Five Decades Of Seafood And Sunsets At Jim's Clam Shack On Cape Cod: MA Cheap Eats

FALMOUTH, MA — The Cape Cod culinary scene is, in some ways, a tale of two seasons.

The fish shacks and other restaurants shutter in the early days of fall and hibernate during the winter, waiting until late spring rolls around to open the takeout windows and patio dining areas that define summer eats on Cape Cod.

Those picnic benches placed in parking lots and patios with views of various bodies of water create nostalgic memories of trips to the area. Patch is looking to explore more about what makes the operators of these businesses keep opening their doors annually.

Jim Murray owns Jim's Clam Shack in Falmouth, a seafood spot with a unique history in the area.

As the lore goes, the state took what is now the Steamship Authority port by eminent domain in the late 1950s from the Sam Cahoon-operated seafood company. Cahoon moved to what is now Jim's Clam Shack on the mouth of Falmouth Harbor.

It was later turned into the Harborview Seafood Market and, in the 1970s, the clam shack in the building next door was closed and converted to The Regatta, a top French restaurant. The seafood market was closed and converted to a clam shack.

That brings us to the present day at Jim's, which has opened seasonally for 50 years.

The clam shack opens for weekend service starting Memorial Day weekend and goes seven days a week in mid-June. After Labor Day the clam shack again shifts to weekends only, which lasts until Columbus Day.

"When you visit Jim's Clam Shack for the first time you immediately realize that you are looking at the most beautiful views on Cape Cod, you next notice happy diners eating the freshest seafood around," Murray said.

"The next thing you experience is the difficulty you are having deciding what to order because it's all so tempting. Then you have to decide if you're going to eat on the rooftop deck or the dock literally right on the water and if it is evening you will witness one of our unbelievable sunsets," he added.

Clearly, Murray is one of the many on Cape Cod who believe seasonal seafood restaurants, and the fishermen who provide the food, are imperative to the personality of Cape Cod.

"Cape Cod is synonymous with seafood, it's in the name," Murray said.

"The Cape offers hundreds of great seafood restaurants, many of them on the water. During the summer dining on the water is a special experience, even us year-rounders have to pinch ourselves once in a while when we dine on the water. I still can't get over the view when I'm standing on my deck or dock."

For those who may visit the clam shack for the first time this summer, Patch asked Murray if he had recommendations for what to order at his restaurant, and if he would recommend other spots on the Cape he enjoys dining with.

Though he struggled to pick one item, Murray noted that Jim's has received praise for its clams, lobster roll, scallops and fish and chips.

"If you visit the Clam Shack you will realize that it is nearly impossible to recommend one menu item," he said.

As for another restaurant worth visiting, Murray recommends The Chart Room at Kingman's Marina in Cataumet.

"It has a more varied menu than us, a great sunset, friendly bartenders and piano bar," he said.

Seafood, sunsets and a drink in hand. What's more Cape Cod than that?