OCTOBER 8 • 2020 | 45
the best of everything
Raskin
L
ooking back to the
future … A wonderful
little restaurant gem was
Dave Goldfine’
s Clam Shop
in Detroit’
s then aging factory
and warehouse
district.
The building
was an ancient
structure, orig-
inally put up by
a well-known
brewery way
back, even before
Prohibition … In those days,
the bartenders and breweries
all but dragged the customers
off the street to drink beer for
a nickel and partake of a free
lunch.
The interior was plain and
clean, and the floor dipped
gracefully here and there …
The kitchen was very likely not
as big as the one in your home
or apartment, but the seafood
that came out of it was terrific
and thought by many to be
the best in Detroit … and oth-
ers said it was the best in the
Midwest.
Neither Dave, who originally
bought the place, or his part-
ner, Frank Van Brusselin, who
joined him 10 years later, had
any restaurant experience.
As the name implies, the
Clam Shop was devoted to
those who believed all that is
good came from the sea …
The menu featured a high con-
centration of things like clams,
oysters, lobster, king crab legs
and fish galore.
Many who dined on lobster
in some of the nation’
s top
seafood restaurants said that
the one they had at the Clam
Shop was equal or better than
the Lobster House or King of
the Sea in New York and heads
up above any lobster they had
ever eaten.
On one particular evening
we happened to run into a
friend who had eaten lobster
at many restaurants in the
country and said that the Clam
Shop’
s was equal or better than
any he had anywhere … even
tastier than in Chicago, also
noted as having the best ones
along with those at the Lobster
House and King of the Sea.
Lobster was king at the Clam
Shop and the piece de resis-
tance was the broiled lobster
… This was a 1¼-pound beau-
ty stuffed with what many said
was the absolute most delight-
ful they had ever tasted.
Oysters and clams were
other highly acclaimed special-
ties at the Clam Shop … Like
the lobster, they were flown
in every other day, and either
Dave or Frank would whip out
their weekly price list to show
you that they bought nothing
but quality, regardless of price.
Dave and Frank were equally
proud of their red snapper,
fresh pompano, Finnan haddie,
shad roe or king crab.
As a concession to the occa-
sion eccentric folks who came
in for steak, the Clam Shop
had excellent News York strips
and steaks of the highest qual-
ity … but make no mistake, it
was basically a seafood house.
OLDIE BUT GOODIE …
A Jewish man ate at a Chinese
restaurant and wondered if
there were any Chinese Jews …
When the waiter came to take
his order, he asked, “Pardon
me, but are there any Chinese
Jews?
The waiter says, “I no know.
I new here. I ask manager.”
The waiter goes to the kitch-
en and returns to explain to the
man, “No, no Chinese Jews.
We have orange Jews, tomato
Jews, grape Jews and pineapple
Jews but no Chinese Jews.”
CONGRATS … To Marilyn
Rubin on her birthday.
Danny’
s email address is
dannyraskin2132@gmail.com.
Danny Raskin
Senior Columnist
Motown
Memories:
The Clam
Shop
The Clam Shop
FABULOUS RUINS OF DETROIT
Get The Detroit Jewish News print
edition delivered to your door every
week for less than $2 per issue.
thejewishnews.com/subscription
Subscribe
Today!
Stay in the know with all things Jewish...