• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Tiny Urban Kitchen
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About Me
    • Travel
    • Recipes
    • Michelin
    • Subscribe
    • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » US Travel » Boston » Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Berkshires

    Fried Clams, Lobster Rolls, and Local Breweries in the North Shore

    Published: Jun 16, 2014 · Modified: Oct 28, 2014 by Jennifer Che

    _DSC7532
    There's nothing that defines New England summers more than fried clams, lobster rolls, and fresh, cold local beer.

    In Boston, we're blessed with this type of food up and down the coast. Most people think of Cape Cod when summer comes around, and the traffic down to the "Cape" during summer weekends is notoriously brutal.

    There's another slightly quieter cape that's just as charming, has plenty of delicious seafood, and is definitely less stressful to get to than Cape Cod.

    This is Cape Ann, a much tinier cape just 45 minutes north of Boston that includes the towns of Rockport, Gloucester, Essex, and Ipswich.
    _DSC7524
    Last week I had a chance to visit a number of highlights in Cape Ann as part of a tour organized by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism. It was a fun food (and beer!) focused exploration of what the region has to offer.
    _DSC7551

    Stop #1: Ipswich Brewing Company, Ipswich
    _DSC7482
    Ipswich Brewing Company is located right in the heart of Ipswich. In fact, I took the commuter rail from Boston to Ipswich ($8, about 53 minutes) and was able to walk to the brewery in 5 minutes.
    _DSC7480
    The company just recently moved into this new building in December 2013. What I found most interesting about Ipswich Ale is that it not only makes its own line of beers, it also makes beer for other companies.

    It's a contract brewery.
    _DSC7496
    Founder and president Rob Martin explained to us how it worked. Basically, Ipswich Brewing Company offers various of levels of contract brewing services. On the most basic, hands-off level, a beermaker can just come in, rent the equipment, and do everything himself.
    _DSC7494 _DSC7495
    On the other extreme, a brand could come to Ipswich Brewing Company and ask them to create a beer for the brand. The brand would market and sell the product but would let Ipswich Brewing Company take care of the beer making.

    And then there's also everything in between. They can consult as much or as little as you need.
    _DSC7492
    While we were at the brewery, we had a chance to try a variety of beers from Clown Shoes Beer, a small local company that makes all of its beer at Ipswich Brewing Company. My favorite from the tasting? An IPA called Galactica.
    _DSC7489
    The tour was educational and fun. In the back of my mind I kept wondering, wouldn't it be fun to partner with them to make a beer for Tiny Urban Kitchen? Ha ha . . . just kidding.

    The brewery is not open to the public for tours right now, but they are in the process of building a restaurant in the space. Soon, guests can come and enjoy great food while sampling lots of beers on draft, including experimental brews!

    Stop #2: J. T. Farnham's Famous Fried Clams, Essex_DSC7499
    Our next stop was in the town of Essex. Essex is home to several famous fried clam shops. During the first part of the tour (which, unfortunately I missed because I had to work), the group stopped at Woodman's of Essex. A couple hours later, we stopped at J.T. Farnham's.
    _DSC7501
    One very unique thing about J.T. Farnham's is its location. It's situated right on the edge of a salt marsh, which means you can sit on these wooden benches and stare out at this beautiful view.

    It's relaxing and so pretty.
    _DSC7503
    Inside, the set up is pretty simple. Order your fried clams (and onion rings, fries, and the like) and then wait.
    _DSC7504
    We came on a weekday during what's still considered "off season" (yes, June is still not completely peak season yet), so it wasn't very crowded at all. I'm not sure what it's likely normally, but I'm guessing there can be huge crowds and lines.
    _DSC7508
    We tried some fried full belly clams, clam strips, onions rings, and seafood chowder.
    _DSC7509 _DSC7511
    Unfortunately, red tide had just recently closed the North Shore clam beds, so it's likely these clams came from another area (maybe Maine?) that doesn't have red tide.

    I really liked the way these clams were fried. The breading was nice and crunchy while not greasy at all. I was starving by the time we got here at 2PM (I hadn't eaten all day), and thus I happily chowed down many clam strips and bellies. Some people on the tour said they liked the fried clams at J.T. Farnham's better, while at least one favored Woodman's.

    Though I really enjoyed the clam strips, I did not love the flavor of the clam bellies, which were not super sweet and tasted a bit "offal-y". It's was really different in flavor compared to the super sweet cherrystone raw clams I had enjoyed a week earlier at a clam shucker in Boston's Haymarket.

    The seafood chowder was generously filled with scallops, lobster, and shrimp. It was simple, though the soup itself was not particularly exciting.
    _DSC7502
    Still, you can't beat the view!

    Stop #3: Cape Ann Brewery, Gloucester
    _DSC7515
    Cape Ann Brewing Company is a family-owned brewing company located in Gloucester. They hold tours and tastings at this location.
    _DSC7527In fact, there is a full service restaurant where you can try various flights of their beers.
    _DSC7516 _DSC7520
    We met owner Jeremy Goldberg, who shared with us about how he started beer making. He had been working on Wall Street in the world of finance when 9/11 happened. At the ripe young age of 28, he had a mid-life crisis, evaluated what he really wanted to do with his life, and decided to pursue his passion.

    Cape Ann Brewing Company was thus founded in 2002 and has been going strong since.

    Jeremy taught us a little about the difference between lagers and ales, likening lagers to a red wine (where you have to dig deeper to appreciate the nuances in the depths of flavor) and ales to a white wine (where the flavors - like bitterness and crispness - are immediate and right up top).
    _DSC7521
    You can try many different types of beers at the restaurant.

