You may have noticed if you’ve followed this blog for a while that seafood has taken a prominent place in the foods I eat and write about. This post provides some short stories of recent adventures in my continuing search for the best seafood.

JT Farnum’s – Fried Clams

In July I read an article online from Boston.com about the best fried clam restaurants in Massachusetts. The top three were The Clam Box of Ipswich, Woodman’s of Essex, and JT Farnum’s. Since I was headed to Gloucester after that, Ipswich was out of the way. I had been to the famous Woodman’s several times before, so I decided to try JT Farnum’s, also in Essex. It was a good choice. I stopped for lunch and enjoyed a delicious plate of fried clams. The scenery behind the restaurant was a real bonus.

Two other restaurants provided excellent meals this month. Select Oyster Bar in Back Bay, Boston, was a good Monday evening/early-dinner/avoid-the-traffic spot to eat. After my usual selection of several oysters on the half shell and the Romanesco cauliflower salad with hazelnuts and aioli, I ordered the Blue crab salad with celery root remoulade. It was delicious and very rich, so I took most of it home and had it for lunch the next day. Superb.

Another Monday night and another restaurant; this time it was an old favorite — Il Capriccio, in Waltham. The occasion was reconnecting with an old friend and colleague over an extended, leisurely dinner. My seafood choice was the Octopus appetizer, and it was excellent, very tender.

Octopus also provided another form of finding my seafood. This example was in the form of a pre-cooked, frozen package of Spanish octopus. Usually, I cook my own, as you may know from previous posts, but this was from Sven Fish, a local supplier of good fresh fish, so I gave it a try. I made a few dishes on different days at home. It was convenient and not too expensive, but I felt it needed to be cooked longer to be tender enough for my taste. The Portuguese wine made with Castelão grapes redeemed the meal anyway.