[Rosanne]

Hi Folks,
I am new to this site, my husband and I are planning to come and have our preview stay there, I was just wondering if there is any restaurant there that has Fried Clams or Steam Clams like New England does. I was born and raised in the Boston, Ma area and I sure would like to find a place that makes them. We live in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas right now and want to check out The Villages and see if it would be a great place to live. I like the idea of everything being right there when you need it or want it and not having to travel for almost an hour to get anywhere. Thanks for the forum, I enjoy reading all about the lifestyle there. Rosanne H

[spk7951]

I believe as part of your preview stay they still give coupons to The Lighthouse Point Bar & Grill. It is a seafood restaurant and they do have fried clam strips there. They are ok and the chowder is pretty good but so far that is about the best we have found.

Unfortunately for me I am a little too judgmental on this issue. I grew up summers on Cape Cod back in the 60's and boy do I long for those fried clam shacks that used to be everywhere on the Cape back then.

[pooh]

The Seafood Galley at 1561 Bella Cruz in the Spanish Plains Shopping Center offers them. Hubby really likes fried clams and he enjoys the ones served there.
They offer other seafood as well as non-surf meals. Both of us were born and raised in MA before heading west so we appreciate New England seafood.

Have fun while you're here.

[dillywho]

Originally Posted by Rosanne

Hi Folks,
I am new to this site, my husband and I are planning to come and have our preview stay there, I was just wondering if there is any restaurant there that has Fried Clams or Steam Clams like New England does. I was born and raised in the Boston, Ma area and I sure would like to find a place that makes them. We live in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas right now and want to check out The Villages and see if it would be a great place to live. I like the idea of everything being right there when you need it or want it and not having to travel for almost an hour to get anywhere. Thanks for the forum, I enjoy reading all about the lifestyle there. Rosanne H

Hi..

We sold our property in HSV and have had no regrets. This place is eons above that one. There is no comparison....just wait til you see it here! I really think you're going to love it as much as we do.

Welcome!

As for the clams, etc.....dunno. Don't do clams, etc. Love Mexican, tho.

[abracadabra]

REAL fried clams (not strips) can be had at Seafood Galley; however Seafood Galley has moved to the former Dairy Queen/Thai Restaurant building on 27/441. A man from Ipswich, MA opened a restaurant near New Smyrna Beach and has his clams flown in daily. So, the decision is: spend the $ on fried clams in The Villages or spend the $ on gas to go to the beach!

[golf2140]

Stop by any of the neighborhood pools. You'll see plenty of fried clams.

[Hawkwind]

Originally Posted by abracadabra

REAL fried clams (not strips) can be had at Seafood Galley; however Seafood Galley has moved to the former Dairy Queen/Thai Restaurant building on 27/441. A man from Ipswich, MA opened a restaurant near New Smyrna Beach and has his clams flown in daily. So, the decision is: spend the $ on fried clams in The Villages or spend the $ on gas to go to the beach!

Can you pass along the name and possible location of the place in New Smyrna Beach. That is the old winter vacation stomping grounds before finding TV and always make the trip over just to see how things are doing. Thanks.

[ncr2482]

Originally Posted by Rosanne

Hi Folks,
I am new to this site, my husband and I are planning to come and have our preview stay there, I was just wondering if there is any restaurant there that has Fried Clams or Steam Clams like New England does. I was born and raised in the Boston, Ma area and I sure would like to find a place that makes them. We live in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas right now and want to check out The Villages and see if it would be a great place to live. I like the idea of everything being right there when you need it or want it and not having to travel for almost an hour to get anywhere. Thanks for the forum, I enjoy reading all about the lifestyle there. Rosanne H

We lived in Beverly and Manchester by the Sea and had a sailboat in Gloucester, MA...the answer to the question is - not really. We miss fresh NE seafood, but rather be here in TV.

[DickY]

Took a day trip to Cedar Key, under 100 miles on the Gulf coast west of Ocala. They "farm" clams there so freshness is no problem. Look at this link: http://www.visitcedarkey.com/dining.html

[l2ridehd]

Check this thread out for Essex 2. Only about 20 miles away and real New England fried clams. And I grew up in NH and Maine so I do know what good ones are.

