Clambakes 2023

This year money has been really tight, as the translation industry is being decimated by machine translation and AI. So I only attended two clambakes at restaurants this year and was treated to a tasty clambake at a friend’s house.

Gunselman’s Tavern

I attended the clambake at Gunselman’s Tavern with several friends who organized a table of six. It was my fourth year in a row. We were seated inside this time, because it was rainy and cold out. They were still cooking the food outside, but under the cover of their garage and a large tent.

The clambake was, as always, delicious. They started by serving us clam broth as a starter, followed by clam chowder at 1 o’clock on the dot. One of my friends saved his broth to add to his clam chowder. This year’s clambake included clam broth, New England clam chowder, a dozen clams, a small portion of both sweet potato and roasted potatoes, corn on the cob, 1/2 chicken or steak and a small roll. No cole slaw this year, Two of the folks at our table ordered extra clams, while one didn’t like clams and let three of us share her portion. The chowder was once again packed with clams and potatoes. I once again ordered the Steak Bake, and the steak was perfectly medium rare, which allowed me to take it home and reheat it for leftovers. I ate all the clams and the corn and took the potatoes and steak home for later.

Willoughby Elks

Since tickets for the Willoughby Elks’ clambake have to be purchased in advance because they sell out and I had bought my ticket in the summer, I only had to shell out some money for my beverages at the bar. I had attended a tea in Burton and drove down side roads through the countryside to Willoughby. It was a beautiful day for a drive, and I got to admire the changing leaves. I had to wait for my friend Kerrie to arrive, but it was nice to catch up with her. We lined up outside in the then-drizzling rain (luckily not too heavy) and waited for the folks under the tent to assemble our meals. The clambake includes clams (or mussels) with the choice of 1/2 a chicken or steak along with sweet potato, corn on the cob, coleslaw, and clam chowder. Kerrie got the Chicken Bake and extra mussels, while I got the Steak Bake. We grabbed a table inside and enjoyed our meal, chatting with the folks around us. The corn is usually the highlight for me, but my corn this year was pretty dried out. And they had issues with the butter. I still enjoyed the clams and chowder and brought home the steak and the sweet potato for lunch the next day.

SweetBerry Fresh Market

One of my good friends had me over for a clambake she purchased from SweetBerry Fresh Market in Wickcliffe. We all contributed to the potluck dinner. One guest brought rumaki and a goat cheese and fig spread appetizer. I brought a s’mores cake made with German chocolate and marshmallow cream in a graham cracker crust in my Quick Cooker/InstantPot. Our host ordered 100 medium-neck clams from SweetBerry and made a delicious vegetable and seafood soup, some side dishes and a berry trifle for dessert, while another attendee brought beautiful steaks for each of us. The fourth guest brought some bottles of wine. I ate a ton of the rumaki (who doesn’t love bacon?), and we all gorged on the clams. One hundred clams divided between 4 people goes a long way. I took my steak home for a steak sandwich the next day. Everything was impeccable. Definitely a highlight of the year.