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Having grown up on Boston's North Shore I can comfortably state that the best fried clams on the planet are served at the Choate Bridge Pub in Ipswich, MA. Once you have tasted them, you will thank me.

Brooklyn: Di Fara's is a masterpiece, as is Totonno's. Joe's in Park Slope is atrocious.
Spumoni Gardens somewhere in the middle.

UWS: I like V & T Pizzeria near Columbia University on Amsterdam Ave. Also Sal & Carmine walking distance from Symphony Space on Broadway.

Ate at The Bite in Menemsha today and would now put them at the top of my life's list of good fried clams.

Agreed that there isn;t enough salt in most clam flour, but The Bite's seemed just right. Perfecto in fact.

Thanks for the tips. I live in Colorado and there is no where to find anything close to a fried belly clam. I grew up near Saybrook, CT and we always went to J. Ad's for clams.

I'm in Boston next week on a biz trip. Last time there, I was disappointed. Between the airport and Chelmsford (where I have to stay) is there any chance of great fried clams and/or steamers?

Hey Ed,

I have to join you in that love for fried clams. I left new england 34 years ago and always gorge myself on the fried clam delicacy when I return for infrequent visits. I have dined at 2 of your favorite places on the list. Both have exceedingly good nuggets of the goodies. Both "The Clam Box" and "Farnhams" have provided the delicious clams for my consuming.

Now having lived in Hawaii for the last 24 years I have often longed for the tasty morsels. I'm going to try to mail order them into the state!!! "Diggers Choice" says they can ship them over to me.

http://www.diggerschoice-seafood.com/Fried-Seafood/

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Joe the surfdog Abramo.

Right you are, Moth 23 of the Chowhound byways. I've also heard amazing things about some guy who doles Korean street food out of a cart somewhere on the Lower East Side. Having eaten tons of streetfood in Seoul, I'm dying to find this guy. We need more Korean street food in NYC: sweet round pastries shaped like small hubcaps that I like to call "machisoyo burgers", sweet corn, an outer space type version of corn dogs wherein the dog is covered with fries that shoot out in every direction like a fast food version of Sideshow Bob, and, yes, even dixie cups full of worms. We need more food that we avoid looking at while we're eating in NYC.

For that matter, how can any list of cheap eateries in this town be complete without at least giving mention to Mei Lei Wah coffee shop, purveyors of the legendary combination bun filled with chewy goodness, and a cup of coffee bound to set your heart-a-beatin' like a superball in a malfunctioning airvac.

Here's my toss-in, not necessarily to include on a 10 best list, but, oh....let's say it should be included on an "underrated" or "underappreciated" list of NY pizzerias. The place is called Dani's House of Pizza, located in an almost surreal kaddy-corner space buttressing the back of a Long Island railroad station in Kew Gardens. The slice, at least when I have eaten it, has always been fresh, crisp, thin but juicy, and loaded with the kind of flavor that emphasizes an oregano-laden, slightly sweet sauce. The cozy counter faces an ice box full of beers with exotic, cartoonish labels, so why not down one while you have a slice or two. Not only is this joint a half-block away from one of NYC's last remaining art house cinemas (the Kew Gardens Cinema), but, lo and behold, it's right across the street from neighborhood newcomer and mini-chain Singha's Famous. (Hey...what the hell...why not make a night out of it?) Better yet, take advantage of the Lefferts Boulevard location to grab a pie or two on your way to the airport. Who says you can't get a good slice in Queens? As for Ed's list, I can't quibble, having been to at least half of the places listed, but, hey, i like to champion the little guys. That said, how about a shout-out for the often brilliant sicilian slice at Spumoni Gardens?

I have been to Nick's, in Forest Hills, two times now, and I wouldn't even put it in the top twenty, let alone the top five. Believe me, if I really agreed with this assessment, I would be more than happy to have one of the top 5 NY Pizza joints right in my neighborhood. Not that it's a top ten finalist, but I would encourage y'all to check out a little zig zag caddycorner joint in Kew Gardens called Danis. They make a tastey, crisp oregano-laced slice with a twinge of sweetness that goes down nice with any number of whacked out beers that face you on as you sit at the counter. Yet more proof that pizza is not dead in Queens. I'm also not too crazy about the East Village Arepa place. Cheap as it is, I find it overpriced. I hear great things about the Arepa Lady under the Roosevelt Avenue El, though. Corona way. Something tells me the real thing still awaits. Then again, who is my palette to argue with yours, NY Magazine?

