Talk of The Villages Florida - Whole clams with belly...fried...

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I support all of the suggestions above. Every once in a while we go down to Oh Shucks for some seafood. It's good food. They have fried oysters and steamed clams. Not sure why they don't fry the clams but maybe there is a reason. Could they be local clams and not that good fried? Anyway I thought maybe the fried oysters would satisfy my cravings but no, there is nothing like a good whole belly Ipswich fried clam!

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Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy (Post 2165524)

Well, without the bellies is basically a tiny piece of calamari. but also being from New England and hunter/gather them myself (actually snorkel for quahogs and dig for steamers) frying kills the whole clam experience. They should be steamed for 3-4 minutes, put in bowl to cool, and then gently removed from the shell and lightly dipped in a mixture of lime and butter. . . or lemon and butter, but just lightly. . . and if you don't know how to remove all the sand prior to cooking, you aren't a real hunter/gatherer/connehserrrrr

and while we are on the topic, Mussels, the surface bivalve, is the bad cousin used for fish bait.

Totally agree, except we use a mixture of lemon, olive oil, and butter. Also, the quahogs can easily be steamed in the shell by putting them directly on a hot grill for a few minutes until the shell pops open. We bring the portable Webber with us to the beach sometimes and the quahogs go straight from the ocean to the grill, talk about fresh.

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Originally Posted by lawgolfer (Post 2165542)

In the past, I've had whole bellies at the Lighthouse. Most often, I ordered the clam strips, which were freshly breaded, much cheaper yet satisfying.,

However, last week I ordered the clam strips and was shocked when served a product that looked identical to that by Mrs. Paul in the frozen food section at Publix. In fact, it probably was Mrs. Paul's, with breading that was a 1/4th inch thick and had certainly come from a plastic bag in the freezer.

I complained to the server. She told me the restaurant changed its supplier and the concoction I was served is now the regular menu item. She went on to say that she recommends not ordering the clam strips if asked. I told her I wished she had volunteered that when I ordered.

I didn't ask if the supplier for the whole bellies was changed. However, before ordering them, I will be certain to do so.

Fortunately, my wife shared her fish and chips. The fish was a full side of Haddock and was excellent. Also, it was a bargain at less than $10.

The last time we visited Lighthouse for their Fried Clam special wasn't that great 6 clams on top of French fries. That was the evening Mitt Romney made a campaign swing to Sumter Landing.
NEVER RETURNED think it was 2012!

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Originally Posted by BostonRich (Post 2165643)

oh schucks? they reopened? weren't they closed down a few times for.........well, lets not go there.............. good luck with that

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Originally Posted by Mortal1 (Post 2164930)

Are there any restaurants between Ocala and Leesburg that sell fried clams with the bellies?

Thank you.

YIKES, and why would you want to eat the bellies of clams fried or not???
Did you ever open a clam and clean it before serving raw?? No Body I know eats the bellies.
The bellies are full of Yuck. You do not use the bellies when making liquini with clam sauce. You only use the clam meat.

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Originally Posted by Catalina36 (Post 2165966)

If you were from New England you'd know. Fried clams without bellies are basically breaded rubber bands. Fried clams are great, but the grease does get to you. I prefer steamers

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Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr (Post 2165401)

So all of these people from Massachusetts who have mentioned Essex House in Pierson are wrong?

I've been to Essex House several times and I can tell you that it's as good or better than what I used to get in eastern Massachusetts.

Chinese food is subject to where you come from. It's different everywhere. I'm from the Boston area and got used to a certain style of Chinese food. I've had it in San Francisco where it is supposed to be the best in the U.S. and I didn't like it as much as the stuff I got at home. I've also had Chinese food in China and I would guess that most Americans would hate it.

The same goes for pizza. The pizza and Chinese food here are fine. They are just not what we are used to.

Couldn't agree with you more. It seems on this sight, some think if it's not from home, it's not any good. I was born and raised in one of the country's seafood capitals, New Bedford. I worked on the waterfront most of my adult life. Worked on fishing boats as a young adult, and for almost 30 years with an electric utility. Seemed like most parts of the city had their own seafood restaurant, and everything was fresh off the boat. As kids, we would rake quahogs and bay scallops in the Westport River and on the local beaches, and bring them home and eat them. In the summer we would bring in hundreds of blue crabs at the plant, and give them to anyone who wanted them. Now, with all that being said, the fried clams I've had at Sam's St Johns, were fine, just different. For anyone from Southern Ma. and R.I., McCray's in Westport (they retired years ago) were the best I've ever had, but that was more about the coating than the clams. Luckily, a close friend worked there during high school and told me how to make them, although it's too much work to make them. As far steamed clams, where I come from, we have clam boils, which are more Portuguese style with potatoes, onions, corn, hot dogs, pork sausage, Portuguese sausage, and sometimes cod or haddock. I saw and interview with the owner of Legal Seafood, and he said a clam boil isn't a clam boil without the Portuguese sausage.It's similar to a low country boil, but with more spice, and they're both good. While I prefer the food from home, I've been able to find good seafood, Chinese, pizza and Italian here. I do like the Mexican here more.

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Originally Posted by laryb (Post 2166018)

We made 60 stuffed quahogs and froze them before we drove down in September. Loaded them into a cooler and they were still frozen when we got here. We've heated them up and served them to some people here that like seafood but have never had a stuffie and they couldn't believe how good they were. We also brought down some frozen chourico to use on a pizza.

Found Gaspars Sausage, Chourico Publix