In Search of Clamcake Nirvava

I had an idea some time ago to find the best clam cakes in the area and keep a log of the bivalve biopsies.

In an instance of utter spontaneity I decided to start with 'The Sea Food Hut'. Located at 2 South Main street they are located right on the Fairhaven/Acushnet town line. This is the typical New England snack shack defined. You order from outside the window of the small building. The parking lot is best described as 'small'. About 6 parking spaces small but don't let theat deter you. The Sea Food Hut offers all manner of fries delicacies, clam cakes, fries, onion rings, fried clams, scallops and fish to name just a smidgen. I have had their fish and chips in the past which were lightly battered, not quite like the traditional English fish and chips which have a heavy batter. This day though I was on the hunt for clam cakes. More commonly known in other parts of the country as fritters clam cakes deserve to be in a class of there own.

I ordered only a half dozen, since I have tried to lose weight this year and have lost about 15 pounds over a little more than 2 months. This is a tough job, but somebody has to do  it. These were cooked to order and of course there's a short wait until your number is called. I had a seat at one of the 2 picnic tables there and watch the traffic flow through the intersection of Main street and Alden road. When my order came up I helped myself to a couple of squirts from the bottle of vinegar on the counter and decide to head out Main street into the Acushnet back country since it was a beautiful top down day.

Their clam cakes were GOOD. Really good. Nicely cooked to a golden color and not greasy. I don't remember any pieces of clam in them but I didn't mind at all. In a short time, just a few miles, all 6 clam cakes were GONE. Clam cakes aren't like fries or onion rings, when the box is empty there aren't any that fell to the bottom of the bag. I still craved more cakes.

I kept driving through Acushnet into Rochester and then to Freetown when I suddenly remembered another tiny clam shack on (50) Middleboro road in that town. Hugo's is about the same size as Seafood Hut, maybe smaller. A dirt lot offers plenty of parking and has either a tiny grandstand or a seasonal plant display stand. I think it's for sports teams to pose for pictures while having ice cream. Neat idea. I ordered another half dozen cakes and sat and read their sizeable menu. In a couple of minutes the guy inside cooking told me he made a mistake and dropped a dozen in the fryer by mistake. Would I like the whole 12? Hell ya'! When they were done I offered him the extra $2 for the large order but he declined, so I left it in the tip cup.

I headed South on Middleboro road towards Sassaquin pond in the far north end of New Bedford. I took a look at my first cake from this batch and was surprised. The were a little darker then the previous batch from the Seafood Hut. Little bumps and ends were nicely browned and they reminded me of the Holy Grail of clam cakes. Mc Cray's. Though long gone several restaurants have offered 'Mc Cray's' style clam cakes and fried clams. I took a bite and indeed, they were about the closest to Mc Cray's cakes I have had. Even better than the former Mc Cray's II in Tiverton, RI. The middles were a little doughy, but that was fine with me. And clams! Each one had real clams. Real clams have real clam necks, so be forewarned, some bites can be chewy. These were a little saltier than the Acushnet batch but not overly so. My intention was to eat 6 cakes and bring the remaining 6 home. But they were so good I ate all 12. Yep, that was on top of the first 6, so I ate 18 clam cakes that day. I swear that Hugo's were so good I had no choice.

Today I found myself craving something fried and decided to try Evelyns Drive In in Little Compton, RI. Set on the Sakonnet river, not far from the Old Stone Bridge there is large dirt parking lot, plenty of picnic tables and an indoor dining room. A nice spot to sit awhile.  I got my order quickly. So I assume they cook batches at a time and sit under the warmer, or I just had good timing. These were nice light inside and a little chewy, in a soft way. A very nice chewy. I didn't find any clams in them but these were not greasy and very good. The 6 were gone in a few minutes as I  headed south on Main road, Route 77, an excellent scenic drive.

So...this is the tally, Hugo's is definitely number 1, The Seafood Hut is a close second and Evelyn's is a tight third. Even though I haven't tried Gen's Seafood's clam cakes in quite awhile I giving them a distant 4th. Some day I'll try one just to confirm my rating.
Flo's (Closed Hurricanes) on the beach in Portsmouth, RI will be tried next. They are a different class, more cakey.
So there you have it, the Great Clam Cake Search. If you have any suggestions drop me a line.