The Happy Clam in St. George, part seafood shack, part German restaurant. Photo by Cookie Novicka Each time I start to describe The Happy Clam, I realize I’ve left something out.
Boiled down to its most critical components, this multi-limbed St. George restaurant is a classic Maine seafood shack. And a playground.
And an outdoor concert venue complete with its own food truck. And an outdoor, open-air, open-concept karaoke bar called the Outback Saloon. More is more out on Tenants Harbor.
Rather, I should say, “mehr ist mehr,” as I forgot to mention that The Clam is also a full-service German restaurant. Indeed, the best way to define what makes this sprawling seasonal food-and-beverage campus special might be to deploy one of the tongue-twisting compound nouns that German is so famous for – although I fear the scale and versatility of Greg and Corinna Howland’s restaurant would break the language itself. The Schnitzel Fingers at The Happy Clam in St.
George. Photo by Andrew Ross The Happy Clam’s patchwork spirit springs naturally from the couple’s own unusual romantic pairing. When you know the Howlands comprise one native Mainer (Greg) and one East German émigré (Corinna), a menu featuring “schnitzel fingers,” strips of pounded, crunchy fried pork loin served with mushroomy Jaeger sauce ($17) alongside baskets of deep-fried, Maine-caught scallops ($30) makes sense.
The Happy Clam almost didn’t make it to New England. But in the midst of a mid-aughts a.