Clamming Up in Rhode Island

Few local spots are open for breakfast. An exception is Wiley's (1200 Ocean Rd., Narragansett, 401-792-8811), open for breakfast Fridays through Sundays, where you can start your day with a stack of Rhode Island jonnycakes (cornmeal pancakes; see glossary for the all-important difference between jonnycakes and johnnycake).

Champlin's Seafood Deck, a fish market and restaurant, is a landmark on the busy fishing dock at Galilee (256 Great Island Rd., Narragansett, 401-783-3152). I like Champlin's classic lobster roll, a heap of sweet lobster meat packed onto a hot dog bun that has been toasted and buttered, the whole thing presented in a traditional cardboard boat. Order food at one window in the upper deck restaurant, drinks at another, look at the 1954 hurricane photos while you wait, then take it outside. Rough tables overlook the inlet between Galilee and the cottages of Jerusalem across the way; at midday, fishing boats come in, circled by gulls, to dock below. At an adjacent pier, the Block Island Ferry blasts its intention to depart.

Fish for the restaurant and the retail market below is bought from local boats like those whose life preservers line the outer walls: Fran Marie, Cindy Lou, Little Joe and others. Choose your own lobster from the fish store and the cooks upstairs will prepare it for you for an additional $3 to cover butter and handling.

On the east side of Narragansett Bay is Bristol, halfway between Providence and Newport. In a town where many are descended from Cape Verdean, Azorean or mainland Portuguese immigrants, many others from Italian forebears, food choices here include dishes from both countries' traditions.

Quito's (411 Thames -- pronounced "Thaymes" -- St., Bristol, 401-253-4500) is a family-owned business in an unprepossessing building perched on the edge of Bristol Harbor. This bare-bones restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating has a 54-year history and devoted fans. As this Norman Rockwellian town becomes what some locals lament as "the new Newport," Quito's clings to the waterside despite nudges from new condominium conversions and rising land values. That's just fine with lovers of littlenecks (served on the half-shell or in garlicky sauce), whole-bellied fried clams for the traditionalists, fried clam strips for the less adventurous, scallops and a whole school of other fishy things and Italian favorites. I like Quito's zuppa -- shellfish bathed in a light tomato, garlic and herb sauce and served over linguini. Broccoli is optional.

A block away is S.S. Dion (520 Thames St., Bristol, 401-253-2884), included here although it in no way resembles a clam shack because it serves what may be Rhode Island's consistently best fish dinners. The Dion, as fans call it, is known for treats including lobster, baked scallops and schrod, a fish that's hard to find and never as good outside New England. Co-owner and host Steve Dion buys from a respected Bristol fish dealer and a talented kitchen staff takes it from there.

On an evening early in July, outside tables overlooking the harbor fill early; the town is crowded for its upcoming Fourth of July celebration, America's oldest. At dinner with my friend Jack, who has seen me do this before, I ponder whether to choose schrod done simply with seasoned breadcrumbs; simmered with littlenecks, sweet and hot peppers, garlic, green onions and wine; or baked with fresh dill and shallot mustard sauce. I always give it lots of thought, then choose the third one.

Gray's Ice Cream has attracted Rhode Islanders to the town of Tiverton for many years, drawn by old fashioned ice cream like the kind I licked off the dasher as a dairy farm kid. It's so rich you can fairly taste the fat granules, and it's full of real fruits, nuts and chips. Now Gray's has a branch on the boardwalk at the foot of State Street in Bristol. During my visit, I manage to dig into the creamy depths of a scoop of Gray's ginger, studded with spicy nuggets. Someday I may try frozen pudding or pistachio, or maybe even slurp a coffee cabinet (a sort of milkshake), but only if the stand runs out of ginger.

Tiverton is eight miles southeast of Bristol and across two waterways, Mount Hope Bay and the Sakonnet River. Two of the state's most famous clam shacks stand along the 14-mile-long Sakonnet, not a true river but an inlet of the Atlantic on the state's easternmost edge. Crushed white clamshells surround Evelyn's Nanaquaket Drive-In (2335 Main Rd., Tiverton, 401-624-3100), a suggestion of what's luring cars to swing into the lot. Evelyn's menu, nothing if not eclectic, includes chow mein, meatloaf and Grape-Nuts pudding, a peculiar New England favorite. But the emphasis is clearly on clam strips, clam cakes, clam chowder, stuffies (stuffed clamshells) and lobster rolls. Evelyn's chowder is full of shellfish bits, and the generous stuffies are delicious, spicy and flecked with green pepper. There's a pleasant patio out back and a dock where small boats come and go. I'm a student of clam shack signs; one here reads "Public rest rooms located behind the red bus."

"Closed hurricanes" reads one faded sign at Flo's (4 Wave Ave., Middletown, 401-847-8141), across the road from salt water; "Welcome to Flo's, Famous for Clams Since 1936" reads another, proof that when it comes to hurricanes, Flo's knows. My friends Brian and Judy, clam connoisseurs, think Evelyn's clam cakes have a slight edge over Flo's, and Judy, thoughtfully chewing a fried clam, says, "I wish the bellies were bigger." But the chowder is fine, and we like the way Flo's keeps track of orders -- each customer is given a beach rock with a pickup number painted on it, something solid to hang onto as we wait. (A newer, busier branch of Flo's is near Easton's Beach, a few minutes from downtown Newport.)

As the day wanes, Brian insists that we stop at Anthony's (963 Aquidneck Ave., Middletown, 401-846-9620). Judy protests that it's not a clam shack and it's not on the water. Brian counters that Anthony's used to be on the water but it moved. Brian wins, and I decide that Anthony's belongs on this list because this industrial-looking building, part retail store, part restaurant, offers every clam shack favorite and then some: lobster, grilled fish, baked fish, fried fish. Lovers of fish and chips can choose between cod and flounder. There's both creamy New England and unthickened Rhode Island chowder, and a Portuguese-style seafood chowder made with shrimp, scallops, cod and chourico. Chourico also enlivens Anthony's stuffies, which can be ordered hot or mild.

Gleaming cases display fresh fish and prepared items such as scallops and bacon, clams casino and lobster cakes. Shelves are stocked with condiments, including Anthony's Shark Bite tartar sauce with mayonnaise, jalapeño, cilantro, horseradish, pickles, lime juice and black pepper. Anthony's may not be on the water, but like most things in Rhode Island, it isn't far from it.

Carol McCabe is a former reporter and editor for the Providence Journal.