L.A.'s New England Seafood Shack - Connie & Ted's

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great report @Chowseeker1999 , i love their bellies. i think i’ll try their cod sandwich they’re doing for dinela.

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Yeah, the fish and chips are pretty badass.

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Concur on the fish and chips and lobster roll. I also like that Connie & Ted’s is one of the few places in the L.A./O.C. area where you can get my favorite Island Creek oysters from Duxbury, MA. These oysters are a perfect blend of meaty, briny, and creamy.

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[quote=“PorkyBelly, post:2, topic:4955”]
i think i’ll try their cod sandwich they’re doing for dinela.[/quote]

Thanks @PorkyBelly. In all our visits, I still haven’t tried their Fried Cod Sandwich. Let me know how it is. :slight_smile:

Thanks for the tip on the Island Creek Oysters. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for them the next time I go.

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As always thank you for the kick ass and through review.

Have this place bookmarked quite sometime for the lobster roll and 3 chowdas.

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You’re very diplomatic. My friend and I (we both grew up in the LA area) tried the clams + bellies and were like, “What the hell is this???” :wink:

I might’ve been one of the people who recommended the burger. I actually adore stinky, funky cheese. :frowning:

I prefer the Lobsta Truck lobster roll, but I’ve only had C&T’s once and agree that it’s a good one. I don’t mind the smaller size. Have not had the fish and chips or the blondie (although I’ve read about the latter a lot). Maybe I should try them both one day… :wink:

Agree w/ you that not everything is a hit. But I think it’s (very) good overall.

Great reporting, as always.

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In addition to the chowda, oysters, the lobster roll, fried clams and fish & chips, I am also a big fan of the Stuffies (bread crumbs, chopped clams, herbs and spices mixed with linguica sausage) at Connie & Ted’s and often get an order of those when I go there. Personally, I like the Hook’s Aged Cheddar on the burger.

Thanks @JeetKuneBao! :slight_smile: Looking forward to your thoughts on the Lobster Roll and the Chowders. :slight_smile:

Hi @paranoidgarliclover,

Thanks. Regarding the Hook Burger, no worries. One of our friends who also tried the Hook’s Cheddar Burger really loved the funkiness, so I think it’s just my shortcoming. :sweat_smile:

Definitely try their Fish & Chips and the Blondie next time you go. They’re delicious. :slight_smile:

First time I tried them in New England, I was like “what the hell, why don’t they have these in LA??”

Was super happy when C&T finally made them happen. They make fried clams a far more interesting, complex, and overall delicious dish to me.

Was the line about them being interesting a hidden slight to the dish? I didn’t think so…perhaps I am actually the only person that truly loves them?

No, it’s very clear from the C&T discussions (perhaps they were more on CH?) that LOTS of people love them. I assumed that much of that love was b/c people grew up eating them that way in the New England region. And clearly there are people, like you, who love them, even if they didn’t have them growing up.

I, however, am happy to eat clams w/o the bellies.

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I grew up in Boston and LOVE clams w/ bellies. My last trip to Boston in September, I had them 3 times over the course of 4 days.

Fried clam strips (w/out bellies) are not as flavorful and have a tendency to be too dry—more like clam jerky. I avoid clams w/out bellies for this reason.

I still need to make it over to C&T and try out their clams and lobsta roll.

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Could the flavor be interpreted by some as funk? I like funky cheese, but the funk + the seafood was a little weird to me. It didn’t tasted spoiled or anything… It was just… odd.

Avoid the clam cakes. I only had it once perhaps 2 yrs ago. Dry and flavorless, IIRC.

Yes, you are. And Connie and Teds loves you back, so they make them that way just for you.

Also, the entire East Coast crab shack industry does it that way, just for you too.

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I think I’m in the very small minority that found C&T solidly good, but far from exceptional. And expensive, too!

Note 1: I grew up in the Deep South, not New England
Note 2: (whispers) I think Providence is overrated as well.

I don’t know—maybe. To me it tastes like seafood/fish (not that different from lobster paste/tomalley or crab fat) nothing like a funky cheese. I think the texture and flavor make for a better clam experience.

Jar also serves fried Ipswich clams with bellies.

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Jar is like the oft ignored older sibling that has a solid job, takes care of the parents as they age, and just holds it down for the family while everyone pays attention to the flashy, wilder younger sibling vicissitudes.

Jar has been reliably very good from the get go. It deserves a little more love than it gets for being such a neighborhood stalwart.

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