Best salt-marsh treat

Ever since Lawrence "Chubby" Woodman first invented the fried clam back in 1914, the Woodman family has been running a seafood restaurant whose specialty is this North Shore delicacy. Adored by the residents of Essex and famed throughout New England for the delectable quality of its fried clams, which come in heaping portions, Woodman's also does a good business selling lobsters and organizing massive clambakes for backyard parties and public events. But it is the unassuming wooden building on Main Street in Essex Center (just take I-95 from Boston up to Route 128, and get off at exit 15) that packs an olfactory punch so powerful people think nothing of waiting in line for over an hour to sit down for a meal -- and then coming back again the next night. When you leave, you may want to walk off the alimentary afterglow (before it turns to indigestion) in the wonderful salt-marsh preservation just a short stroll down the road. Look for a signboard on the left next to Farnham's, a no-wait alternative to Woodman's: it'll explain the history of the marshes and their inhabitants, and their importance to the ecological stability of the area. Woodman's is a New England institution. Every Bostonian worth his or her salt, so to speak, would be wise to feast at this bivalve bacchanalia.

Woodman's, Main Street (Route 133), Essex. (508) 768-7335; Farnham's, 88 Eastern Avenue, Essex, (978) 768-6643.