Another visit to the Lobster Shack at Two Lights

Watching the waves while waiting.

Clam basket and a mini blueberry crumb pie.

In a Swirl Over Fried Clams

Amazingly, I read about Sea Swirl in Mystic Connecticut on the Roadfood site just days before I would be in that neck of the woods this summer.

True to Michael Stern's words, I had the best fried clams of my life there. I lived in Maine for nearly twenty years, so that's saying a lot! The clam bellies were light and sweet, the fries and cole slaw just fine. True to the location's legacy as a Carvel stand, they also sell soft-serve ice cream, so a complete dinner can be had there.

More Maine Food

Continuing my Maine visit, I made two more coastal food stops. One was Five Islands Lobster Co. Located at the town wharf with a view of islands and marina. I had never been there, but it was mentioned by Jane & Michael Stern in the current issue of Gourmet. They raved about the lobster.

For some reason, I felt that eating a lobster is a social activity, so being solo I had a lobster roll. It had lots of really tasty lobster meat and no mayo at all, so I mostly skipped the roll and just picked out the chunks of meat. As accompaniment, I had onion rings, cole slaw and a bottle of Moxie, one of the oldest brands of soda still made, and hard to find outside of Maine. It's rather medicinal tasting, but I like to have one every couple of years.

As with many of the old places, you go to the building where they cook the lobsters for lobsters and steamers (steamed clams), and to a separate place for everything else. In this case, the Love Nest Snack Bar.


The next day I sneaked in one more waterside meal at Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster in Freeport, one of my old haunts. It's also located at a town wharf. I had a serving of steamers followed by one of my old favorite lunches, a clamburger with onion rings. A clamburger is a clam cake (chopped clams and breading made into a disk and fried) on a bun. The onion rings at Harraseeket are my favorite. Although I prefer my clams in crumbs, I like my rings in batter. I enjoyed these much more than the rings at Five Islands. I got so much into the food I forgot to take a picture until I was nearly done.

Clam Up!

Planning a quick trip to Maine, I was as anxious to enjoy some of my favorite foods as I was to see the ocean. Fortunately, there are some places where you can do both. One of the best is the Lobster Shack near Portland.

I first ate at the Lobster Shack 30 years ago, and I think nothing has changed except, of course, the prices. The years I lived in Maine, we would always go opening weekend which was around my birthday.

Last night's dinner was a clam plate. There has always been controversy as to whether fried clams should be made with batter or crumbs. I come down firmly on the crumbs side, and so does the Shack. The french fries are frozen crinkle cuts. But the cole slaw is home made with a light dressing of mayo and the secret ingredient, pineapple juice. I like that you can fill your own cups of tartar sauce.

Arriving at 7:15 on a Sunday evening, I was served at 8:00. The order line remained long until just before official closing time at 8. But waiting here is not a problem considering the scenery.

Fried Clams

I lived in Maine for 18 years, and one of my favorite native foods was fried clams. My friend Janis Jaquith, another New England ex-pat, has written a great essay complete with recipe for our local paper, The Hook. Janis, now we need your recipe for tartar sauce!