 Quahog’s
Seafood Shack opens in Stone Harbor
Suffice it to say Lucas Manteca won’t be getting in much surfing anytime
soon. The Argentinean-born chef loves the ocean, and loves to be on his
board riding waves, but he’s got an addition to his family and another
on the way. One is a new restaurant, his second, and the other is a
child, his first.
“Deanna and I are having a baby girl in August,” he said, “so with the
new restaurant and (his 4-year-old restaurant) Sea Salt and the baby, I
don’t think I’ll be doing much surfing.”
The new restaurant is Quahog’s Seafood Shack, on 97th Street in Stone
Harbor, where Tridi Jo’s used to be. Having already established himself
as one of the area’s most talented chefs with the well-reviewed Sea Salt
(8307 Third Ave., Stone Harbor), the area was abuzz when news spread
about his new venture.
Having been cooking since he was old enough to help in his mom’s
kitchen, Manteca eventually was formally trained in New York at the
French Culinary Institute where he graduated with honors. He then
interned at some of the Big Apple’s top restaurants like Bouley, March,
Blue Hill and The Grocery.
After establishing Sea Salt as a success, with emphasis on using the
freshest, organic ingredients in season to ensure taste-bud popping
dishes, what to do with this abandoned box of a restaurant?
“We thought about a French bistro, something cosmopolitan, maybe
something Mexican, and then we thought seafood,” he said. “We were
looking for a location (to try something new. Being restaurateurs), it’s
what we love to do. We found Tridi Jo’s but everything was a mess. The
budget was kind of short so we decided to work with this shell. We know
we can’t do a fine dining restaurant here, but it’s a perfect seafood
shack.”
A quahog (pronounced KO-hog or KWA-hog depending on your dictionary of
choice) is a hard-shell clam, and some American Indians in the
northeastern United States used quahogs for money.
The Lobster Bake is a pound and quarter size lobster laid on
top of mussels, cherry stone and little neck clams and white
gulf shrimp cooked in a fish bouillon, roasted potatoes and
grilled corn.
The Oyster Po Boy is fried oysters on top of a spicy red
cabbage coleslaw laid in a Challah Bread role with a side of
Old Bay fries.
The Grilled Butter Fish is blackened, then set on top of a
corn salad and topped with a watercress radish salad. Side
dishes are served separately.
A Stuffy at Quahog’s is a cherry stone clam stuffed with
cauliflower pureed gratin chopped clams and Spanish chorizo. |
There are quahogs – watch for the stuffies, or stuffed clams, and we
don’t mean clams casino -- on the menu, which seems to be ever-changing.
Manteca approaches a menu like he does his cooking. He starts with a
base and then embellishes with whatever is fresh or in season. He
started with a limited base menu and it has continued to evolve in the
three weeks they’ve been open. It is now triple the size as when he
first opened in mid-April, and will continue to develop as in-season
ingredient6s become available. Checking the daily specials will be
important at this restaurant.
“For example, the Lobster Bake, we need to have the (Jersey Fresh) corn
to really complete the dish. Right now we’re getting a pretty decent
corn out of Florida, so we’re using it on the lobster bake. But when the
local corn comes out, I will do a dish where corn is the superstar, the
same with asparagus. When that comes out, that will be the star on the
plate.”
Trying to tie him down to a menu for this column was maddening. He
bobbed and weaved with each request for a dinner menu. There is a
“Springtime Lunch Takeout Menu,” but it’s changed twice in two weeks.
Manteca is so conscientious of what’s available and what’s fresh, he
might be considered a stalker of local fishing fleets. On the day I
talked with him, he had been on the Cape May docks watching the
commercial fleet come home with the catch of the day.
“I was watching the boats come in and I saw they had tuna, and I said to
myself (as he relayed in his Argentinean accent), ‘I need to have theez
bee-you-tee-ful feesh.’ “
And so, that night, yellowfin tuna was “the star on the plate.”
“We’re working with a sustainable line of fish, not with a traditional
line of fish. Today we got tuna. When I went to the dock they were just
coming in and I had to have it. This is a gorgeous fish and it’s not
over-fished. We don’t want to compromise other species. I actually have
a purveyor in New York who follows the regulations on fishermen (the
Blue Ocean Association Foundation) that cares about endangered species.
They send me a list (of fish) every day that they credit by stars (in
terms of viability).”
Expect to see pollock (“from Massachusetts, similar to cod, great for
frying”), and barramundi (“for whole, roasted fish, marinated in herbs
and olive oil; it’s extremely moist and tender”), but expect to see
daily changes, and fish cooked differently than some seafood houses.
“The difference with the Seafood Shack is we try to go for lighter and
healthier cooking. Everything that’s fried or cooked here, we make from
scratch,” said Manteca, who brought a chef – Carlos Borroz -- from New
York to help him handle the two restaurants this summer. “There is no
frozen or processed product, even the fried clams. (Others) use the clam
strips, which is the worst part of the clam, the chewy part, the
throw-away part. We’re shucking the top neck here in house. We bread the
clam belly and it just bursts with flavor in your mouth.
“And when we fry fish, it’s not soaking in oil so it creates this crust
that doesn’t allow anything to get in,” he continued. “Everyone loves
fried food but we do the best we can to make it lighter.”
Stone Harbor doesn’t have this type of dining selection, and Manteca has
many ideas for what the borough is missing, but for the time being, he’s
more than optimistic of his chances with Quahog’s.
“I think we can be the Lobster House of Stone Harbor. Surfing,” he said,
“will have to wait.”
Quahog’s Seafood Shack
206 97th Street.
Stone Harbor
www.quahogsshack.com
368-6300
Open Wednesday through Sunday, lunch, dinner and takeout, 11:30 a.m.
until 9:30 p.m.
Street parking
Customer favorites include the Po Boys (fried clam, fried oyster or
fried shrimp, $9), Crispy Fish Cakes ($8), 1 ¼-pound Live Maine Lobster
Roll ($18), Whole Roasted Fish ($15), Fisherman’s Stew ($16), and
nightly specials that include Wednesday’s King Crab Leg Platter served
with mussels, shrimp, potatoes and corn ($23), Thursday’s Clam Bake
Dinner served with mussels, shrimp, potatoes and corn ($23) and Sunday
night’s Lobster Roll with vinegar potato chips and soda ($17 in dining
room or takeout).
Photos by Jen Arthur
Rob Seitzinger can be
e-mailed at
seitz[at]catamaranmedia.com or you can comment on this story by calling
624-8900, ext. 250.
Check out his Cape Cuisine food blog
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