Examining the best foods in Massachusetts is a bit like taking a history lesson. Food can be a doorway into the past and show you just how a community is formed. In Massachusetts, history is all around, from the location where the Pilgrims first landed in the New World to the oldest ballpark where you can watch America’s pastime. And alongside those moments into the past, you’ll find that food played a crucial role.

From the proud fishermen who worked Massachusetts’ capes to the Italian and Irish immigrants who brought their cuisine to the state’s capital, community is at the heart of Massachusetts cuisine. The most iconic foods in Massachusetts are a celebration of the past and all those who paved the way to building a nation. 

Are you planning a trip and looking for the most famous foods in Massachusetts? We’ve compiled a list of the best foods to try in Massachusetts and where you can find them. With this list, you’ll be able to eat your way around the Bay State without missing any local favorites!

12 Famous Foods in Massachusetts 

1. Dig into a Fenway Frank at Fenway Park

Naturally, one of the most famous foods in Massachusetts comes from one of the most beloved landmarks in the Bay State. Fenway Park has been serving up Fenway Franks for generations. 

You may be saying, “Hot dogs and baseball, what’s so special about that?” It is true that you can get a hot dog at any baseball stadium, but there’s something indeed unique about a Fenway Frank. 

Most ballpark hot dogs are steamed or grilled, but that’s not how you make a Fenway Frank. Fenway makes its franks by boiling them and then grilling them just slightly. Making a hot dog this way makes it stay juicy, but it still has the “snap” that comes with a grilled frank.

Then, the hot dog is served in a New England-style, split-top hot dog roll. Serving a Fenway Frank in any other type of roll is truly blasphemy. 

Believe it or not, Fenway Franks are really just a specific type of hot dog made by the Chelsea-based food distributor Kayem. You can buy a Fenway Frank in grocery stores all over Massachusetts, and some Massachusetts restaurants serve them as well. But there’s just nothing like eating a Fenway Frank while watching a Red Sox game. 

2. Try a Boston Cream Pie in the Hotel Where it was Invented

The Boston Cream Pie is one of the best foods in Massachusetts, and the state itself seems to agree, having made it the official State Dessert of Massachusetts! First things first to understand, it’s not actually a pie. It’s made with two layers of sponge cake and filled with pastry cream. From there, it’s covered in a chocolate glaze.

The Boston Cream Pie dates back to the mid-1800s when a French chef was believed to have created it while working at the Omni Parker House Hotel. Today, you can find this dessert throughout Massachusetts, but there’s nothing like the original. Located in Downtown Boston, the hotel’s main restaurant, Parker’s Restaurant, one of the best places to eat in Massachusetts, serves Boston Cream Pie any time of day. 

However, if you don’t want to commit to a fancy sit-down meal, you can also get a Boston Cream Pie from the hotel’s on-site bars. The coffee shop also serves individually-portioned versions of the cake.

3. Find Boston’s Best Cannoli in the North End

Ah, the Great Cannoli Debate. Ask anyone in Boston what their favorite cannoli is, and you’ll likely get a very fervent answer. The North End in Boston is a haven for Italian cuisine. 

With its narrow cobblestone streets and vine-covered intimate brick buildings, there’s always Italian music and smells of traditional Italian food in the air in the North End. And as such, there are also a number of Italian-style bakeries.

One thing nearly every bakery in the North End does is its own take on a classic cannoli. And people here are firm believers that their favorite cannoli is the best one in Boston. They’re such big believers that they’re willing to wait in massively long lines to get their favorite.

So, who are the top contenders? Up until 2019, there were four: Mike’s Pastry, Modern Pastry, Bova’s Bakery, and Maria’s Pastry Shop. Sadly, Maria’s has closed its doors, leaving the three others in a battle of the best.

All three serve their cannolis a little differently, so it’s worth taste-testing your way around the North End. Although Mike’s is likely the most popular, Modern and Bova’s are not to be missed. And Maria’s, we miss you so much.

4. Savor the Freshest Lobster Rolls in Cape Cod

When you think of lobster, you might automatically think of Maine. And while you can get lobster rolls throughout New England, Massachusetts seems to take particular pride in the seafood dish. 

What exactly is a lobster roll? It’s fresh lobster mixed with mayo and served in a New England-style, split-top roll. Or at least, that’s what it is in Massachusetts most of the time. 

Depending on where you are in New England, you may find a very different lobster roll. Some places throughout New England serve it hot and on a toasted bun, and some Massachusetts restaurants offer both options.

One such place is Neptune Oyster, which has one of the best lobster rolls in Boston. Always on a toasted brioche bun, you can get it either hot and buttered or cold with mayo. Another favorite Boston lobster roll can be found at Saltie Girl, also served both hot or cold and absolutely overflowing with Gloucester lobster.

