New Englanders are known for their diehard allegiances. If you're a Red Sox or Patriots fan, there's pretty much no chance you're going to wake up one day and say, "Gee, the Yankees and Jets look pretty good this year. Maybe I'll start rooting for them."

The same, I've found, is true of clam shacks. When I was a kid, my family vacationed often in Point Judith, R.I., and at my father's insistence we only got clam cakes and chowder from Aunt Carrie's. That was his place and he wasn't interested in venturing out.

As I've gotten older, I've come to develop a fondness for Iggy's in Point Judith and Warwick, R.I. My wife and I think they have the freshest fried seafood in southern New England and we love how they put dill in their clam chowder.

Now that I've revealed my clam shack favorites, I know that some people reading this post are absolutely fuming. Maybe they love Captain Scott's in New London. Possibly they're one of those fanatics who goes to Westbrook every weekend to get fish and chips at Lenny and Joe's Fish Tale (By the way, I personally do not think the place is worth the wait. I know this comment is sacrilegious to the people reading this post as they iron out one of those Lenny and Joe's t-shirts in anticipation of this weekend.). Even more likely, you go to some place on the Cape or in Maine that I've never heard of, and you think I'm crazy to think anything else is better than that place.

But I think we should all remember this is what makes New England so endearing to the folks who call it home (and so obnoxious to transplants and people passing through). We love to love what we love and hate on everything else. So if you love this blog post, great. And if you hate it, even better!