Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1500213
109 Clam Box of Ipswich Last on the clam-eating journey was the Clam Box of Ipswich. Designed by Dick Greenleaf to resemble a cardboard box of clams, the Clam Box of Ipswich, open since 1935 and owned by the Aggelakis family since 1984, is nothing short of a local institution. Although the Clam Box did not invent the fried clam, owners and denizens alike are quick to point out that some of the best fried clams in New England come from this outpost—which is why you're likely to find a line snaking around the corner at any time of day in summer. This was true on the day before Mother's Day, when the mercury jumped to an unseasonably warm 80 degrees. "We only serve day-shucked clams," owner Johanna Aggelakis says. "We go through about 200 pounds of shucked clams on a busy day." Clams, she says, come exclusively from the Ipswich Shellfish Company, and have since the family took over 39 years ago. A hot day called for a large plate of what the Clam Box refers to as "native clams." Market prices change, but fried clams range from about $27 to $35. Our juicy clams were fat and hot and served with a tartar sauce. Ipswich, Aggelakis had pointed out, is particularly famous for clams because of specific mineral deposits, giving the clams a sweet and briny flavor, and that came through in every bite. Were these the best fried clams on the North Shore? Maybe. But maybe the true joy was just in the assignment itself. clamboxipswich.com Clam Box of Ipswich serves Ipswich clams.