Fun Playing With Seafood and the Glouster Fisherman

Continuing our Boston odyssey, we were on our own on Monday, as our hosts in Jamaica Plain had to work. With the sun shining, what could be more fun than to play with Ipswich clams and visit Gloucester? I had always hoped to someday see Cape Ann, the setting for the Harry Chapin song "Dogtown." And I had no clue what a "clam belly" was - aren't clams just, clams?

Our first stop

Fish/seafood chowder

J. T. Farnham's is an old-school shack overlooking the Essex Salt Marsh. This sweet broth was chock full of scallops, clams, lobster, fish and potatoes. Every bite, except the two bites of lobster, was pristine and melted in the mouth (the lobster was ok, just not so perfect as the rest). 

Clam belly plate with fries and housemade onion rings.

Because we were "food touring," we were going to stick with the smallest plates to share. But the counter lady strongly recommended that we get the "dinner" plate, so we could try their freshly made onion rings and sample both the "strips" and the coveted claim bellies. A great call! And now, I know what a clam belly is!

The onion rings stayed together (don't you hate when you bite into an onion ring and the middle comes out leaving you with a fistful of fried batter?) and screamed with both freshness in the cooking process and great flavors. As good as they were, they did not overshadow the plump clam bellies which were impeccably fresh and perfectly fried. I wished that they had a better quality of tartar sauce, but that is a minor quibble. 

We had fun with the clams, onion rings and seafood chowder at J.T. Farnham's, but beware that they are cash only and not a cheap date. Beer and wine are available, though we stuck with freshly brewed ice tea. 

J.T. Farnham's

88 Eastern Ave

Essex, Massachusetts 01929

(978) 768-6643

Gloucester MA Lost Fisherman's Memorial

We spent some time walking around Gloucester harbor and the monument here.

Lobster Pool Restaurant
Rockport, MA

We were still so full by the time we got to Lobster Pool that we almost just used the restroom and passed on the food. Then, we saw their menu hanging by the door:

A "no-nonsense, no-celery" lobster roll? This, I had to try.

They do catch the lobsters right off their back porch.

Best lobster roll evah - fresh, fresh, fresh lobster, a little mayo and a slice of lettuce. At $18, not cheap. But so worth it!

The cole slaw, on the other hand, was right off the Sysco truck; we didn't even taste it. (It "came with" the lobster roll.)

Our last stop on this crawl would be The Clam Box. This was the most touristy looking and feeling of the three places, but Bob felt they had the best clams. I liked Farnham's a little better, but different strokes for different folks!

Fried Clam Bellies

Clam Box of Ipswich
246 High St
Ipswich, MA 01938
(978) 356-9707

So, who offers the best Ipswich clams? Like mom's meatloaf, that may depend on your taste. But both Clam Box and J. T. Farnham's offered fresh, well prepared food with a smile. And dining in Gloucester ain't cheap. But it is fun!

Fun Playing with fire

Tuesday was Fat Tuesday, and though we don't celebrate it, I'll take any excuse to play with my food. So we met some folks at one of Cleveland's best restaurants, fire. fire is located on Shaker Square, just over the border from Shaker Heights to Cleveland, proper. Even though it is "East Side" - it takes us at least 45 minutes each way to get to and fro, so we rarely get there. In fact, we hadn't had an "off the menu" meal there in over a year (October 22, 2006), though we did make some special events there last year.

So, we could not resist the opportunity to visit fire. I was determined to try their pizza, which I hadn't yet sampled. Though this one was called a "flatbread", this was pizza to me, and oh my, was that crust amazing! They use a tandoor to obtain the crispy yet tender texture.


roasted butternut squash, aged gouda and fried sage flatbread



Normally, I'm pretty much a purist when it comes to pizza toppings - maybe some meatball or onions, but otherwise, I want it to be all about the crust, sauce and cheese. Butternut squash? Gouda cheese? Oh, yeah, baby - this was simply amazing.


fire-roasted banana peppers, spicy sausage and tomato ragout

My husband's nickname is not "Chili Pepper" for nothing!. These peppers offered just the right amount of heat, which combined beautifully with the spicy sausage, char and tomato.


iceberg, grape tomatoes, red onion and buttermilk bleu cheese

I did not taste this salad, but it does look delicious, doesn't it? Who'd have thunk that iceberg lettuce could look so attractive.


frisee salad, potato cake, maple glazed bacon, fried egg, tomato gribiche dressing and fried parsley




This one, I did taste, and it was a perfect combination - though I could have eaten a plateful of that heavenly pork belly all by itself.



While we were waiting for the entrees, I had to sneak a photo of this amazingly meaty sight. The kitchen was preparing entrees for a group in the party room.


whole roasted bronzini, moroccan cous cous, zucchini, carrots, fennel, pine nuts, currants, leek coulis and harissa sauce



As beautiful as this dish was, I thought the fish tasted a little old. But Edsel, who ordered it, thoroughly enjoyed it, and that's what counts.


tandoor roasted ribeye , potato puree, sauteed cabbage, mustard greens and sweet onions with veal jus



This tasted as good as it looked.


tandoor roasted organic pork chop, amish cornmeal polenta, pear-dried cherry compote, sauteed kale, bacon and pork jus

This was Bob's entree. It was fantastic - the creamy polenta melted in the mouth, and the bacon and cherry worked so well together with the pork.


housemade linguini, baby clams, pancetta, white wine cream, lemon, garlic and herbs



I didn't think I'd be able to consume a whole entree, after my filling lunch at Lola earlier in the day. Well - I cleaned this plate - it was too good. The baby clams were sweet, tender and fresh and the pasta had the perfect amount of bite and chew. And how can anything with pancetta not be satisfying? The citrus note seemed a little out of place at first - but a grind of fresh pepper pulled it all together; as noted, I did empty the bowl (though I had a little help from my table-mates).

We shared a few desserts. Since I did not order any of them, I'm not totally sure about the descriptions; I'll do my best.




This was a custardy parfait with fresh berries and topped with a meringue. Edsel - if you're out there - can you describe it better? I really enjoyed the bite I sampled.


Chocolate-Banana Bread Pudding

This was outstanding - warm and creamy, chocolaty and banana-y - yum!


Raspberry Buckle Topped with Vanilla Ice Cream

It was served warm and left me feeling cozy!





This is what the inside of the Buckle looked like. The ice cream is already mostly melted, because the pastry was so wonderfully warm.

So - why did it take us so long to get back to fire for an "off the menu" meal? Beats me - I always enjoy playing with food when its fire-y! And Doug Katz and his crew do an incredibly tasty job!