Time for a clambake, whether it’s on the beach or in the kitchen

The Seattle Times - WHEN BRENDAN MCGILL and Heidi Williams were dating 12 years ago, they dug clams on the Williams’ historic beach property on Bainbridge Island, now Williams-Olson Park. Back then, Carl Hitchcock Williams, Heidi’s father, was in charge of the cookouts, and he showed Brendan how the family had steamed clams on Manzanita Bay for 100 years. Brendan fell in love not only with Heidi, but also with Bainbridge Island.

“Digging clams from the beach and cooking them in the old steel pot over the fire was a seminal moment for me,” says McGill, an Alaska native. “It instilled the love for Bainbridge Island and inspired me to return and open my own restaurant.”