From Soup to Sinatra

I do the old white trash fridge of putting things outside. You can also see one of my old french pots.

Soon to be black bean

 It started with a terrible soup I made. I thought that 3 lovely white french onions would turn into a great soup. I make soup often, but not brothy soups. ( I did everything right, except roast the beef bones and salt...I checked in to AI to ask what I could do with it, talked it out and decided to make black bean soup with it ( I had black beans in the cupboard)...

It got me thinking about clam chowder, New England, which I miss dearly...and the clam...steamers, cherry stone...all clams. French clams are terrible. The french have no respect for the clam...anyway...I was mentioning it to AI and it told me how I could make clam chowder with what I have here..He thought one clam ( palourdes) I thought another, Amandes...very inexpensive, chewy like Quahogs...

It got me thinking about clam broth...I told it about a bar/restaurant in Hoboken NJ that I had been to a few times. They served lots of steamed clams ( my Father called them "Stove Pipes".) hence, they had lots of clam juice. They had a spigot where you could open it and the juice would flow out for you to catch in a cup. I loved that place...Frank Sinatra used to there back in his time.

I asked AI to see if he could find it...sure enough...

You’re absolutely remembering the legendary clam place from Hoboken — and I think I’ve found it:

🦪 The Clam Broth House (historic — closed)

• This was the classic seafood bar/restaurant in Hoboken known for free clam broth on tap from a spigot, clams, and a salty working-class atmosphere that drew sailors, locals, and even celebrities like Frank Sinatra.

• It originally opened in 1899 and operated for over a century.

• The building was condemned and the restaurant eventually closed and was demolished in the early 2000s.

• The iconic sign from the original place still exists as a local Hoboken landmark, but the original Clam Broth House itself is no longer open.

So yes — that’s the spot you’re recalling, but unfortunately it’s closed and no longer operating. 

So AI helped me add some color and info to a memory, and helped me remake my soup. Below is what he got from what I described.