Whole soft-shell clams, dipped in evaporated milk and corn flour and deep-fried until golden. Invented at Woodman's of Essex on the North Shore in 1916, a New England summer-shack staple in Boston ever since.
Where to eat it: 8 restaurants across 2 cities.
Lawrence Chubby Woodman of Essex, Massachusetts dropped soft-shell clams into hot lard on July 3, 1916 on a customer's suggestion. The result became the New England roadside-shack staple. Boston-area fried-clam culture follows the North Shore template: whole-belly clams, not strips; evaporated-milk dip; cornmeal-and-flour breading. Neptune Oyster on Salem Street serves the city version, Pauli's on Salem makes them by the basket, and the summer commute up Route 128 to Woodman's, the Clam Box of Ipswich or J.T. Farnham's remains the regional pilgrimage. Belly-on is the canonical Boston preparation; clam strips are the Howard Johnson's industrial version born in the 1950s.
Common allergens: Shellfish, Gluten, Dairy
Tip from the editors. The bellies are the dish; the strips are the industrial shortcut. If you cannot find belly-on soft-shell clams, source from a New England fishmonger.
Neptune Oyster on Salem Street runs the city's defining raw bar in Boston's North End since 2004. 42 seats, no reservations, hot-buttered lobster roll.
Signature: Hot-buttered lobster roll, Oysters
Order: Hot-buttered lobster roll on a butter-toasted split-top bun.
Tip: Put your name on the iPad at 16:30. The wait at 18:30 runs 90 minutes; weekday lunch is the easy seat.
Union Oyster House on Union Street has shucked oysters in Boston since 1826, the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the United States.
Signature: Oysters on the half shell, Clam chowder
Order: A dozen Wellfleets at the U-shaped bar and a cup of clam chowder.
Tip: Skip the dining-room tables and sit at the historic raw bar. The bar is the original 1826 plank.
Legal Sea Foods on Long Wharf, near the New England Aquarium in Boston, has anchored the chain's flagship since 1968. Kitchen leans seafood.
Signature: New England clam chowder, Lobster pie
Order: A cup of clam chowder, the recipe served at five presidential inaugurations.
Tip: Lunch with a harbor-side window is the best seat. The raw bar runs daily until 22:00.
Pauli's on Salem Street has rolled lobster rolls and Italian subs in Boston's North End since 2014. Booking recommended. Reservations advised.
Try: Lobster roll, hot or cold
Tip: Order ahead online to skip the counter wait. The XL roll splits between two; the classic is the single.
Becky's Diner on Commercial Street has run on the working waterfront since 1991, opening at 05:00 for the fishing crews and the breakfast queue behind them.
Order: Short stack with bacon and a cup of clam chowder.
Tip: Cash and card both fine. Queues longest 09:00-11:00 weekends; early arrivals get the counter seats.
Scales on Maine Wharf, since March 2016 from Sam Hayward, Dana Street and Victor Leon (the Fore Street team), with whole local fish and a raw bar.
Signature: Maine lobster roll, Whole local fish, Raw bar oysters
Order: The Maine lobster roll, then a half dozen Glidden Point oysters.
Tip: Lunch from 11:30, dinner from 17:00. Resy reservations recommended; the bar takes walk-ins.
Boone's Fish House on Custom House Wharf reopened 2014 on the 1898 Boone's site from the Harding Lee Smith group, with lobster rolls, halibut and chowder.
Signature: Lobster roll, Pan-roasted halibut, Fish chowder
Order: The Maine lobster roll on a New England top-split bun, plus fish chowder.
Tip: Daily lunch and dinner; the deck fills early summer evenings.
Harbor Fish Market on Custom House Wharf has been the Portland working waterfront's retail fish counter since 1969, with lobster, fresh-cut fish and oysters.
Tip: Open daily; shipping is available nationwide for live lobster. The wharf storefront is the landmark Old Port photograph.
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