Woodman's of Essex

Woodman’s of Essex is a seafood restaurant in Essex, Massachusetts (approximately 26 miles (42 km) north of Boston). A local favorite,[1] it is also known internationally for its fried clams and New England clam bakes.[2] Woodman’s has been a family business since its founding in 1914, and is a large employer in the area with over 200 staff during the summer months.[3]

Contents

The Fried Clam

In 1914 Lawrence Henry "Chubby" Woodman and his wife Bessie opened up a clam shack on Essex's Main Street, more commonly known to locals as "the causeway". Chubby and Bessie sold freshly dug steamer clams as well as ice cream and homemade potato chips.

According to legend, Chubby invented the Ipswich fried clams on July 3, 1916.[4] The company website says this happened during a visit from a friend and fisherman, Mr. Tarr of neighboring Gloucester, Chubby took his suggestion to put some clams into the oil used for deep-frying the potato chips. Some modifications were made, such as dipping the clams in evaporated milk and corn flour, and the fried clam was born.[5]

Clambake to go

The traditional New England clam bake is a long process. Chubby Woodman came up with the idea of mobilizing it--a truck was loaded up with food, boilers, and wood, and the clambake was done at the customer's preferred location.[5] Today, Woodman's sells "clambakes to go," consisting of all the necessary ingredients such as lobster, clams, potatoes, and corn.[6][7] Dependence on the clam has brought risk to the restaurant. In 2005, the red tide was quite severe, leading to lower supplies and price increases.[8] Woodman's was forced to import clams from Canada.[9]

Family and legacy

Eventually, the family business came into the hands of Chubby’s son, Lawrence Dexter Woodman, commonly referred to as "Deck," and his wife Virginia.

After his death in 1987, Deck’s children and grandchildren founded the L. Dexter Woodman Scholarship Fund. The scholarship provides scholarships of $20,000 to two local high school seniors to help them toward college;[10] applicants are judged on character and community service, as well as on academics, extracurricular activities, and need.[11] The scholarship fund hosts two main fundraising events each May, the "Taste of Essex," a tasting event with local food, and "Deck’s Day for Dubbers," a golf tournament.

Reputation

Woodman's reputation is recognized in many travel and restaurant guides, such as Frommer's New England,[12] Frommer's Boston 2006[13] and Boston 2007,[14] and their Irreverent Guide to Boston.[15] Fodor included the restaurant in their Where to Weekend Around Boston,[16] and the Phantom Gourmet Guide to Boston's Best Restaurants 2008 affirms it has the best fried clams.[17] The 2010 film Grown Ups uses the restaurant for a segment when all the characters in the film go out for a family dinner, although hamburgers and not fried clams were portrayed as the restaurant's specialty.

See also

References

  1. ^ Mears, Lauren (2007-07-10). "Essex, Woodman's at memoir's core". Gloucester Daily Times. http://www.gloucestertimes.com/punews/local_story_191093916. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  2. ^ Louise, Gaboury (2009-03-21). "Clin d'oeil - Aux origines des fried clams" (in French). LeDevoir.com. http://www.ledevoir.com/2009/03/21/240869.html. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  3. ^ "Just the Facts". Woodman's of Essex. http://www.woodmans.com/pressroom/facts.cfm. Retrieved 2009-03-22. 
  4. ^ Jenkins, Nancy (August 21, 2002). "The Deep-Fried Truth About Ipswich Clams". The New York times. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/21/dining/21IPSW.html?pagewanted=1. Retrieved 2009-03-24. 
  5. ^ a b "Woodman's of Essex – A Yankee Tradition since 1914". Woodman's of Essex. http://woodmans.com/history/history.cfm. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  6. ^ Ware, Susan (2004-06-24). "Takeout Clambakes". Boston Globe. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BG&p_theme=bg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=1036EC6FD4D9BD7E&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2009-03-24. 
  7. ^ "Taste the tradition". Woodman's of Essex. http://www.woodmans.com/Store/Clambakes.cfm. Retrieved 2009-03-24. 
  8. ^ McCabe, Kathy (2005-07-10). "In capital of the fried clam, a summer of fish, roast beef". Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/07/10/in_capital_of_the_fried_clam_a_summer_of_fish_roast_beef/. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  9. ^ Moskin, Julia (2005-06-13). "Dark Days for the Fried Clam, a Summer Staple". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/13/national/13clams.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  10. ^ McCabe, Kathy (2004-05-09). "Reeve calls stem cell work vital". Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/05/09/reeve_stem_cell_work_vital/. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  11. ^ "Worthy Causes". Gloucester Daily Times. 2009-03-14. http://www.gloucestertimes.com/pulife/local_story_072223951.html. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  12. ^ Karr, Paul; Leslie Brokaw, Herbert Bailey (COL) Livesey, Marie Morris, Laura M. Reckford (2008). Frommer's New England. Frommer's. pp. 174–75. ISBN 9780470274378. http://books.google.com/books?id=cOA6TYAZReEC&client=firefox-a. 
  13. ^ Morris, Marie (2005). Frommer's Boston 2006. Frommer's. p. 276. ISBN 9780471755517. http://books.google.com/books?id=K1skGzRtMjgC&client=firefox-a. 
  14. ^ Morris, Marie (2006). Frommer's Boston 2007. John Wiley. p. 267. ISBN 9780471792628. http://books.google.com/books?id=KhHGHx611ekC&client=firefox-a. 
  15. ^ Morris, Marike (2007). Frommer's Irreverent Guide to Boston. Frommer's. p. 75. ISBN 9780470009185. 
  16. ^ Stallings, Doug (2004). Fodor's Where to Weekend Around Boston. Random House. p. 104. ISBN 9781400013012. http://books.google.com/books?id=Y02jt_Wefk0C&client=firefox-a. 
  17. ^ Phantom Gourmet Guide to Boston's Best Restaurants 2008. Macmillan. 2007. p. 69. ISBN 9780312374600. http://books.google.com/books?id=92ETqdb6g7cC&client=firefox-a.