Get the Best Fried Clams in NH at Bentley’s This Summer

Fried clams are a summer staple, especially in New England. If you’re looking for the best fried clams in NH, you have to visit us at Bentley’s Roast Beef. We source local clams and fry them to golden-brown perfection in tasty batter. All fried seafood is a delicious summer treat, but fried clams are a New England favorite and specialty. They even have their own day on July 3rd. The date has a special place in the origin story of fried clams, and we’re going to share that story in this blog post.

We couldn’t serve you the best fried clams in NH if someone hadn’t come up with the idea. Let’s find out how that idea came about.

A Little Shop in Essex

Let’s travel to Essex, MA, in 1914. Lawrence Henry “Chubby” Woodman and his wife Bessie had a little shop on Main Street where they sold a few grocery items, homemade potato chips, and Chubby’s fresh-dug clams. They did all right, but business was pretty slow until they had an idea on July 3, 1916.

On that particular day, Chubby was complaining about business being slow to a local fisherman. The fisherman joked that if Chubby could fry clams to make them as tasty as his chips, he’d never have to worry about that again. Other people scoffed at the idea, but not Chubby and Bessie. They figured it couldn’t hurt to try, and if it worked, they’d increase the demand for their clams. So Chubby shucked some clams while Bessie prepared the fryer and whipped up some batter. They fried the shucked clams and gave them to some locals to try. The consensus was that they were delicious!

Take Note of the Date

Fried clams might have stayed a local curiosity if not for the timing. Remember, the day Chubby and Bessie tested out fried clams was July 3rd. The next day—July 4, 1916—Essex was crowded for the parade, and the Woodmans presented their creation. The fried clams were a hit, and now they’re an irreplaceable part of New England food culture.

But how can we be so precise with the dates? Well, Chubby and Bessie wrote it down. They recorded important dates on the back of their wedding certificate. The Woodmans considered the day they fried the first clam to be a big deal for their family, so they wrote it under the dates their sons were born.