789
Quincy Shore Drive
Wollaston
Beach
Quincy,
MA 02170
(617)
773-6677
July
10, 2014
After
Mom and I got our hair done at our favorite city salon, we decided to reward ourselves
(hey, it takes a lot of energy sitting there all that time) with a delicious
seafood meal. Having seen the
advertisements on the Phantom Gourmet many times, we took a ride to Quincy and
had lunch at The Clam Box, located just across the street from Wollaston Beach.
I
had a mini meltdown over parking since there are only spaces on the opposite
side of the street – and they were all filled – but things calmed down when I
decided to drive around the building and park on the one-way side street. Our car door just about lined up with the
restaurant entrance, so I took a deep breath and we went inside. A line had formed but things moved quickly as
the servers and cooks have things down to a science.
Mom
and I checked out the overhead menu to see what we wanted. We decided on a cup of chowder ($4.75) and a
clam strip roll ($9.25) for me, while Mom had a small order of fish and chips
($9.50). She also wanted a small order of
clam cakes ($4.99) because she likes to try them at every seafood restaurant. To drink we chose two small fountain drinks
($2.09 each) which we had to fill ourselves at a nearby machine. Our total came to $32.67.
I
was given a number and moved down to the opposite end of the counter to wait
for the food. Mom took a seat on a nearby
bench while I filled our cups with Coke Zero (Mom) and Sprite (me). I also swiped some utensils and napkins from
the really handy condiment station which had several containers where you could
pump out as much ketchup and tartar sauce as you wish.
It
got a little crowded where Mom was sitting so she took the sodas and found a
great table on their outside deck. I
hadn’t waited very long before my number was called. I grabbed my heaping tray of food and headed
outside to find Mom. Everything was steaming
and smelled excellent.
The
first thing I tried was the chowder. It
was so hot that I had trouble eating it at first, but a burned mouth never
stopped me before. It had an excellent
flavor and was filled with very large pieces of clam and perfectly cooked
potatoes.
Mom’s
order of fish and chips was absolutely enormous … and she chose the small
portion! What she received was three
pieces of beautiful white fish with a light batter sitting on top of a mound of
hand-cut fries. The fish was very moist
and flaky and couldn’t have been done better.
The crust was dry (not greasy) and the fries were crisp and
potatoey. She loved everything about her
meal.
My
clam strip roll was fabulous as well.
The batter on my clam strips was also dry (and I love that because
greasy food makes me sick) and there was a ton of strips on a barely visible hot dog roll which was
buttered and grilled to perfection. I
ate every strip on my plate.
The
only disappointment was the clam cakes.
Mom’s bite was her first and last.
The cakes were not your typical clam cakes, but flavored with what
looked and tasted like banana peppers.
They were very spicy and Mom is not a fan of peppers so unfortunately
this was a bust. Even though I enjoy
peppers and even started in on a second cake, it just wasn’t what I was hoping
for. We were looking for something more
traditional, but I’m sure that many people enjoy them.
It
was a lot of fun sitting outside, looking across Quincy Bay at the Boston
skyline. There is plenty of seating indoors
as well, but nothing says New England like eating seafood outdoors. The Clam Box has a very large menu (click
here to view) and I’m sure that you’ll find something here to satisfy every palate. We will be back!
