Boston-area seafood lovers all know that the chewy strips that pass for fried clams around here pale in comparison to the luscious, whole-bellied clams that are fried up by the pound in their neck of the woods. But for a long time, the plump mollusks could only be found in DC at Boston-based chain Legal Seafoods. Then Beantown-area native Graig Glufling and business partner Scott Hamilton opened up Liberty Tree on H Street. While the restaurant's menu is fairly eclectic, there is a definite New England influence--most obvious in the presence of fried, whole-bellied Ipswich clams in both sandwich and platter form.

When asked why Legal is the only other restaurant in town offering the regional delicacies, Graig (above with wife, PsyD, and pastry chef Kathleen) offers two explanations:"Most of them just don't know about the clams," and due to their short shelf-life(two to three days tops) shipping the whole-bellied clams in from Ipswich is an expensive proposition. Graig admits that they are one of the highest-cost items on his menu, but says it's worth the hit to be able to introduce a hometown favorite to his patrons in DC. "It took a couple of months, but now enough people know about the clams that I sell out of them before they can go bad."