Yes. Your holiday wishes are finally being granted. Littleneck will be OPEN on Christmas Eve. So swing by and spread a little holiday cheer!!!! We’ll be opening around 5 and will stay open until ???? Unless nobody shows up in which case we are closing up shop, ordering some Chinese food, and watching the X-Files on Hulu.
Also, we got a really killer review from Serious Eats:
Like any true New England clam shack, Harding starts your meals by ladling up an extraordinary version of New England Clam Chowder ($7) (my favorite soup in the world), featuring diminutive chunks of two types of potato, plenty of tender chopped clams and white pepper, and a handful of dill and pork belly. Thankfully, there’s just a touch of flour to bind the briny, creamy broth, which instead relies on crushed oyster crackers for texture—a more traditional (and frankly, much better) way to thicken your soup. You won’t find a better clam chowder even in Boston.
Likewise, gigantic whole belly clams are fried as expertly as at any New England clam shack—that is, greaseless, tender, crisp, and hot—then stuffed into a buttered toasted top-split hot dog bun for their Whole Belly Clam Roll ($16). Even my mom, a self-proclaimed fried clam perfectionist, gave the roll her stamp of approval, and let me tell you, she rarely approves of anything (Tiger mom ain’t got nothing on mine).
The same top-split buttered roll is put to good use with their simple Lobster Roll ($18). Minimally dressed with just a thin coat of mayo and a bit of diced celery, it could have used a bit more salt (to my taste) and perhaps a squeeze of lemon, but there was no faulting the perfectly cooked, sweet, hard-shell lobster meat, nor the price. Even the ricketiest of New England lobster shacks charges upwards of $15 a pop these days (paper plate or plastic basket included).
And finally, we came in at number 10 on the L Magazine’s list of Brooklyn’s 10 Best New Restaurants:
10. Littleneck
288 Third Ave, Gowanus
None of the seafood at Littleneck disappoints. The clams are as juicy as if they’d been lifted from the sea and placed directly into the fryer; the oyster selection is equally compelling. The sides are pitch-perfect—complexly flavored pickles, mignonette and tangy cocktail sauce. With a well-curated tap list and a charming nautical interior, Littleneck is a delightfully unsuspecting spot just off the banks of the Gowanus Canal.
