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...