Woodman's of Essex, Essex Ma.

A couple of years ago, I was invited to visit Gloucester and Essex Ma. I had never been there before so I didn't know anything about where to eat. The PR firm who invited me made some suggestions, and Woodman's was one of them.

Woodman’s of Essex is where the fried clam was invented in 1916. The restaurant is still family owned and going strong. You really can’t miss it; it is on the main street that goes through the town. Located in a weathered wooden building, this is seafood the way it was meant to be. It almost seems as if the restaurant is in a time warp in the best possible way. It is cooking the way it should be done in a warm, old-fashioned family restaurant. 

On the front porch, there are fresh steamed lobsters. There is also a tank of live lobsters just in case you like to pick your own and also so that you know that your lobster was just cooked, it really doesn’t get any fresher than this.

A huge parking lot is located in the rear just in case you don’t find any other place to park on either side of the building. You order your seafood at the counter and pay for it. Among the excellent choices are fresh fried scallops, shrimp, clams with bellies, clam strips, fried fish and even fried lobster. If you can’t make up your mind, there is a combination platter that will give you four different varieties of seafood as well as French fries and onion rings. The combination plate is enough to share. 

You order your drinks and pay for them at a different counter than your meal. Some alcoholic drinks are offered but if you want to relax and enjoy drinks, the Upper Deck on the second floor is the place to go.

The clam chowder is awesome. It is creamy but a light creamy with plenty of tender clams and potatoes with just a hint of bacon. For something a little different, why not try the clam cake. It is a deep fried clam fritter, very tasty.

Plenty of other seafood items are available such as steamed clams, lots of seafood rolls including lobster, crab, and clam. Chicken fingers are available for the little ones who may not be ready to enjoy seafood. After you have placed your order you are assigned a number and you take your drinks to a table and wait to hear yours called. It will happen much quicker than you expect.

While in some ways this seems like a step back into the 1950s with the booths, calling your number when the order is ready and the simple family friendly style of everything it is at the same time in the minute. If you happen to be gluten intolerant you will be happy to hear that all the seafood and the French fries are gluten free. The regular onion rings are not gluten free, however, if you let them know, they can be placed in a different batter and cooked in a different fryer so that you can enjoy this fresh treat as well.

The onion rings, by the way, are very special. They are made fresh, never frozen and they literally melt in your mouth. If you order more than you can eat, just let the staff know and they will provide you with bags to carry your food home. If you have any room left, there is a second building where they sell Gifford’s Ice Cream as well as a country store.

The owner came out to sit with us and talk about his business and food. It was very interesting and he certainly has great enthusiasm for what he does. Most of the seafood is bought and caught locally and no water is allowed to be added to the shrimp or any other seafood. What you see is what you get, as fresh and unadulterated as possible.

There are other seafood restaurants in town but why would you want or need to go anywhere except Woodman’s?  I certainly enjoyed everything they have to offer and would love to go back.