It’s not just about the clam rolls over here…I mean it totally is, but it isn’t just about the clam rolls. We do burgers too! And Time Out New York recently named our burger as one of the best new kids in town alongside Roberta’s, The Cardinal, Allswell, Fatty ‘Cue, and the venerable Steak’n'Shake, the regional chain which I had no idea had even made in-roads into New York.

Time Out New York recommends the delicious picks on its Best New Burgers list as appropriate for “boys night out,” but we don’t discriminate. We will happily serve our burger (or anything else on the menu for that matter) to ladies and gents alike. And we highly recommend it accompanied by a platter of delicious oysters! Stay tuned to our daily specials and raw bar offerings on Twitter (and give us a shout to tell us what you liked, too!)

What’s the strangest request that you’ve accommodated here?
Aaron: The night before were were open, we were in here doing some last minute painting, and we wrote out a bunch of fake specials on the specials board. We put up “fried tuna rings,” and I put it as a joke tip on Foursquare. And then somebody saw that on there and came in and ordered it.
Andy: The waitress came back to me and said, “There’s a couple that wants to order the fried tuna rings. They say it’s off the menu. Can you explain that to me?”
Aaron: We had to explain that it was an homage to White Castle.

That’s us in an interview with Eater for the Gatekeepers feature. Click on over to check it out. And to the anonymous commenter that called us “dirty hippies“: I will have you know a source just hipped us to an illicit back-alley deal and we just plunked down the cash for the long since sold out COMPLETE EUROPE ’72 BOX SET…so, uh, yeah. Maybe you were on to something???

The Giants vs. Pats Superbowl Sunday is here and though we are torn between our physical home on 3rd Ave. in Brooklyn and our spiritual home on Cape Cod one thing is for certain: we love chowder…and if you are reading this right now you probably do too. The Daily News is once again pitting New England against The Big Apple, this time with competing chowder recipes. So click through and check out our recipe from chef Alan Harding which goes head to head against the John Dory Oyster Bar‘s Manhattan-style Clam and Bacon Acquacotta.

Just when you thought the media blitz was over we landed alongside serious mainstays like the Grand Central Oyster Bar on the latest Village Voice Fork In The Road listicle: New York’s 10 Best Bargain Seafood Joints! Click on the link to check out the full list.

Additionally, we also made NYCGO.COM‘s list of the city’s best new restaurants. We’ll take it! Go check that one out too.

The first snowfall hit NYC earlier this week which means Olde Man Winter is finally here for good. But don’t worry, we’ll be keeping you warm with piping hot bowls of clam chowder…the same chowder that was just featured in Refinery 29‘s list of the best winter comfort foods. For those keeping score at home this is the first time a fashion blog has covered us and judging by the mountain of shoes that I just bought off the clearance rack at DSW it probably won’t be the last.

Click on the picture below to see the full article:

We were featured in today’s New York Times dining section in the $25 And Under column. The Times loved the specials and the raw bar:

You can experience the change at Littleneck, 288 Third Avenue (President Street), Gowanus, Brooklyn, (718) 522-1921, littleneckbrooklyn.com, an urban clam shack a cherrystone’s throw from the canal. It is run by musicians with a kitchen led by the Brooklyn restaurant veteran Alan Harding (Gowanus Yacht Club, Patois).

On opening nights for the neighboring gallery, hipsters wait for seating amid Littleneck’s whitewashed wainscoting and cute nautical doodads. Andy Curtin, an owner looking more shipmate than band mate in a beard and woolen cap, swoops about with dishes you’ll be happy to dine on: specials like huge, scrumptious, head-on shrimp, baked in salt with a touch of tarragon ($12); snappy, fascinating salads like pea shoots with bittersweet popcorn shoots, watermelon radishes and golden beets ($8). Meaty corkscrew whelks are perfect in drawn garlic butter ($1 each). Urchins are creamy embodiments of sea ($6 each).

The fabulous bicoastal oyster selection ($2 for East Coast, $3 for West) delivers bracing, diverse pleasures vividly described by the waitresses — British Columbian Kusshis have a “slight melon flavor,” Chincoteagues are “kind of lemony.”

And a big what up to my man Foster over at The New York Observer for this gem:

Thanks buddy!!!

So swing by soon!!! We have a revamped wine list and have added a few new beers too including Ommegang Belgian Pale Ale.

And in other big news: We also now have GIFT CERTIFICATES available!!! Perfect for that special someone in your life.

Our resident record snob Aaron, who rules the house iPod with an iron fist (but he puts that iron fist away as he gently and artfully pours you a drink), put together this playlist for The L Magazine. It skews heavily towards the “Dudes With Beards” genre (i.e. Captain Trips aka Jerry Garcia, Dennis Wilson, Lowell George from Little Feat etc.) but if you can handle a little bit of that you will totally dig it! The playlist is also available on Spotify so point your browser in that direction for some highly enjoyable listening even if you aren’t currently eating one of our clam rolls.

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.

Voice restaurant critic Robert Sietsema—who has made no bones about how much he enjoys specials such as the choucrourte and lobster bisque—just now has penned a full review for this week’s paper.

But the most spectacular appearance of Brooklyn’s iconic bivalve is on a clam roll ($16), featuring full-belly littlenecks with creamy tartar sauce and a few shreds of lettuce for color contrast. Even in Connecticut—which is famous for its clam rolls—you can’t get a better one. Another regular-menu selection is steamers cooked in garlic, beer, and chilies. Fifteen or so to an order, these represent a different species, known to marine biologists as siphon clams but to generations of Brooklyn kids as “piss clams.” Why? Because they’re found on the borough’s beaches buried in sand, identifiable by a small burbling hole. Stomp next to it, and a stream of liquid shoots hilariously skyward.

Thanks Robert!!!

So swing by this weekend!!! We will have plenty of clam sandwiches for everyone and we’ve also added a few new beers including Allagash White, Victory Hop Devil IPA, and Ommegang Belgian Pale Ale.

YEAH BUDDY!!!!!

Finally something our folks can be proud of us for; Littleneck was just named Clam Shack of The Week by our old pals over at Narragansett…the official beer of the clam!!! So stop in and pound a few with us to celebrate. We always have ice cold tall boys at 3 bucks a pop and for a limited time only we have the seasonal porter brew as well. For 4 bucks ya just can’t go wrong!

We also came in at #4 on Eater’s Top 10 Sandwich Additions of the Year in NYC with the lobster roll and full belly Ipswich clam roll both getting serious nods. As my man Warren Zevon would say “enjoy every sandwich!”

And finally check out this awesome review from The L Magazine and the beautiful accompanying photos!

Photo by Cody Swanson/The L Magazine

Photo by Cody Swanson/The L Magazine