Best summer clam shack to visit when it's not summer

Yogi Berra put it best: "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." Thus it is with the venerable New England clam shack. Elbow to elbow with tourists, you'll wait in line in the summer months, scramble to find a table, listen for your number, then gulp your meal down while the next wave of customers hovers, vulture-like, waiting for you to leave.

Which is why this is the best time of year to go to Woodman's of Essex. From now until Memorial Day, you can buzz up to the place that claims to have invented the fried clam and gorge -- crowd-free -- on such typical hot-weather fare as fried clams or scallops, French fries, and onion rings, with maybe a side of coleslaw to cut the cholesterol. There's lobster, too -- including some fine-looking live specimens in an outdoor display from which you can choose on your way in. And unlike a lot of seaside joints, Woodman's has a bar.

Woodman's of Essex, Main Street (Route 133), Essex, (978) 768-6057; www.woodmans.com.