ESSEX 2 in West Volusia...GREAT NEW ENGLAND SEAFOOD

[laryb]

I'm from southeastern Ma. and if anyone out there is from this area, they probably heard of McCray's. They would only open on summer weekends and cars would line both sides of route 6. The lines would be out the door for what area people would call the best fried clams anywhere. A close friend of mine had a summer job there and gave me the recipe. They used what he called institutional flour. It's 3 parts flour and 1 part cornmeal. The clams are put in a clam wash which is clam juice and evaporated milk then dredged in the flour. Then they are put back in the wash and dredged again. They are then fried to a golden brown. Everyone thought they were so good because they were super fresh clams. well the clams came in gallon cans and were from Maryland, go figure! A place down the street called "Frates" made a clam that was close and he used the same clams, and told me most places did too. So if you can find whole belly canned clams you can feed a village

[pooh]

Originally Posted by laryb

I'm from southeastern Ma. and if anyone out there is from this area, they probably heard of McCray's. They would only open on summer weekends and cars would line both sides of route 6. The lines would be out the door for what area people would call the best fried clams anywhere. A close friend of mine had a summer job there and gave me the recipe. They used what he called institutional flour. It's 3 parts flour and 1 part cornmeal. The clams are put in a clam wash which is clam juice and evaporated milk then dredged in the flour. Then they are put back in the wash and dredged again. They are then fried to a golden brown. Everyone thought they were so good because they were super fresh clams. well the clams came in gallon cans and were from Maryland, go figure! A place down the street called "Frates" made a clam that was close and he used the same clams, and told me most places did too. So if you can find whole belly canned clams you can feed a village

I'm from Fairhaven originally, my aunt lived in Dartmouth, I went to UMass in Dartmouth....I remember Frates, but not McCrays...where is/was it?
Sometimes I think people only like fried clams BECAUSE of the fried batter....

[laryb]

Hi Pooh! McCrays was on the north side of Rt 6 in Westport, probably a couple of miles past Lincoln Park. It hasn't been there for maybe 30 years. The owners just closed it down and retired to Florida! The Frates was the one in Westport, near the old Westport drive-in. Since your from here, do you remember the Fall River Chow Mein? That's what we had for dinner! And by the way, batter is for fish and what umpires call out!

[JoInTV]

Real fried clams! With the bellies – not just chewy strips! Oh, my mouth is watering just thinking of them! I grew up in RI and my grandpa, mom and I would go to the beach and dig our own clams and quahogs. Mom made the best fried clams and chowder in the world! (Isn’t that what everyone says about their mom?!) And don’t forget stuffies! OMG!! I’ve made her chowder and stuffies, but no matter what I do, they just don’t taste quite the same. They’re good, but just not quite as good as her's. There’s something to be said for the love that Mom puts into a recipe. It’s that unquantifiable, but very real ingredient that makes Mom’s cooking, well…. Mom’s!

Here is AZ, really fresh seafood just isn’t, so I can’t wait to chow down on the real thing. We’re coming to TV for July and August and I will be adding Seafood Gallery and Essex 2 to the list of places to hit while we’re there. Thanks for the tips! See you all soon!

[pooh]

Originally Posted by laryb

Hi Pooh! McCrays was on the north side of Rt 6 in Westport, probably a couple of miles past Lincoln Park. It hasn't been there for maybe 30 years. The owners just closed it down and retired to Florida! The Frates was the one in Westport, near the old Westport drive-in. Since your from here, do you remember the Fall River Chow Mein? That's what we had for dinner! And by the way, batter is for fish and what umpires call out!

I don't remember that particular Frates, do remember two in New Bedford. We didn't have much chow mein growing up, but it is good, that's for sure. Okay, okay, you're right....batter is for fish and what umpires call out....lol. Heck, I lived in CA from 1972 until 2006...I'm more of a west coaster....we suffered because we didn't have the great seafoods that you get from the east coast....oh how I missed that. When we would visit my sister in Mattapoisett, we'd eat so much seafood we could have swam back to San Diego...lol. Still eat lots of it when we head up to New England...and it's a much shorter swim back to Florida than it is to CA... Nice to meet you laryb!

Hope Rosanne gets to enjoy some really good clams while here.