Today's Case:
McMenamy's Clam Chowder
Re: McMenamy's Clam Chowder
From: Peter
To: Phaedrus
Date: 11/23/2025, 9:32 AM
On 11/22/2025 7:31 PM, Peter wrote:
Dear Phaed,
I am a many years -long fan of your website, and have even contributed a few recipes.
I have a request that I am going to ask that I think is pretty impossible, but if you don’t
ask, you’ll never know.
The best clam chowder I have ever had, and I had it many times as a kid, was at McMenamy’s
Hamburger House in North Easton, Massachusetts. It was on RT 138, at 181 Washington Street.
They had an electric soup kettle pot on the counter right in front of the pick up window.
For about 3 bucks, you could get a steaming hot bowl with a package of oyster crackers,
any time after about 11 in the morning, until they closed in the late afternoon. They also sold
the best ground chuck in the business. Their hamburgers were so tasty. It was a lunch counter
type of place, and old Mr McMenamy himself ran the business for many, many years, probably
well into his eighties, when I think his daughter and son in law took it over. Sadly, the place
closed about 10 years ago.
It is not the same McMenamy’s Fish House that is still in business in Brockton, Massachusetts.
Maybe the same family, but not the same restaurant, or recipe.
Anyhow, thank you so much for keeping up this website all these years.
You are credit to the internet.
Peter
Hello Peter,
I spent several hours on this search, and I must admit defeat. I found several items about the place, reviews and raves about their food, particularly the hamburgers and the clam chowder. However, I could not find even a clue, much less a recipe, about the clam chowder. One of the better items is here:
RetroRoadMap:
"The McMenamy family has been providing food in North Easton for over 70 years. Frank McMenamy started his butcher shop in this location in 1954, grinding the leanest, finest beef available. From Frank’s hands to his son-in-law, Al Carter, who started here as a part time cook then taking over the restaurant. He was here for 50 years. Now Al’s son, Steven Carter, keeps the dream alive to produce the same quality hamburgers as the generations before him."
I did find that "McMenamy's Seafood" in Brockton, MA is owned and operated by some of the family members. It's said that the clam chowder served there is good, but it is apparently not the same recipe that was used in North Easton.
I searched for any information regarding Frank McMenamy or Al Carter or Steven Carter, but I had no success finding any mention of clam chowder connected with any of those names.
Lastly, thinking that I might have missed something I consulted the "ChatGPT" artificial intelligence program. It, too, had no success. No idea about a recipe, ingredients, a copycat recipe, or even a recipe that claimed to taste like the McMenamy's chowder. However, the AI asked me if I wanted it to try to create a copycat recipe from the little that it could find about the chowder, including remarks that people had made about it on message boards and food forums. I asked it to make the attempt, and below is its reply. I have no idea whether the chowder made from this recipe will taste like McMenamy's, but it might be worth trying since nothing else is available. If you try this recipe, let me know how close it is to your memory of McMenamy's.
Phaed
Copy-Cat McMenamy’s Clam Chowder (Best Approximation by ChatGPT)
Ingredients (6–8 servings)
Seafood & Broth
3 cans chopped clams (6.5 oz each), juice reserved
1 bottle clam juice (8 oz)
1 cup seafood stock (or chicken broth if unavailable)
Base
4 slices thick-cut bacon, diced (or 3 oz salt pork for a more old-school flavor)
3 tbsp butter
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Potatoes & Thickener
1.25 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled & diced into ½-inch cubes
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 bay leaf
Cream
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
(McMenamy’s chowder was known for being rich, not watery.)
Seasoning
3/4–1 tsp kosher salt (adjust to taste)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp white pepper (optional but recommended — very “restaurant chowder” flavor)
1/4 tsp dried thyme
Optional: 1–2 dashes Worcestershire sauce (adds savory depth without being noticeable)
Instructions
1. Render the bacon
In a heavy soup pot, cook the diced bacon (or salt pork) until crisp and the fat has rendered.
Scoop out the bacon and set aside for garnish.
2. Build the flavor base
In the bacon fat, add:
onions
celery
garlic
Cook until soft (about 6–8 minutes).
Add the butter and let it melt into the vegetables.
3. Add flour
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables.
Cook and stir 1–2 minutes to remove the raw flour taste.
4. Add potatoes & liquids
Pour in:
all reserved clam juice
the bottle of clam juice
seafood stock (or chicken broth)
Add the bay leaf and thyme.
Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender (12–15 minutes).
5. Add cream & clams
Reduce heat to low.
Add:
half-and-half
heavy cream
chopped clams
Do not boil after adding cream — this keeps it silky.
6. Season
Taste and adjust with:
salt
black pepper
white pepper
optional Worcestershire (tiny amount)
Simmer gently 5–8 minutes to meld flavors.
7. Serve
Top with reserved bacon.
Serve with oyster crackers — the classic diner pairing.
Optional Adjustments (to really match McMenamy’s)
For a slightly thinner, more traditional diner chowder:
Add ½–1 extra cup broth before the cream.
For a stronger clam flavor:
Replace ½ the broth with additional clam juice.
For extra richness (if you remember it being very creamy):
Add ½ cup more heavy cream.
For a very classic Massachusetts profile:
Use salt pork instead of bacon.
