Clams

I've always loved clams. As a kid growing up in Virginia, one of my favorite meals was fried clams at Howard Johnson's. I liked the chewiness of the clams, and I loved the tartar sauce. It's hard to go wrong with serving a kid anything fried, but I think I developed an early and lasting love for these little shellfish as a result of those occasional meals at HoJo's.

Now, I like clams much less disguised, though their chewiness still appeals to me. I'll eat clams raw, but I usually enjoy them with pasta or as a topping on pizza.

In the food section of today's Chronicle, Olivia Wu has a nice piece on local Bay Area Manilla clams. She tells the story of the rise in clam growing in Tamales Bay, and she features Martin Strain, one of the early clam growers who helped bring clams to cooks and diners in San Francisco (check out the photos too). I was happy to read that he only sells his clams at the Alemany Farmer's Market (another reason to check out the market).

Anyway, I recommend the story. I plan on picking up some clams this weekend at Alemany and cooking them up. More on my culinary adventures with clams soon.