Never did I ever imagine the ability of experiencing a true New England seafood or crab shack in L.A. but owner and chef extraordinare, Michael Cimarusti, has done that at his new venture, Connie and Ted's. Just opened in June 2013, Connie and Ted's has become a highly sought out table and dining reservation in L.A. With high success at his Providence restaurant which I think is the best restaurant in L.A., Cirmarusti decided to conjure up his childhood when he visited his grandparents in Rhode Island and the foods that he grew up and yearn today.
The location is where the infamous Silver Spoons diner was and the space has been completely redone with casual dining areas that are smartly furnished with red and wood and images of the New England area. Leave your misconceptions of East Coast seafood at home as Connie and Ted's bring alive true crab shack dining as New Englanders know them to be. The Rhode Island clam chowder, for example, is not your traditional New England or Manhattan style chowder, but a clear broth, tasty none the less.
Their appetizers are true Rhode Island stables that include:
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| Grilled Calamari |
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| Steamers (soft shell clams) |
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| Stuffies - linguiça, garlic, butter, breadcrumbs |
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| Clam Cakes (or fritters) |
Steamers were a surprise as they were not the traditional Manila clams you see everywhere else, but the tasty soft shell New England clams that came with clam broth for cleaning and drawn butter for dunking. Stuffies were absolutely delicious with the right amount of flavor and kick that you wanted to have more and more of them. Clam Cakes were new to me. Don't confuse them as being crab cakes but with clams. They are basically clam fritters and quite a treat!
Connie and Ted's offer many other favorites as entrees and include many of the fresh catch of the day that range anywhere from Bluefish from Massachusetts, King Salmon from California, and even Tautog from Rhode Island. All their fish is fresh and of course, their lobster is from Maine. The lobster is a bit pricey at market price of $28.00/lb when we were there. They do not serve complimentary bread but offer as a side for $5.00, hot dinner rolls which were the bomb. It is worth splurging for your daily carbo intake.
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| Hot Dinner Rolls |
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| New England Boiled Dinner |
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| Fried Clams with Bellies |
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| Herb Crusted Bluefish with Onion Rings |
Overall, the menu items are well conceived and provide a lot of variety to share or to order individually. They also have a rib eye steak for those that do not care for seafood, but then, why would you come to Connie and Ted's? The kitchen does have a few kinks that need to be ironed out as they have a fast rule that they do not take a table order incomplete. The wait staff and service which were truly top-notch has to input the entire table's order at one time which worked in general, but that rule also created problems in the kitchen as our entrees came before we completely finished all of our appetizers that came at different times.
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| Blondie |
If you have an extremely sweet tooth, then having a Blondie for dessert should not be missed. It is a white brownie topped with homemade vanilla ice cream with a marshmallowy texture and salted caramel sauce.
Both owners Michael Cimarusti and partner Donato Poto have a great concept for a cuisine void in Southern California. True New Englanders welcome their food of their childhood past and make fans of all others.
Connie & Ted's, 8171 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046
(323) 848-2722
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