TENANT’S HARBOR — Greg and Corinna Howland have owned and operated the Happy Clam Pub and Eatery at 13 River Road in Tenant’s Harbor since 2009. There’s all the seafood you would want of course, but what makes it unique is that Corinna is straight from Germany. Her brother owns and operates a restaurant in Austria. It’s Corinna’s flare for German cuisine that brings it from that country, to her kitchen and to your table.

“We always had a summer house in Union,” she said. “Finally, the kids grew up and I always wanted a restaurant. This came up and we checked it out and bought it. Now I’m selling schnitzels.”

Corinna says her favorite dish is the Jaeger Schnitzel, but says she chose the restaurants particular dishes because people recognize them.

“People, Americans, know these dishes,” she said. “All the military people who come to Germany, they know Jaeger Schnitzel (Yay-Gur-Schnit-Zel), they know Frikadellen (Freak-A-Del-In), they recognize the names.”

Jaeger Schnitzel is a thinly pounded pork loin dipped in egg and bread crumbs and sautéed in oil. It is finished in a sauce of mushrooms, thyme, wine and cream.

Frikadellen is a German meatloaf with brown gravy.

Rinder Rolladen is beef rolls stuffed with pickle, onion, bacon and mustard and served with brown gravy.

There’s a sausage trio with sauerkraut, Schweine Braten which is German pork roast and smothered in gravy, Huehner Frikassess that is chicken asparagus and mushrooms with peas. Rounding out the German entrees is German Goulash, tender beef and pork chunks cooked in homemade mushroom gravy.

Happy Clam also serves breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. They boast the best the breakfast in town.

Besides a wide selection of Eggs Benedict, omelet’s and choice of meats, you can try potato pancakes with applesauce or Schnitzel a’ ‘la Holstein topped with eggs over easy.

Greg and Corinna now live across the street. It makes the commute easier and Corinna says they really love the town and the area.

Happy Clam will close October 15 and reopen again in April.

“I’ve always liked to cook,” said Corinna. “My mother taught me a lot and I would like to think I’ve always been a good cook. We have a lot of tourists, but a lot of local people, too. They take a nice drive to the lighthouse and stop for food. Some days it’s all seafood, but last Monday it was all German food, so there’s no telling from one day to the next what will sell the best.”

Happy Clam has 12 employees and 21 beer taps featuring some authentic German Beers. Corinna says the dark German beer is the most popular.

Escape from East Germany

Corinna was born in East Germany up by the Polish border. When she was 18, she decided it was time to try and get out. The year was 1984, and the wall came down in 1989.

“I was 18 and young and fearless,” she said. “I went to East Berlin and went to the English Embassy and pleaded for political asylum.”

It wasn’t that easy. You had to get into the embassy first.

“There is always a guard at every embassy,” she said. “He was pretty young. Like I said I was 18, but probably looked more like 12. I didn’t look like 18, so I guess you could say I was flirting with him, or something like that.”

Corinna used the ruse of trying to learn English to get inside.

“We were taught Russian in school,” she said. “I told him I was studying English and wanted to get inside to get some magazines to improve my English. He said OK and door opened, door closed and I was in and said goodbye; but this poor guy, they took him away of course. Later, when I peaked out of the curtain there were two police guys at the door and I thought, oh boy.”

Corinna said people from West Germany were brought in to talk to her.

“They wanted to know why and what was going on,” she said. “At that time everybody was already talking about being free and we were tired of it. Everybody went to Czechoslovakia and the embassy there. They would jump the fence. They were just sick and tired of it and wanted to go.”

After four days Corinna had to go back home and tell her parents.

“I had to go back home and tell my parents and the East Germans were mad at us,” she said. “My parents lost their jobs, everything because of me. And they would interview me, the East Germans, and try to make you mad so you would say something and they could arrest you, but I didn’t make that mistake.” 

A year later Corinna’s parents came over and two years later her brother was able to join them. She said it was crazy to escape East Germany, but she’s here now. Corinna went from East Germany to West Germany and to a camp where all the refugees had to go.

“At the train station they were waiting for you,” she said. “All the refugees were taken to a camp and it seemed like everybody from the whole world was there. Luckily, I could speak German, so it made it a little easier. I stayed there a week while they tried to figure out where they were going to send me, so I went to another camp that was like a big house full of refugees. And I got a passport, a social security number and since I was so young they sent me back to school. I have to say thank you for that.”

Corinna spent eight years in Germany before coming to the United States. She has been here 25 years now.