Clams Casino

Clams Casino has a paperwork problem. A Rhode Island maître d' named Julius Keller claimed to invent the dish at the Narragansett Pier Casino in 1917 — but a January 1900 menu from the Central Park Casino in New York City, held in the New York Public Library, predates him by 17 years. And neither one was a gambling house.We dig into both origin claims, the Portuguese-American "stuffies" tradition in Rhode Island that may pre-date both, and how to take a working man's ingredient and dress it up — a three-way move on the pork, a strong opinion on breadcrumbs, and a rethink of which booze actually belongs in the topping.We pair it with the Central Park Casino — an aquavit dirty Martini with a pureed olive brine, named for the 1900 menu that started the argument.For the full recipes and more, become a premium subscriber at https://sauced.supercast.com/Follow us on Instagram: @sauced.podThanks to all of this week's partners:Mezcal Ultramundo: https://pkgdgroup.com/post/ultramundo/Underberg: https://underbergamerica.com/