Eating Fish in Flanders

The day after Thanksgiving, carpenter returned to his High School hometown for a High School Reunion. My family doesnt even live there anymore so it has been years since I have really set foot in the city limits of Flanders/East Lyme Connecticut.

When in High School, I worked at the local famous Flanders Fish Market as a waiter and fishmonger. My girlfriend at the time and I got jobs on the same day, which meant that the next 2 years before we graduated were full of fish and romance. She drove a purple thunderbird, and I drove a Dodge Colt with a sunroof.

I would spend all day at the beach, and then when 4pm rolled around, I'd shower off, throw on my waiter digs, and sell fried clams to broken gamblers making their way back from Foxwoods. I remember one night a customer was bitching about having to pay for a refill of lemonade, "What kind of a truck-stop is this?". Well its not a truck stop, so that guy had to just pony up the $1.50 and shut his snapper.

The grossest thing to sell is the sea scallops. Don't get me wrong, Flander's Fish has the best, but even the freshest scallops have a truly weird and disgusting odor. But they are great on the grill.

So, secretary and I were on our way back from my high school reunion, and without much time to dally, I had to stop and get me some fried whole-belly clams. For those of you who think of fried clams as the strips of rubber you get at Arthur's Fried Chicken or at the school cafeteria, I am sorry for you. The whole belly takes a little getting used to, because even when it is perfectly fired, like at Flander's Fish, it is still a little goopy. But crazy delicious, especially with tartar sacue and some real spicy cocktail sauce- which I will post about all on its own some day.

back to the point, I gots me some fried clams, and ate them fast in the parking lot at the Clinton Crossing Factory Outlet Mall. I am not afraid to say it- I like a bargain, and carpenter needed some new pants.

-carpenter