Great Machipongo Clam Shack
If you drive down the Delmarva Peninsula[1] on U.S. Highway 13 and you pass through Nassawadox, Virginia, about 26 miles north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, you can’t help noticing the big signs with red letters advertising the Great Machipongo Clam Shack. You may wonder if it’s a local gem or just another tourist trap. I’m pleased to tell you that you can stop wondering - it’s a gem! And oh, what a gem it is!
At first, I was confused by the McDonald’s parking signs in the lot and the abandoned drive-through, but then I discovered that the building was an empty McDonald’s that the owners Roger and Jean Mariner (no kidding) converted into a restaurant/bar and market specializing in seafood and international delicacies. Now, that’s what I call recycling!! [2] The Mariners got their start in the Alaskan fishing industry and then decided to try farming clams on Virginia’s Eastern Shore nearby the Biosphere Reserve, which is known for its pure water quality that provides habitat for crabs, fish, shrimp, and turtles.
Although the celebrated local seafood is the draw – you can find all the Eastern Shore favorites on the menu – such as crab cakes, flounder and clam strips, served up with hush puppies - the international seafood market is the rare marvel here. A sign on the building wall boasts: “Just Seafood: All the Seafood from Around the World under One Roof.” This is no joke. The freezers are loaded with every aquatic creature you can think of: Pacific Northwest Wild Salmon, Hawai’ian Yellow Fin Tuna and Mahi-Mahi, New Zealand Green Tip Mussels, French Escargot, and our favorite – monster Alaskan crabs with enormous legs that look like they came straight out of a Deadliest Catch crab pot!
Besides selling typical tourist souvenirs such as T-shirts, mugs, and local recipe books, the market offers an unusually large and varied selection of exotic seasonings[3] and condiments, shellfish eating utensils called “du-hickeys,” and a surprisingly sizeable inventory of hemp products including dog biscuits.[4] Beer and wine are also available for purchase.
Perhaps the best way to summarize what’s so special about the Great Machipongo Clam Shack is that it succeeds in striking the perfect balance between local flavor and international flair. The woman behind the restaurant counter smiles warmly as she assures me that the guys in the kitchen put enough “guts” in my clam chowder. Workmen on their lunch break eating fish-n-chips and drinking Bud Light joke around with the waitress, who answers a customer’s question by pointing to a dry-erase board where the names of this week's musical performers are written. But there’s also a world map you can’t read anymore because it’s completely covered with paper money tacked up by customers proudly denoting their countries of origin. The shelves are stocked with spice jars from far-away places I can’t spell. Tibetan peace flags and photos of the Dalai Lama hang over the doors. According to the proprietors: “We cherish the Dalai Lama’s smile because it shines loving kindness to all. May you leave here with a smile and come back soon – and often!”[5] The power of that blessing worked its magic on me. I walked out the door grinning like the Cheshire cat, wishing that I lived next door to the Great Machipongo Clam Shack.
[1] The Delmarva (Delaware – Maryland – Virginia) Peninsula is a thin strip of land of land lying between the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, running for about 150 miles from just below Wilmington, DE, to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in Virginia. It is a sparsely populated agricultural region known for its slower pace of life and delicious seafood.
[2] Apparently, the Mariners practice what they preach about environmental sustainability. They even encourage their guests to “create an authentic gift such as a wind chime out of clamshells. For more information, see http://www.thegreatmachipongoclamshack.com/Content/5/Summary.aspx
[3] I purchased a canister of a spice blend called “Queen of Sheba’s Secret” after reading about it on a post-it note stuck to the bathroom wall. There are literally hundreds of such notes left behind by satisfied customers, so many that it looks like wallpaper.
[4] Cannabidiol, known as CBD, is a chemical compound derived from the cannabis plant that provides calming and pain-relieving sensations without the psychoactive properties of THC, the chemical compound in marijuana that produces the intoxicating or “high” effect. CBD oils, tinctures and edibles are becoming increasingly popular treatment options for humans and pets suffering from health conditions such as anxiety, seizures, loss of appetite, and cancer pain.
[5] From “It’s a Small World After All!” on The Great Machipongo Clam Shack website, http://www.thegreatmachipongoclamshack.com/Content/5/Summary.aspx
