Contrary to its name, the Narragansett Pier Casino was not a gambling hall, but instead an upscale resort property built in the mid-1880s. The dish is most often credited to Julius Keller, who claimed to have invented the dish when he was an employee at Rhode Island's Narragansett Pier Casino. In many diners' food memories, they arrive to the table on a bed of rock salt, with lemon wedges and parsley for optional garnishing.īut the birth of clams casino has a fuzzier history. Whether at a classic red-sauce joint or at a oceanside seafood shack, the dish remains assuringly consistent: littleneck clams are propped on their half-shells with a mixture of peppers, bacon, bread crumbs, and butter, then broiled until each stuffed shell browns on top. For many New Englanders, it doesn't get more classic than clams casino.
