Maine Steamed Clams (Steamers) is a signature dish of United States; we have verified places to eat it in Portland. Start with where to eat Maine Steamed Clams (Steamers) in Portland.
Maine Steamed Clams (Steamers) · Portland
Soft-shell longneck Maine clams steamed in their own briny liquor with white wine, butter and garlic, served in a bucket with a small pot of melted butter, a cup of broth for rinsing and a wedge of lemon.
Soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria), called steamers in Maine, have been harvested from the mudflats of Casco Bay, Penobscot Bay and the Damariscotta estuary for centuries. The Wabanaki peoples relied on them as a primary protein well before European contact, leaving the great shell heaps that line the Maine coast. The 19th-century lobster-and-clam shore-dinner codified the modern serving format: a bucket of steamers, a melted-butter ramekin for dipping and a cup of broth to rinse grit. Portland's J's Oyster and The Port Hole keep the canonical down-east bucket; Eventide and Scales run more refined plated versions.
Where to eat in Portland:
- Boone's Fish House + Oyster Room
- Eventide Oyster Co
- Fore Street
- Scales
Where to eat Maine Steamed Clams (Steamers) in Portland: the editor picks