G'day Charley,

Your Maine clam & lobster-bake/barbecue sounds a bit like the way I cooked local mussels, gathered from the Huon River in Tasmania ... simply got a low fire going on the sand and dropped the mussells on top of the ashes until the shells opened ... then wolfed them down ... Yum! This was how the local Aboriginal people dealt with them and takes some beating.

Sydney is a different story ... in the smoky inner suburb of Leichhardt, if I started up a wood fire in the backyard's free-standing brick barbecue - I'd probably have the local Fire Brigade (stationed 50 metres away on the corner of Leichhardt St & Balmain Rd) chopping through my front door in one minute! I'm afraid the propane fuelled variety is the most likely contender! (But, Wee Eric Bogle's song notwithstanding, we are pretty good at retrieving steaks while they are still edible!)

Regards,

Bob