But if you’re beachside in Massachusetts, getting a lobster roll is a must-do. Over in Cape Cod or Cape Ann, you’re going to want to get a lobster roll because it’s about the freshest lobster you’ll find around Massachusetts. 

The Friendly Fisherman in North Eastham is a can’t-miss. Served cold, it’s heaping with fresh-caught lobster. And on the Cape Ann front, there’s Roy Moore’s Lobster Company in Rockport, with lobster coming right off the boat and into the famous local favorite seafood shack.

5. Slurp all the Oysters

Oysters have a long history as a part of Massachusetts cuisine. These bivalves had been popular in Europe before English settlers arrived in New England, but they were amazed by just how many oysters they could find on its shores. They became a standard part of a New Englander’s diet. 

Nowadays, they may not be an everyday staple, but they’re still a feature of many of the best places to eat in New England. Both Neptune Oyster and Saltie Girl have oysters all over their menus. 

Another Boston spot you want to go to for oysters is State Street Provisions, which serves the bivalves as a part of its raw bar. But if you want to step back in time and try oysters at one of the oldest restaurants in the US, stop by Union Oyster House.

Like a lobster roll, you may be able to get oysters pretty much anywhere in Massachusetts, but eating them by the Massachusetts capes is a must. For oysters in another historic location, head to Turner’s Seafood in Salem, which is partially an oyster bar. Or you can head to Gloucester’s Tonno for oysters alongside Italian seafood dishes.

6. Warm Up with Creamy Clam Chowder

No, you don’t have to order it as “chowda,” but clam chowder is as much a Massachusetts tradition as the famous Boston accent is. One of the most famous foods in Massachusetts, clam chowder fits right in with Massachusetts’ fishing history and heritage. 

This creamy soup comes with heaps of clams, as well as other traditional ingredients like salt pork and potatoes. If you’re a little less of a traditionalist, you probably won’t mind that many restaurants substitute salt pork with bacon. Either way, it’s a hearty meal that’s perfect for a cold winter day in Boston.

It’s hard to find a place in and around Boston that doesn’t serve clam chowder. But that doesn’t mean all chowders are created equal. 

Although James Hook + Co. is best known for its lobster (and the lobster roll here is one of the best in the city), the chowder is also worth stopping by for. As is the chowder at Neptune Oyster. If you’re near the Bunker Hill Monument, be sure to visit the Warren Tavern, allegedly the oldest tavern in the state, for its clam chowder.

7. Try Traditional Boston Baked Beans

Although I’ve never actually heard a Bostonian call their city “Beantown” (and Bostonians generally have strong feelings about the nickname), there is a reason why the nickname exists. The story goes that Boston’s famous baked beans actually began with the indigenous people of the area, who taught the Puritans how to cook them. 

The Puritans struggled to cultivate the land, but beans were common for the settlers. As the Puritans observed the Sabbath, baked beans were prepared on Saturdays to be eaten each Sunday. But while the indigenous people used maple syrup and bear fat, the Puritans used molasses and salt pork. And thus, the Boston baked beans were created.

One of the best places to get one of the most famous foods in Massachusetts is at the Beantown Pub, a sports bar where they’re serving up traditional Boston baked beans amid pub food done right. Located in Downtown Boston, this unassuming food and drink spot serves massive portions, so be sure to bring some friends to finish off the beans! 

For another pub serving up baked beans, stop by Mr. Dooley’s, an Irish pub where you can enjoy your food alongside spontaneous fiddle sessions. Also located in Downtown Boston, Mr. Dooley’s serves baked beans on the side of several of their dishes, like their Boston Bangers and Mash. 

8. Get Your Marshmallow Fluff Fix at the Fluff Festival in Somerville

The history of creamy marshmallow spreads dates all the way back to 1896 from Fannie Farmer’s The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book. At the time, Boston was a major candy hub in the US. However, Boston would not be the Massachusetts town to invent Marshmallow Fluff.

That honor goes to Somerville. In 1917, Somerville entrepreneur Archibald Query began selling his spreadable Marshmallow Fluff door to door. But the invention did make its way to Boston when it was bought by the Boston candy company Durkee-Mower. From there, the fluff took off.

Each year, Somerville honors the history of Marshmallow Fluff with the Fluff Festival in Union Square. But you don’t have to wait until the festival to celebrate fluff in Massachusetts.

You can get Marshmallow Fluff, which is still made in Lynn, at pretty much any grocery store. But you can get Marshmallow Fluff-filled treats at many places throughout Massachusetts. 

