Twenty-one “Favorite” Cape Cod Clam Shacks
Cape Cod Clam Shack
In 2006, Elizabeth Bougerol published New England’s Favorite Seafood Shacks: Eating Up the Coast from Connecticut to Maine. Though it may not be the definite tome on the best seafood establishments in the region, the unifying theme is that each and every place listed is someone’s favorite. It may have made the list simply because of the food, but it might also be for the location, the colorful native patrons, the authenticity of the experience, an owner who’s a real character, the atmosphere, or just years of time-honored existence.Whatever the grounds for inclusion, to me the very existence of the book and places listed within are reason enough to chart a course that includes a stop at each and everyone of them, just to judge for myself whether it deserves to be on “the list”.
I have my own rating system for lobster rolls, my particular seafood obsession, and raison d’être for going in search of every obscure hole-in-the-wall seafood eatery here on Cape Cod. It’s a one- to five-claw system that awards points for food quality, setting, value, friendliness of the wait staff, and authenticity. So far, I have only found one that merits 5-claws, but I have sampled a mere third of the possibilities that Bougerol lists. Here, in reverse order from the tip of the peninsular to the islands off its coast, are the 21 establishments on the Cape and Islands that were deemed worthy by the author.
P’Town
The Lobster Pot
Wellfleet
Mac’s Seafood
Bayside Lobster Hut
Moby Dick’s
Eastham
Arnold’s Lobster & Clam Bar
Orleans
Cap’t Cass Rock Harbor Seafood
Sir Cricket’s Fish & Chips
The Lobster Claw
Brewster
Cobie’s
Dennis
Captain Frosty’s Fish & Chips
Sesuit Harbor Café
West Dennis
Kream ‘n’ Cone
Hyannis
Baxter’s Boathouse
Falmouth
The Clam Shack
Martha’s Vineyard
The Black Dog Tavern
Giordano’s
Larsen’s Fish Market
The Bite
Home Port Restaurant
Nantucket
The Lobster Trap
Nantucket Pharmacy