Escape the Indoors at Roger Williams Park Zoo
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Escape the Indoors at Roger Williams Park Zoo
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spoils and the evening enjoying a meal crafted from the day’ s catch.
The clam of choice is a species known locally as the quahog, which are found from Nova Scotia to Florida and are crucial to Rhode Island’ s culture. It’ s the state’ s official shellfish and southern New England’ s Indigenous tribes have been using the shells for more than 4,500 years to create wampum.
A decline in regional quahog numbers has raised concern in recent years. In 2023, a joint legislative committee began studying the decline to sleuth out the cause. Was it climate change? Loss of species diversity? One theory is that better wastewater management has led to nitrogen depletion in Narragansett Bay. Quahogs feed on phytoplankton, which need nitrogen to flourish.
But even with the decline, quahogs are readily available outside of Rhode Island. So why aren’ t clam cakes also ubiquitous outside Little Rhody’ s borders?
If you follow the quahog trail, clam cake-adjacent fritters can be found in Maine and Virginia. Maine’ s offerings, more akin to crab cakes with shellfish-forward fillings and breaded patty shapes, are nothing like their doughy cousins. They’ re pan-seared, rather than deep fried, and can be eaten as is or in a sandwich. Virginia’ s version, also panseared, is flat like a pancake, contains mustard, onions and sugar, and doesn’ t mind being labeled a fritter.
Every now and again, clam cakes can be found in far-flung places. Connie and Ted’ s, a Rhode Island-inspired restaurant in West Hollywood, California, which is unfortunately closing in July, has offered clam cakes and Rhode Island clear chowder since it opened thirteen years ago. Chef-partner of Connie and Ted’ s, Michael Cimarusti, named the establishment after his grandparents, who lived in Rhode Island. He is also chef-owner of the aptly named Providence restaurant in Los Angeles.
“ Clam cakes are one of those things that are foreign to a lot of people,” says Sam Baxter, executive chef at Connie and Ted’ s.“ Some people see clam cakes and they think they’ re getting a crab cake.”
Why clam cakes have remained a largely Rhode Island-only delicacy is a
34 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY I JULY 2026