Boston - July 13, 2005

Happy as a Clam

Woodbury Clams Are Back

There are a few things our summer could do without: for starters, lobster ice cream (sorry, Mad Martha’s) and another Pops concert (sorry, Keith).

Likewise, there are a few must-have delights. Foremost among them? Fresh, sweet local shellfish. But with red tide in full bloom for what seemed like eternity, we were beginning to worry that it’d be October before we got our hands on any.

So hallelujah, then, that Woodbury’s flats have been declared safe and are reopen for business. Wellfleet clams are arguably the best in the world, and Pat and Barbara Woodbury raise and harvest some of the sweetest of the species. You’ll find them on the menus of finicky chefs all over town, from Tremont 647 to Rialto. And you can score them for your own kitchen just as easily.

We can’t think of a better way to celebrate the return of local bivalves.

Here’s hoping no one makes dessert out of them.

Woodbury’s (877-782-5283 or woodburyclams.com).