This Throwback Dish Is Dolly Parton's Favorite Way To Eat Clams

Legendary country singer and philanthropist Dolly Parton has an abiding love for all things culinary, whether it's her own chicken and dumplings or a variety of other Southern comfort foods. Parton's also gotten into the food business with a line of frozen dishes and her own wines, among a plethora of other products. But, when it comes to clams, the Tennessee native prefers a classic East Coast dish that's more closely associated with the crooner Frank Sinatra than the Queen of Nashville. She's a big fan of clams casino, that old school dish of clams with breadcrumbs, bacon, and peppers.

This dish is definitely not Southern; its roots are actually in New England. The dish was allegedly created by Julius Keller in 1917 when he worked at the Narragansett Pier Casino in Rhode Island, before he became a fixture of New York City's culinary scene in the '20s. Still, there are earlier references to a dish with the same name in both Washington D.C. and New York City. In the later case, it was nearly 20 years earlier than its supposed official birth. Whatever it's true origin, the dish soon became popular at East Coast Italian-American restaurants and spread from there. Parton, who grew up in rural Appalachia, didn't immediately take to shellfish as an adult. This may help explain the unusual way she likes her clams casino.

When Dolly Parton orders clams casino at a restaurant, she asks to have the little neck clams cut up. "I like clams, but I don't like them when they're all big and chewy, so they chop them up for me," she told the New York Times in 1992. Considering her rural mountain upbringing, she's come a long way in her culinary tastes. She grew up poor and sometimes ate bear and squirrel, so experience with seafood was limited to fried catfish and frog legs. Parton moved to Nashville right after high school at 18 and was 20 before she came face-to-face with a shrimp cocktail.

Like her clams, Parton's picky about other shellfish. She only eats her oysters fried, for example. Still, Parton's version of clams casino with the clams chopped up has a leg up on the classic version. She finds the flavors of the dish — clams, bacon, and breadcrumbs — combine better her way. While she may enjoy clams from time to time, she stays true to her Appalachian roots and enjoys biscuits and gravy at least once a week.