts.html

Another thing to consider if you have a place to eat--Local market "Market
Basket" sells live lobsters (pick the one you want out of the tank) and will
steam them for you. Price the other day was $4.99 lb
From any one of these you can drive around the area to look around,
Gloucester etc
MLD.

MLD wrote:
"K" wrote in message
...

Keith


Keith, thank you very much. We are interested to tried the Woodman's
or any other clambake restaurants. Can you please tell me what you
mean by going to Essex from Boston by the "T"? Do you mean by train
(or Subway)? Also, in Woodman's menu, their menu shows "Down River"
Combo at
$24.95. Is this what you mean the clambake? Or, are these just oil
fried food?

Yes, the Boston Metro system is called the 'T' and stations are
marked with a stylized 'T' symbol. I believe the best terminal for
Woodman's is West Gloucester. It's still run by the MBTA, but as
commuter rail service, not subway service. You'd take the
Newburyport/Rockport line out of Boston, then get off at Gloucester
West station. You may have to arrange in advance for a cab up to
Woodmans, but it's only about 3 scenic miles away. All trains going
in that direction originate at Boston's North Station.

SNIP
Don't even think of going out this way by public transportation. It's not
convenient and the above sounds easier than actually doing
it. You need to be able to drive there. In that area there are
other good seafood restaurants--for example: In Ipswich there is the
Clam Box. http://www.ipswichma.com/clambox/

Then one known only to to locals "The Causeway" in Gloucester
http://www.capeannweb.com/menus/causeway.htm
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...achusetts.html

Another thing to consider if you have a place to eat--Local market
"Market Basket" sells live lobsters (pick the one you want out of the
tank) and will steam them for you. Price the other day was $4.99 lb
From any one of these you can drive around the area to look around,
Gloucester etc
MLD.

I tend to agree with MLD that Legal Seafood is touristy, and nobody can
disagree that it's a chain. It started out as a decent place over in
Cambridge, and was still good when they opened a new place in Back Bay -
they had the same sources, separate menus, and all was well. It's when they
spread out to the airport, then other airports, then to however many places
there are around the country that things went awry. The exact same thing
happened with Boston Market. They started out with chicken that they did
really well, and gave you great helpings of good sides (like real mashed
potatoes), all for a good price. Then they added ham and meatloaf and other
things, and were bought out by McDonalds in the process, and the only tie to
the original is the name. The chicken is just okay, and most other things
aren't.

Same with Legal. Clams are foreign substances in a lot of their new markets
(as are most of the things on the menu) so they went from fresh to frozen.
Cream is hard to store, so they substitute flour (maybe corn starch) in
their chowder, and so on down the line. The downside is this: even their
'home office', which I believe is in the same building in Cambridge, has to
serve the neutralized stuff they had to come up with to go nationwide.

There are a lot of 'old-line' Boston seafood restaurants that aren't what
they once were. The No-Name used to be great for roughing it ... more like
an indoor picnic than a restaurant, but great food for cheap. Somebody
bought it, and now it may be a bit shinier, but the food is mediocre and
definitely not cheap. Anthony's Pier 1 is another of those. High priced
frozen dinners, I think.

If you're a patient person, and have no grudge against the Red Sox, the
Boston Globe http://www.boston.com/ has a good food and restaurant section,
and possibly an archive. The paper is on and off the list for extinction,
so do your digging now, but every professional review allows personal ones,
and Boston is a vocal place.

I don't know why MLD finds the train to Gloucester difficult. You get on,
you get off, just like any other train. Just make sure you're where you
want to be at each end. Thousands do it every day.

This thread started with the OP looking for a clambake meal, and I've tried
to stick with that. Gloucester is definitely a fishing town, but it's also
a city of Portuguese immigrants, and the Portuguese offer skills with
seafood like no other. For a fabulous Portuguese meal, take the train one
more stop to the Gloucester station. If it's dinnerime, just follow your
nose to the Azorean. If not, ask, but it's right there.

The Causeway can be great, but probably won't be in October when the summer
crowds are gone. When the customers are thick, they keep their oil hot and
fresh, but when the crowds go I think they re-use it, and are willing to
toss a meal in before the oil is ready for it. And it's hardly a
locals-only place. Maybe in winter, but the rest of the year, it's all
tourists. It's their advertising that says 'Where the locals go'

"Mark Brader" wrote in message
...

"T" in Boston often means the subway, but it's short for MBTA, which
operates the whole transit system and the suburban commuter trains.
In this case Keith is talking about a commuter train, which only runs
every couple of hours. See http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/rail.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "E-mail is idiot-proof. (I know this because I
have
| received E-mail from idiots.)" -- Beppi
Crosariol

My text in this article is in the public domain.

Mark, thanks.
Looking at the MBTA, we can take the Rockport line to Gloucester to go to
Woodman's and try their clambake? No, we are not planning to have a car.
My impression of Boston many years ago on traffic was difficult to navigate.