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Seafood Restaurants

Seafood shacks worth a stop this summer

Anne Roderique Jones
Special for USA TODAY
At Luke’s, lobsters can be plucked from live tanks. A menu of steamed clams, fried fish and local Maine beer or cocktails made with Maine-distilled spirits is also available.

Nothing quite says summer like a seafood shack. Most of these joints are unfussy roadside stalls that have been serving a signature dish fresh from the sea for years. This could be a simply dressed lobster roll, like the one from the Clam Bar in Amagansett, N.Y., or a crispy fried clam strip from Flo’s Clam Shack Rhode Island — a beloved business that began in a chicken coop in the 1930s. Or perhaps an old-school fishery in Chicago, one of the last to smoke its own fish. From high end to low brow, and east coast to west, these seafood shacks serve up a dose of sunshine, a handful of picnic tables and plenty of American charm alongside fresh fish. Find ‘em while it’s still warm by browsing the gallery above.

Plus, see America's annual seafood festivals below.

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