Maine dining in Vermont
 

This is kind of goofy but then again so is my husband! Looking for a restaurant/diner etc., in Vermont/Northern New Hampshire that serves fried clams. Doesn't have to be the culinary experience of a lifetime -- just fried clam strips. A couple of years ago we took a leaf peeping trip to Southern Vermont, NH and Maine - stopped at a roadside fast food diner while driving and my husband enjoyed the fried clams. This year we are headed to Northern Vermont (Stowe, Burlington, Jay Peak area) and I really wasn't planning to drive to Maine but husband has said the one thing he really would like are clams like we had in Maine - we have lots of boiled crawfish here where we live but no clams! Grateful for any ideas.

Miss Lyndonville Diner in Lyndonville VT has excellent fried clams. I was surprised. Many NH restaurants have fried clams on the menu. Lyndonville is near Littleton NH. You will find several fried clam and onion rings places around Lake Winnipesaukee but I can no longer recommend the Tamarack. Sawyers in Guilford is much better. This area is not very far south of NH White Mountains.
If you like wine, go to the Boyden Valley Winery which could sort of be on your route between Stowe and Burlington.
Are you flying into Manchester NH? There are several places near Manchester.

It's not northern VT, but if you find yourself in South/Central VT, Tozier's (I think I spelled it right) in either Bethel or Stockbridge (on Route 107) has surprisingly good clams. I had a clam roll (w/bellies-the only way to go!) about a month ago and was pleasantly surprised!
Dfrost-thanks for the Miss Lyndonville tip...will have to check it out.

The Weathervane Seafood restaurants are a New England chain which serve fried clams. I know there's one in Rutland VT and some in New Hampshire.

I agree with bm. Whole clams, not strips, are the only real clams and what New Englanders eat. Enjoy.

If you're flying into Manchester or driving by, Clam King is magnificent! It's just off I-293, Exit 4. You can order either strips or whole clams. Here the tartar sauce and seafood sauce are excellent too.

A thousand thank yous! My husband is so great about indulging my need to travel -- thank you so much for helping me to fill his one special request. The Lyndonville diner will be fairly close to where we are staying and I've made note of the other places also as we haven't finalized our itinerary yet. The place near Manchester sounds great also. We'll be flying into Burlington this trip though. Now about those clam bellies.... Mmmm I just don't know.... It's not that we don't want to honor local custom -- we don't suck the heads of the crawfish either! Thank you again - oh and I've made note of the winery - hubby will enjoy that also!

The weathervane in Maine, near the Kittery outlets.

Cbbi, you're really missing out on the real flavor of clams by not eating them whole. Clam strips are literally "stripped" of the flavor IMO. At least try them for us, ok? <wink>
I thought of another place that occasionally has fried clams - The Creamery in Danville (about 7 miles east of St. Johnsbury). Their menu changes daily, so call ahead. But regardless, it's a great restaurant if you're looking for other options.