A traditional clambake on the beach is generally an all-day New England ritual, and even if you wanted to take a shot at it in Palm Beach, you couldn’t due to town restrictions prohibiting what a beach clambake entails, such as lighting a cooking fire and building a structure (sand castles are allowed, thank goodness).
For those with fond memories of Labor Day weekend clambakes in small New England towns, one of the ways to remotely rekindle them might be partaking in one of two nontraditional clambakes hosted in Palm Beach this weekend at The Chesterfield’s Leopard Lounge and Restaurant and the Four Seasons’ Atlantic Bar & Grill.
Of the two, the Atlantic Bar & Grill (visit www.fourseasons.com/palmbeach for more info), due to its outdoor and beachfront location, comes closest to at least the setting of a traditional clambake.
Its Labor Day weekend clambake is part of the Atlantic’s every-Friday clambake roster. Lanterns illuminate the tables and, if waves are breaking on the beach, the ocean is audible from your perch.
A seafood bake at the Four Seasons' alfresco and beachfront Atlantic Bar & Grill.
The seafood-centric clambake menu (reservations: 582-2800) varies each Friday, but the 7 p.m. seating always starts with an appetizer (such as clam chowder), followed by a family-style seafood bake—the “Perfect Storm” bake, for one, features clams, lobster, chicken, Italian sausage, potatoes and corn-on-the-cob—and a dessert presented in an old-fashioned-looking jar.
The Atlantic Bar & Grill’s Friday clambake is $45 for adults and $20 for children 12 and younger.
The clambake at The Chesterfield’s Leopard Lounge and Restaurant, as well as the hotel’s adjacent alfresco and garden-nestled eatery, The Courtyard, takes place on Labor Day (Monday, Sept. 2).
The menu includes seafood chowder, clams, mussels, shrimp and lobster, plus all of the traditional accompaniments, such as corn-on-the-cob and potatoes.
The Leopard’s clambake is $28.95 a person (for reservations, call 659-5800; for more info, visit www.chesterfieldpb.com).
