The dish cooks up quick, can be made ahead of time, and has a bit of a fancy look thanks to its browned crumb topping-all super-solid reasons to make them at home as well. From its origins in the 1920's at the Little Casino resort in Rhode Island, Clams Casino soon spread to Italian-American restaurants across the country. In a small bowl, stir together the butter, shallots, garlic, parsley, lemon juice, salt, and. Though they seem to be the iconic gem of every red-and-white checkered tablecloth resto, legend has it that the dish originated in a resort in Rhode Island, not a nonna's kitchen. Cook the bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat until crisp. Ingredients 18 medium-sized (about 2 1/2-inches) littleneck clams 2 tablespoon unsalted butter 3 strips center-cut bacon, each sliced into 6 equal pieces.

But when it comes to kicking off the meal, the app that's always caught my eye is Clams Casino, those bacony, crunchy-topped, sizzling little half-shell clams that hit the table and immediately make you happy.īut it turns out I didn't know Clams Casino quite as well as I thought. Garlic bread, calamari, some nice broccoli rabe-you can't hit an old school Italian American red-sauce joint without ordering these dishes along with your spaghetti and meatballs.