Over in Salem, you’ll find a Fluffer Nutter Sundae, made with Marshmallow Fluff and peanut butter sauce, at the seasonal Dairy Witch Ice Cream. Meanwhile, Holy Cow Ice Cream Cafe, located in Gloucester, Peabody, and Salem, has a Fluffernutter Ice Cream Sandwich, in which peanut butter pie ice cream is sandwiched between two house-made graham crackers, covered in Marshmallow Fluff, and rolled in mini marshmallows. 

Although Union Square Donuts, which has locations in Somerville, Boston, and Brookline, doesn’t always have it available, you can get a Marshmallow Fluff-filled donut with a peanut butter glaze, more fluff on top, and crumbles of fluffernutter cookies. 

9. Indulge in a Frappe (or Five!)

Frappes are a part of Massachusetts cuisine, but non-Bay Staters often get confused with seeing a frappe on the menu. In many other places of the world, a frappe is a frothy coffee drink. But that’s not quite what it is in Massachusetts.

In most places in the US, milk, ice cream, and syrup makes a milkshake. In Massachusetts, it makes a frappe. In the Bay State, a milkshake is exactly what it sounds like – a shake with milk in it. But when you add ice cream, it becomes a frappe. 

There isn’t quite a set answer as to why, but it is an enduring tradition, so don’t be surprised when you see frappes on the menu in Massachusetts. One of the best places to eat in Massachusetts and sip on a fantastic frappe is Newton’s Cabot’s. This ice cream parlor and restaurant serves over 70 different ice cream flavors, so whatever frappe you want is the one you’ll get.

If you’re over in Cambridge, stop by Mr. Bartley’s Burger Cottage, a Harvard Square institution where the burgers and frappes are truly massive. From a Reese’s-and-banana-packed Elvis Frappe to a pistachio Green Monstah Frappe, there’s plenty to choose from, whether you want wild and crazy or something simply sweet.

10. Eat all the Apple Cider Donuts

Best served warm and covered in cinnamon sugar, apple cider donuts are one of the most beloved foods in Massachusetts. All around the Bay State, fall doesn’t start until you pick up hot apple cider and an apple cider donut at a pick-your-own apple orchard.

Yes, you can get these donuts around the country, but Bay Staters just seem to love fall and all that comes with it, especially these donuts. And you can pretty much get them at any orchard around autumn. But a few favorite spots include Peabody’s Brooksby Farm, Amesbury’s Cider Hill Farm, and Tyngsborough’s Parlee Farms.

But if you’re in Boston, you won’t find any orchards around. Fortunately, you’ll still find delicious apple cider donuts if you head to Boston Public Market. Served alongside frozen cider and fudges of all kinds, you can get some of the best apple cider donuts in the Boston area at Red Apple Farm in the market.   

11. Become Addicted to Fried Clams

As we’ve already seen, seafood is a massive part of Massachusetts cuisine. But perhaps there is no seafood dish that’s as quintessentially Massachusetts as fried clams. With their crunchy coating and salty, briny taste, they’re a staple on the Massachusetts capes.

The story goes that fried clams were invented by Woodman’s of Essex, which is still serving them up to the North Shore over 100 years later. It’s also worth noting that Woodman’s is another great spot to get a lobster roll, but their claim to fame will always be fried clams.

According to Woodman’s, it was 1916 when Lawrence “Chubby” Woodman fried up a few clams at his Essex roadside stand as a result of a joke made by a friend. However, what was a joke turned into a Massachusetts tradition.

Another Essex institution for fried clams is J. T. Farnham’s, where the clams are dug up locally and lightly fried in corn flour. This unassuming seafood shack is known for its clams, but you should definitely also pick up a lobster roll here. Outside of Essex, another one of the best places to eat fried clams in Massachusetts is the Clam Box of Ipswich, where the fried clams are the stars of the show. 

12. Fill Up on Fish and Chips

With the Boston area having a large Irish heritage, it should come as no surprise that Irish pub food is a staple in the city. Though fish and chips were created by Italian immigrants, the original fish and chips shop was in Dublin. From there, it spread all over Irish, Scottish, and British cities, making its way over to the states, where places like Boston made it their own.

Naturally, if you want fish and chips, an Irish pub is the place to be. Over in Cambridge, The Druid is a popular pick, where battered cod is enjoyed with live fiddle music. Or, in Downtown Boston’s Government Center, you can visit The Dubliner for a huge portion of battered haddock and triple-cooked fries. 

But many of Massachusetts’ seafood joints know a thing or two about fish and chips, too. Row 34, which can be found in Boston, Burlington, Portsmouth, and Cambridge, offers beer-battered fish and chips that are not to be missed. Meanwhile, some of the best fish and chips in the city can be found in the Seaport District at Yankee Lobster. 

There you have it! The 12 best foods you need to try in Massachusetts. Got a favorite Massachusetts food that didn’t make the list? Let us know in the comments!

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