Fried Whole Belly Clams in Philadelphia

A new place called simply, Oyster House, has opened in the location of the old Sansom Street Oyster House in Center City Philly. I just checked out their menu on menupages and they appear to serve fried whole belly clams. I've only had them a few times in New England, and not recently, so I may not be the best judge of quality, but if they're the real thing, it would be nice to have them so close to home.

The menu lists them as Fried Ipswich Clams full bellies.

any prices or does it just say mkt. price

The menu that was posted didn't have any prices at all. The clams are listed as an appetizer or small plate.

Wonder if they'll have Nodding Head beer from upstairs?  A nice IPA with fried clams could be in my future...

They'll be fine. Even in New England, they use fresh, pre-shucked belly clams from a can.

mark

http://www.philly.com/philly/restaurants/46834422.html

All i can say is.....................YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

Thanks! My daughter lives about 6 blocks away.  Time Ole Dad gets into the city instead of feeding her out here alternate Sundays.

Here it is almost 6 months later and I'm reading about this. I didn't even know they changed hands. Edit: Just went on to their site and I see it's back in the hands of the Mink family. That's good! Sansom St. Oyster House was around for years and I always enjoyed it back in the 70s and 80s, but hadn't eaten there in years. I'm going to check it out! My man is a big fish and seafood eater, too.

I just checked out their menu on-line and it doesn't appear that they're offering fried clams any longer; unless it's as an unlisted special. I had them there once, probably not too long after I started this thread. I wasn't that impressed with the fried clams. There were a couple decent-sized ones in my order, but most of them were considerably smaller than the ones I've had in Connecticut.

I'm bringing this thread back because Stephen Starr (if you're from the Philly region, you know who he is) is opening a new seafood restaurant called Route 6 that will apparently have a New England theme and will include whole bellies on the menu. Here is a photo of them from part of a slide show on a local web site. They certainly look good: http://philadelphia.grubstreet.com/2011/11/slideshow-stephen-starr-route-six.html#photo=8x00009

Stop it. You're killing me. I live in Dallas! Boo, hoo.
Oh well, WE have, fried catfish.

Twinwillow


Stop it. You're killing me. I live in Dallas! Boo, hoo.
Oh well, WE have, fried catfish.

 
Hey. If I lived as close to all of that smoked brisket as you do, I'd probably count my blessings!
 

 

phlmaestro

Twinwillow


Stop it. You're killing me. I live in Dallas! Boo, hoo.
Oh well, WE have, fried catfish.

Hey. If I lived as close to all of that smoked brisket as you do, I'd probably count my blessings!

Believe me, I do. I do. Guess I can't have it all.

Thanks for the info! Will DEFINITELY give them a try!.Johhny Cakes too........YUM!
 
 
oh..and the address is:
 
Route 6, 600 North Broad Street, 215-391-4600

Now that's a combination plate I have never thought of before...
Whole-Belly Clams from Ipswich sharing a platter with some good Brisket BBQ (and maybe a couple of Pork Ribs) from Black's BBQ  in Lockhart, TX.  Beverage would be Sweet Tea with a lot of lemon (an Arnold Palmer) Please.
   Now if we can just get our Startrek transporter beam working we can get the ingredients on our platter while the clams are still crunchy and hot and the brisket  has that warm, butter-soft consistency that only lasts a few minutes after slicing.
 

Y U M !!!

I had dinner at Oyster House on Sansom Street tonight. I started with the fried whole belly clams. I thought the quality of the clams was very good in terms of both flavor and size. But they weren't fried as well as they should have been. There was too much grease and they weren't crispy.
But the lobster roll I had after the clams was really fantastic; with lots of cold, sweet lobster meat and a little mayo and celery on a perfectly toasted New England-style hot dog bun. It was a sandwich that would hold up just fine in New England. Although it doesn't come cheap (it does come with excellent fries though).