The Cape Cod Fish Company (CCFC) is a restaurant in Fort Myers, FL serving New England style seafood. They have been open four years transitioning from a counter service to a full service restaurant about two years ago.
The owner, of Portuguese descent, spent many years in the restaurant industry in New England. Due to the proprietor’s heritage, there are a few Portuguese-inspired dishes thrown into the mix as well.
The restaurant, near the intersection of McGregor and San Carlos Boulevards, is in Miners Plaza, a nondescript strip mall, anchored by Planet Fitness. Do not let the appearance fool you. Very good food emanates from CCFC.
The restaurant has outside (picnic table) and indoor seating in a very relaxed, casual atmosphere.
My dining companion (DC) and I had been to Cape Cod before but had only scratched the surface of New England seafood. There were a few things on the menu neither of us had eaten before that looked interesting.
Here were a couple of them. Most of us had New England clam (cream based) and Manhattan clam (tomato based) chowders before but what about Rhode Island Red?
Rhode Island Red is sort of a hybrid of New England and Manhattan. It skips the cream, uses a tomato puree but has potatoes to thicken the chowder. It was nice being able to taste the clams in this chowder rather than have protein globs lost in a sea of cream, though still have a nice, thick chowder that you get with the New England variety. This was very good and probably delayed my eventual visit to the cardiologist by that much more.
The second item we sampled was the baked lobster dip. This was a concoction of lobster, jack and cheddar cheeses, cream cheese, peppers, and a shredded almond crust served with in house made tortilla chips. I had never heard of this and checking it out online there is definitely a New England Precedent for this dish.
Lobster has a very delicate flavor and can easily be lost when combined with cheeses or heavy sauces. This dish was very good though. Although just having seafood notes, the combination of warm cheeses on in house made tortilla chips was comfort food at some of it’s best. I usually never order anything like this for caloric concerns but sort of liken it to having a real Coke or Pepsi after a year of not having any; it just tastes so good!
We decided to “damn the torpedoes” calorically and try some of the restaurant’s fried seafood offerings. The first thing we tried was the half and half seafood basket offering where one could choose 2 of the 4 fried sea foods the restaurant serves. We opted for the scallops and the whole belly clams.
What are whole belly clams you may ask? These are long neck otherwise known as Ipswich clams. After purging before cooking, they can either be left whole or the siphons separated from the belly to make clam strips made famous by the chain of yesteryear, Howard Johnson’s, in the 1960’s and 70’s.
I prefer the whole belly variety as they taste almost like oysters and are just that much more flavorful. The scallops in the dish were, I would guess, U10, and like the clams, were perfectly battered and fried. To make this dish even better it came with house made hand cut fries and cole slaw, and more of that delicious tartar sauce. An exceptional menu item.
I decided to supplement this with a 6 oz. portion of fried cod. Another great menu item. The fish was very fresh, and although just a (perfectly) battered fried fish, it’s simplicity approached perfection.
The menu items we sampled were very good to exceptional. This, from what we ate was excellent food served in a very casual, relaxed atmosphere. Cape Cod Fish Company is unique to the area as it serves some “wicked bad” New England cuisine that is hard, if not impossible to find. Highly recommended. Our server also suggested reservations in the winter months. After all, the restaurant stops serving at 8:30 PM.
That’s that for another post on Forks.
Cape Cod Fish Company
15501 Old McGregor Blvd.
Fort Myers, FL 33908
(239)313-6462
Cape Cod Fish Company Facebook Page
All major credit cards accepted; Kid’s meals available; Open Tuesday-Sunday 1130 AM to 830 PM
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