Back in the 1960s and 1970s we used to have a house in Wrinkle Point in West Dennis, MA. From time to time Dad would take us to dinner at Thompson’s Clam Bar in Harwichport at Wychmere Harbor. I loved going there. My sisters and I would beg for a Shrimp Cocktail and lobster. Dad would usually give in. Back then it seems a shrimp cocktail cost a fortune, but its rather reasonable to have one these days.
8 large shrimp, peeled and cleaned
crushed ice
1/2 cup of Ketchup
1 TBS Hot horseradish
teaspoon of lemon juice
dash of hot sauce
1 Tbs shrimp boil seasoning
Cook the cleaned shrimp just until they turn pink in four cups of water adding the shrimp boil seasoning just prior to putting in the shrimp. Remove/drain the shrimp and place in an icewater bath to stop the cooking. Combine the other ingredients in a bowl for the shrimp sauce. Fill shot glasses with the shrimp sauce and place in the middle of serving glasses filled with crushed ice.
Hang the shrimp on the edges of the glasses. Garnish with lemon wedge and some watercress if desired.
Enjoy!
Dad Cooks @ Recipe Redux 
Oh ma-don, I love a shrimp cocktail.
I don’t know about you, but I sing the Thompson’s Clam Bar song fairly often: Hey! Wherrrre ya goin? I’m goin’ where the tastiest clams are . . .
I worked there for 5 of the best summers of mylife. I heard they may bring it back!
cheers.
Curse you Awriterinthedesert – I’ve been humming that tune all day now! “Come by boat, come by car, come the way you are….” Living in NC now but still pine for Thompsons when we get back to the Cape.
Thomson’s Clam Bar is among my fondest memories as a Child. I can always remember every Cape Cod Vacation from age 6, having one night at “The Clam Bar”. The whole belly fried clams, dining by the water, and feeding the seagulls my leftover fries. It was the saddest feeling when AI found out it closed it doors. I can’t believe it’s been 9 years .
Clam bar was awesome. I worked there from 89 to 06 as a line cook. I also used to live in the house next to the melrose until the finally moved it for the Housing unit. I wish they never closed it was so much fun.
Hey Bubba,i am from that area and miss the fried clams and i regret not ever learning how to make them do you still remember there recipe i would love to make them here in florida i tell my friends how good they are all the time
If any of you would like to relive the Thompson’s Clam Bar memories you can hear the original jingle here……
http://odeo.com/episodes/44481
enjoy
I loved Thompson’s. My Dad and aunt worked there summers growing up. I miss it – now I head for Brax Landing, but nothing can replace Thompson’s.
We drove 5 hours (6, before I-95 was finished! Through the streets of Taunton, up 28…) up from NJ every August, to spend 4 weeks on Cape Cod. I did this every year from when I was born. We’d start hearing the Thompson’s jingle around Seekonk, and knew it wouldn’t be much longer. Thompson’s was *always* our first stop, no exceptions. That place was the best. Dr. Fennel is, was, always shall be, in my mind, A COMPLETE JERK for wrecking “my” town! He tore down the movie theatre and Sword and Shield restaurant too! No shame.
I worked at Thompson’s Clam Bar for my summer internship in 1988. I had a ball working there. I would have loved to have returned there the following year but I hated the idea of going another summer without a car. Still, working there the one summer was fun while it lasted.
We too hit the Cape for a week every August and none of these vacations were complete without one night’s dinner at Thompsons. The big basket of steamers (clams)first dip in water to get rid of any sand and then butter, the chowda, then a lobster, all while the windows were open and the boats were going by. It was a real death knell to the college student summer when that place closed. The Cape would never be the same.
tourist trap with illegal labor in the kitchen