5 PLACES FOR...
Fried Clams!
June 14, 2007
By LuAnne Roy, Staff Writer
Five tasty places to eat fried clams.
Captain’s Cove
1 Bostwick Ave., Bridgeport, (203) 335-7104
Whole Belly Fried Clam Platter, $19.99
It’s the experience that makes Captain’s Cove’s clams taste so good. Sitting at a wooden picnic table overlooking Bridgeport Harbor, the smell of the salt air, seagulls swooping to snag stray french fries, fisherman traipsing by with their catch. The golden- brown clams are fried to a well-done crunch, the bellies small with the right amount of fresh-out-of-the-water-goodness, and served in a cardboard basket with plastic utensils, the way clams are meant to be eaten. Your best bet short of going to the Cape.
Black Rock Oyster Bar
1399 Black Rock Tpk., Fairfield, (203) 576-6657
Whole Belly Fried Clams, $13
The clams here will appeal to fried-clam lovers of all kinds. Fresh, sweet taste, light batter that’s fried to a crispy, well-done texture, and bellies not so big so as to overwhelm with an ocean-y taste. The lunch platter is the best deal. For $13 you get a pile of clams, fresh-cut fries and cole slaw—a real steal. And they’ve recently set up a few outdoor tables so you can eat the clams as they should be eaten—al fresco. Or get a take-out order and drive down the road to St. Mary’s By the Sea and sit on the seawall and eat them sans clothes.
Westfair Fish & Chips
1781 Post Rd. E., Westport, (203) 255-3184
Whole Belly Fried Clams, $12.95
For 22 years Westfair’s been a well-kept secret, tucked away behind the Post Road in Westport. It’s a no-frills kind of place. Just a kitchen with a take-out window and a few tables. But you don’t go there for the atmosphere. The bellied clams are the real deal, but only for the heartiest of aficionados. The bellies are big and gushy, and the light coating hides little of the briny flavor. We dare you to find a fresher tasting clam. They’re great for those who lust for the clam, but you small-bellied types best stick to ordering the strips.
Outriggers
Foot of Broad St., Stratford, (203) 377-8815
Fried Clam Platter, $9.95
It’s hard to describe Outriggers’ clams, because the day we ate there, it was busy and the kitchen mistakenly prepared two orders of clam strips rather than the whole-bellied ones we ordered. Tasty as they were, they were missing the distinctive ocean-fresh flavor of the revered clam belly. The waitress tried to convince us they were made from the same clam, but we knew better. The setting is great, with an outside deck that sits on a tidal basin in Stratford Harbor. But if it’s bellies you want, you best insist, or march into the kitchen and tell the chef yourself.
The Restaurant at Rowayton Seafood
89 Rowayton Ave., Rowayton, (203) 866-4488
Fried Ipswich Clams, $16
The Restaurant is located next to Rowayton Seafood, which means the shellfish is fresh—and the dining room affords a fine view of the Five Mile River. You can also take your food out on the dock and listen to the clankety-clank of sailboat masts. The clams are probably the best around, the Ipswich variety; they’re smaller and more tender and considered the perfect clams for frying. Rowayton’s are fried to a deep, golden crisp with a light, very sweet taste and they don’t sit heavy in your stomach.
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