Jozersky, Some people have a passion for politics, others for religion, but my passion is reserved for food, and its deteriorating state in this City and our Nation. I'm sorry if my attitude bums you out -- it is not my intention or desire at all -- but I am bummed out by people's acceptance of mediocrity, and even more by the elevation of that mediocrity to a position of respect and admiration. Personally, I have no tolerance at all for mediocrity, and less still for those who foist off inferior quality products with special bravado and hype. Such attitudes, in my own opinion, only serve to guarantee that the status quo is maintained, and the sorry state of our cuisine allowed to freely continue its disintegration.

So, I call it like I see it, and to me -- with apologies in advance to you -- De Marco pizza is "garbage." I mean this not only in the figurative sense, but also in the very literal meaning of the word, in that many a De Marco pie -- I have given them many, many chances -- has wound up in the garbage due to our unwillingness to consume it.

For whatever its worth, the sauce is simply not the same -- and as you probably know, Dom's sauce is not the same on a day to day basis due to his picking and choosing the best available ingredients on any given day or season -- regardless of what the kids might say to invoke Dom's aura. Rather, it is an expedient, commercial version of Dom's sauce. The cheeses used might have some overlap -- though they are not identical -- but this too misses the main point. Dom cares deeply about his pizza -- the dough, the yeast, the rise, the sauce, the herbs, the oil, the cheeses, the bake -- and the people running De Marco (who are often not his kids) just don't. As a result of all of this, every slice that leaves Dom's counter is a masterpiece of his creation, passion, and dedication to quality, and the pizza that leaves De Marco's will never be anything but a poor imitation.

Let's agree that De Marco is not the worst pizza in New York. De Marco strikes a special chord in me however, not simply because it is no better than average, but because it inhabits the space of the lowest common denominator while portraying itself -- and encouraging others to portray it -- as an exercise in greatness, and falsely invoking the aura of Di Fara. In doing so, the mediocrity that is De Marco is accepted, elevated, and even celebrated, while the high art that is Di Fara losses something in the process.

So, I would suggest that the use of the term “garbage” is not unwarranted vitriol, but if anything, speaks too softly in the face of the threat that the acceptance of mediocrity poses to our food and culture. The loss of quality food is a very real threat to our quality of life, and while some people might not think it worthy of invoking strong words, I simply don’t agree. By maintaining a sense of passion about our food, we have a chance to win the fight against mediocrity, and preserve the precious little food culture we have left here.

I would think they make the list based upon the subjective variable of taste. (i.e. I am not a cheese fan other than pizza, so the places with the really fresh buffalo mozz don't work for me, like Adriennes). I can def see why people rave about the place though.

Keithrez

Sadly, I must now agree with Lester re: Maffei's grandma slice. A few years back when I first tried it, it was one of the best slices I ever had, and I thought the regular slices were really good as well. Now that the neighborhood is a mini-MPD, the quality has diminished greatly based upon my last several visits.

Rigoletto's on 70th & Columbus is really good (not too cheesy and always well done, my preferences).

I do not understand the affinity people have for Sal & Carmine's. My cuz (who is a pizza afficienado) and I checked it out recently. Extremely average.

Original Pizza II on Ralph Ave. in Mill Basin. G-d do I miss that place now that I am in Manhattan.

Keithrez

Jozerky: Regarding Patsy's, I have on rare occassion experienced a soggy slice at, although their pies never fail and the soggy slice an exception not a rule. Nine times out of ten their slices are just out of the oven in my experience and sublime.

As for Sac's, no way. Their crust is usually doughy and undercooked, the sauce clearly a canned prefab concoction. Their "fresh" mozarella polios or someother nonsense. In queens, you should try Alba's fresh mozarella pie on Ditmar's. Certainly not a top 10 pie, but certainly good in a pinch and heads above Sac's.

I love Patsy's pizza, it is as good as DiFara no doubt. I must STRONGLY object to your exclusion of Grimaldi's in brooklyn heights. Their crust is an as close to perfection as one can get, easily as good or better then DiFara and Patsy's. Such an admission calls into question your credibility to say the least.; equivalent to a steak authority failing to include Luger's on their NYC top 10 list.