    We ended up trying all twelve, which was definitely fun.
    _DSC7522
    Many people really liked the Sunrise Saison, which is made with rhubarb and strawberries. I'm personally not as big of a fan of fruity beers, so I only thought it was OK. I did really like the Joey Rock's Milk Stout, which was rich, caramel-y, and very smooth. I also thought the Tea Party was kind of fun. It's a barleywine made with three different styles of tea that were dumped into the harbor during the Boston Tea Party.

    Stop #4: Lobster Pool, Rockport
    _DSC7530
    This last stop turned out to be my favorite stop of the whole trip.
    _DSC7534
    In Rockport we stopped by this quaint little Lobster Shack called Lobster Pool.
    _DSC7548
    It's a family-owned restaurant. Owner Myalisa Waring runs the restaurant with the help of her five (!) kids. Unfortunately her husband, who used to be her partner in all aspects of the restaurant, passed away suddenly in 2010.

    With the help and encouragement of her family and friends, she has continued to keep this restaurant running.
    _DSC7540
    Here's the lobster pool right inside the restaurant.
    _DSC7544
    Lobster Pool faces the ocean on the west, which means you can watch the sunset over the ocean while eating lobster rolls (unusual on the East coast!).
    _DSC7553Everything is made from scratch and made to order. That means if you don't want any mayonnaise in your lobster roll, they won't add any.
    _DSC7550
    The lobster roll was fantastic.

    It's simple yet shines due to the high quality ingredients. The lobster meat was fresh, sweet, and juicy. There was hardly any mayonnaise, which is exactly the way I like it.
    _DSC7555
    They also sell a lobster quesadilla, which actually was created due to a mistaken order of too-large tortillas one day.

    The lobster quesadilla was born, and became so popular they made it a permanent item on the menu.
    _DSC7557
    It's excellent. It's a quesadilla filled mostly with fresh chunks of lobster and a blend of three cheeses. It's relatively simple, but uses good, fresh ingredients and is executed really well_DSC7559
    Finally, we tried their haddock fish cakes with their house made tartar sauce, which was also really good.

    The restaurant is BYOB. There's also a raw bar where they serve raw clams, raw oysters, and raw lobster tails (I've never had one!).
    _DSC7562
    I love the idea of sitting out here on a summer's evening, chomping on excellent seafood while watching the sunset.

    Myalisa told us that sometimes the sunset is so dramatic, the crowd bursts into appreciative applause as the sun makes its final, fiery descent behind the ocean.

    There are dozens of photos of the sunset throughout the restaurant and Myalisa's house.

    She never tires of it.

    Stop #5: Back to Boston
    _DSC7563
    Cape Ann was a lovely afternoon distraction from all the stuff going on in Boston. I loved just looking out the window as we were driving between towns. It's a beautiful area, filled with quaint little houses, seafood shacks, and lots of pretty ocean views.

    My little afternoon tour barely scratches the surface of this beautiful part of Massachusetts. It's definitely an area I hope to explore more this summer, especially since it's so close by!

    Disclaimer: this trip was organized and paid for by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism

    ©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
    All Rights Reserved

    More Boston

    • Jinny's Pizzeria Newton
    • Farewell Bergamot
    • Happy New Year! A look back at 2017
    • Jen's Top Restaurants to visit in Boston - 2017 update

    Recent Posts

    • La Salita Valencia Spain January 16, 2023
    • El Poblet Valencia Spain -2 Michelin Stars December 29, 2022
    • MercatBar by Quique Dacosta - Valencia December 9, 2022
    • La Pepica Waterfront Paella - Valencia December 5, 2022
    • Llisa Negra Valencia Spain December 1, 2022
    • Central Bar by Ricard Camarena - Valencia Spain November 29, 2022
    • Casa Ripoll Valencia - Beachside Paella November 27, 2022
    • Valencia Spain Trip Report - Itinerary November 23, 2022

    Reader Interactions

    Trackbacks

    1. Jen's Top Restaurants in Boston says:
      July 7, 2015 at 10:05 pm

      […] you have time, take a 45-minute drive up to Boston’s North Shore and enjoy famous fried clams from a clam shack (there’s a long standing debate about […]

      Log in to Reply
    2. Happy New Year - A Look Back at 2014 says:
      November 5, 2015 at 12:44 am

      […] early June, I took a short day trip to the North Shore (Cape Ann) and got an authentic taste of New England fried clams, lobster rolls, and local […]

      Log in to Reply
    3. Jen's Top Restaurants to visit in Boston - 2017 update - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
      December 21, 2017 at 2:10 am

      […] you have time, take a 45-minute drive up to Boston’s North Shore and enjoy famous fried clams from a clam shack (there’s a long standing debate about […]

      Log in to Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen
    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen

    Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always. Feel free to explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!

    More about me →

    Explore

    • Recipe
    • Restaurant
    • US Travel
    • World Travel

    Popular Posts

    • La Salita Valencia Spain
    • El Poblet Valencia Spain -2 Michelin Stars
    • MercatBar by Quique Dacosta - Valencia
    • La Pepica Waterfront Paella - Valencia

    Recipes

    • Appetizer
    • Snacks
    • Meat
    • Vegetables
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Seafood
    • Noodles

    Recently Traveled

    • Hong Kong
    • France
    • Belgium
    • Boston
    • California
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • Spain

    Support Us

    Recognition


    Featured on the front page
    of the FOOD Section: 2015

    Best Food Blog Awards:
    Restaurant & Dining 2012

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • My Equipment
    • In the Press
    • Project Food Blog
    • Privacy Policy

    Eating Guides!

    Eating & Travel Guides
    Trip Reports
    "Kawaii" (Cute Foods)
    Around the World

    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Mail
    • RSS Feed

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Shop at Amazon

    Copyright © 2022 Tiny Urban Kitchen