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For me, every trip to
Newport, Rhode Island,
involves two homecom-
ing rites. The first is a trail
walk through patches
of wildly fragrant beach
rose to watch surf crash
on the rocky shore-
line at Sachuest Point
National Wildlife Refuge.
The second is order-
ing a shore dinner staple
known locally as “stuff-
ies,” clamshells generously
filled with quahog meat,
spicy Portuguese sausage,
and breading. The quahog
is the Ocean State’s
official shellfish, and the
word originates from
the Narragansett wordpoquauhock. Also known
as the chowder clam, it’s
the Godzilla of the bivalve
kingdom: They can grow
to six inches wide. I often
find these massive shells
washed up on town
beaches after a high tide.
My brother James, a
seafood chef at Midtown
Oyster Bar, jokingly refers
to commercial stuffies as
“meatloaf in an ashtray,”
but his oven-baked
version, studded with
Narragansett Bay clams
and chouriço sausage, is
so popular he can’t take it
off his own menu. I hope
he never does.
—Shane MitchellCLAM STUFFIES IN
NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND
R & R IN RHODE ISLAND Easton’s
Beach is a commodious place to
spread your beach blanket (with its own
aquarium). Bonus: It’s near Flo’s Clam
Shack (flosclamshacks.com), a legendary
seafood dive beloved by Rhode Islanders.STAY
An elegantly restored
Arts and Crafts beauty,
Harbor House Inn has
rooms and cottages that
face hummingbird-filled
gardens spilling down
the cliffside from the
patio to a private cove.
(Rooms from $355,
dinner from $150;
theharborhouseinn.com)
MENDOCINO
Rhode Island–
Style Clam Stuffies
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