Tamarack

[sa meredith]

Originally Posted by winniplayhouse

Sampled the Tamarack-Out-Back's pizza today and it was very good. Thin, crispy crust, tangy sauce. Lots of bubbles (which the kids enjoyed!). I chatted with Jim (the owner) and his wife. They've only owned it for a couple of years so those of you who had commented about having been disappointed in the past might want to give them a try. Probably was the previous owners.

The pizza shop, and main food stand are two different businesses, I believe. Not the same deal.

[itchin for fishin]

Unless I got my facts wrong, I believe the same owner owns both businesses. He is looking to make Outback year round will the Tamarack as we have known it is seasonal.

[gonetoolong]

Hi folks, yup, they're both mine. Actually can't really say 'both' since it's really just the same place. We added the pizza & subs to expand the menu a bit and to put the dining hall to some additional use. I'd love to keep 'Outback' open year 'round so I think I'm gonna give it a try this year if I can build the pizza biz up. MG, sorry you had a bad experience. Please stop by again and ask for me.

Sincerely,

Jim Clayton

[dpg]

Originally Posted by gonetoolong

Hi folks, yup, they're both mine. Actually can't really say 'both' since it's really just the same place. We added the pizza & subs to expand the menu a bit and to put the dining hall to some additional use. I'd love to keep 'Outback' open year 'round so I think I'm gonna give it a try this year if I can build the pizza biz up. MG, sorry you had a bad experience. Please stop by again and ask for me.

Sincerely,

Jim Clayton

Hi Jim thanks for responding and straightening us out. Sorry to say I also used to like the Tamarack of old. Not sure who owned it but the last time I stopped by (maybe 3-4 summers ago) I felt the prices were quite high for what I was served. For me (many) years ago that place used to be a must-stop for my onion ring fix. Will try it again this summer and see what I think.

[phoenix]

Jim I also stopped going a few summers ago when they started mixing other adders to the lobster roll. Will try you again this summer

[gonetoolong]

Hi Phoenix. Just as an FYI, we use 100% North Atlantic (you can tell by their accent & Red Sox hats) lobster. No langostino(sp?) & just a little mayo. Just outta curiosity, how do y'all think lobster would go on a pizza?

Jim C

[sa meredith]

Lobster Pizza???? For me, not so much. Strange mix of flavors. Who knows... Give it a bid.
Jim...I'm curious...are you the same owner from a few years back when that whole deal about the kid who needed the weekend off, and then got fired, thing went down.
As a disclosure, I state that I fell on the side of the restaurant in that debate.

[gonetoolong]

Hi SA. One of the same owners (the last one) but not the managing partner at the time. That was one of my brothers who are no longer involved. As an FYI, one of them posted using my logon as he didn't and still doesn't have one.

[CGI3]

I have not been there in quite some time. But whats a pint of fried clams going for now a days?

[Tiger Lilly]

A summer is not complete for us without at least one trip to Tamarack's for onion rings, fried clams, and chocolate frappes - yum! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

[MaidenCove07]

Let me start this by saying that for 30 of my 40 years, Tamarack had been my favorite seafood stop. Service was fast and friendly and the food was outstanding. They no longer curry as much favor as far as I'm concerned and I'm confident I'll not be back. What a shame.
I knew of the new ownership and gave them a while to work out the kinks.
Went twice this summer and it was horrible both times.
The coating on the onion rings was so bitter and soggy - and I know they were fresh out of the fryer because I saw them flipped then boxed. The onions themselves weren't yet cooked all the way on the thicker slices either.
I ordered fried clams as well and the coating was the same soggy bitter yuk as the rings. The small ones usually promise a sweet and tender clam, but not this batch. My guess is that they were frozen. The smallest clams were as chewy as the larger ones - and for $12.9 per 1/2 pint???
I had hope for my lobster roll which was absolutely 100% lobster meat, but the lobster was warm, not like cooked in butter warm, but like it had been sitting out of the fridge too long I took it home and got it nice and cold before eating it, but the serving temperature surely is well above acceptable ranges for a meat and mayo item.
Anyway, I feel a sense of loss at the poor quality. The new owners are SO far removed from the old Tamarack gang that really cared about the product, that they've removed all of the signs about lake and restaurant history and such, leaving holes and fade marks on the building. I should have discerned the level of care from that alone when I pulled up.
Too bad really, I have a lot of good memories there.

[RailroadJoe]

If you want good fried clams, I recommend the Dipsy Doodle Ice Cream shop in Northfield just south of the Tilton center.

[Tiger Lilly]

We were EXTREMELY disappointed with our visit to Tamaracks this summer, as well. We were so looking forward to a thick chocolate frappe and they claimed to be out of milk!! The onion rings alone used to be to die for, but no longer. I'm very, very sad about it. Word must have spread because we were there at the dinner hour and there were only a few customers. The lines used to be out in the street.

[gonetoolong]

This is Jim, I'm the last of the 3 brothers still involved with Tamarack. I am SO sorry that your experience at Tamarack was a bad one ! In the last 2 years that I've been running it I have put in a lot of effort to see that everything that goes out our windows is far above average. The only time we use frozen clams is when the price spikes from about $70.00 up to $110 - $120 a gallon Again, I am very sorry we weren't up to your expectations. My only wish is that if you have a problem, please please please, bring it to our attention! If we don't know there's a problem, we can't fix it and believe me, we want to fix any issues before we read about them like this. Also, it gives us a chance to backtrack the issue, was it the cook, was it the fryer, the clam fry, the product?....whatever, we want (& need) to know! I want happy customers and not dissapointed ones. Please come in again and ask for me or for Tracey. I promise I will make this right for you.

Sincerely,

Jim Clayton

Yeah.. the frappes, about that....I had 2, not 1 but 2, 2 employees who did not like making frappes. If they weren't in the mood to make them, they'd just say, "Sorry, we're out of milk".
They have since 'decided to seek other opportunities". & good luck to them I say!

[VitaBene]

Jim,

Thanks for posting- good luck with your operation. I think everyone wants to see all of our locally owned restaurants and businesses thrive.

[VtSteve]

Feedback is truly important, especially if the owner is willing to listen

You have a national treasure there Jim. I can only imagine, it's pretty tough to manage and supervise seasonal staff, and then deal with volatile prices. I used to survive on whole-belly clams, long hot dogs, and onion rings there. Granted, a family of four used to be able to eat that for a lot less. But my long dogs and clams were a religion for the summer.

As you can see, the Tamarack is an institution we all want to see survive and thrive

[Shore Driver]

I was in there this summer for the first time in years. The place needed a cleaning up around the grounds for sure. The trash barrels had no bags in them but that did not stop people from putting trash in there. Stuff was blowing everywhere. As for the food, soggy fries had a bitter aftertaste and the clams were nothing special. Did moving to zero-trans-fat oil make all fried foods taste lousy? Or is it me?

The pizza place out back was not even open (dinner only?) which was the reason I went after reading a few good reviews here.

Won't be headed back there soon.

[john60ri]

I stopped at the Tamarack a couple of summers ago and asked the guy behind the counter if he had any clamcakes. He stared at me for bit, and then I think he said "What's a clamcake?" It was kind of embarrassing.