Randazzo's Clam Bar

Randazzo's Clam Bar is an Italian Restaurant, opened in 1959, in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. It was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 but was able to reopen 6 months later.

The restaurant appeared on Man v. Food (season 9) where host Casey Webb had the linguine with white clam sauce. Randazzo's was one of Anthony Bourdain's five favorite under-the-radar NYC restaurants. His favorite dish is the lobster fra diavolo and he also enjoyed the chicken parmigiana, and broiled salmon. He said "portions that could have once fed an entire block on the Lower East Side."

History

The Randazzo Family started with a fish store on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1920. Sam Randazzo and his Family moved the business to Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn in 1932. The new fish store was located on the waterfront, across from the docks where the fishing boats lined up. In the 1950s, the Family also opened a bar that served drinks for the locals. When the boats came in from their daily catch, Helen Randazzo, Sam's Daughter, would give the Fishermen fried squid (squid was more bait than delicacy back then) as a snack served in her Famous Sauce. Over the next few years they added more tables, then the bar became a clam bar, and aventually a formal dining room and kitchen were added. This was the start of the original Randazzo's Clam Bar launched in 1959 by Helen, and her Husband Paul Geraci. In 1971, the Family also opened a full service restaurant that served the community for 23 years before closing in 1994. Today the Clam Bar still exists, and is owned by Helen's Grandsons Paul Randazzo and Michael Geraci, and her great-grandchildren Elena Randazzo and Paul Randazzo Jr.

References

External links

• The late Helen Randazzo's famed and busy waterfront seafood mecca maintains its crowds.
• The Art of Opening a Clam