The Shack in Centerport
With seven young children we are always in search of a place where we can all have an enjoyable meal together. By enjoyable we mean no one throws a shoe at us before the appetizers are served. Ideally that restaurant should be a place where they have a gravel floor, noisy traffic to drown out any spontaneous “American Idol” competitions, french fries in nostrils is acceptable behavior and there are ice-cold coronas to wash down the pain. The Shack in Centerport fits the bill.
Freedom to Roam for Kids at the Shack
It would be nice if this spot actually overlooked the water but it is still very pleasant to be outside at this quaint clam bar, even though it is along Route 25A. It’s kept clean with bustling bus boys and the rest of the staff is very friendly. The menu is extensive and features fresh seafood along with burgers, chicken, salads and pasta. They also offer daily specials. Our party had lobster rolls and lobster salad, which were mostly tasty. One of them had a few bits of lobster that tasted a bit off. The steamed clams were really good as was the very thick New England clam chowder.
Lobster rolls and New England Clam Chowder
The tuna melt was good but greasy with heavily buttered toast. The salad dressing was very sweet but the house salad itself was standard. The linguine with white clam sauce was really the only meal that was a disappointment. Maybe we are a bit spoiled with all of the great Italian restaurants in town but it was lacking in depth. There was no garlicky olive oil or fat juicy clams. There were a few whole clams on top with mostly finely chopped clams, celery, onions and parsley. It tasted like the base for the clam chowder was put on top of some noodles.
Tasty littlenecks and tuna melt with not so tasty linguine and clam sauce
The iced tea and lemonade were plentiful and the beer was nicely chilled. The diners at the table next to us had a toddler and a baby in the backpack as they ate platefuls of fried foods.
Lots of clammy kids
They told us that the fried clams and calamari were great. My feeling is that you should stick with clam bar favorites at The Shack and you won’t go wrong. Fried seafood, icy cold Coronas (or wine) a place for the kids to be able to stretch their legs and The Shack in the summertime makes for the perfect North Shore repast. We gave it a 3 out of 5 stars, for good service, some tasty dishes, pleasant atmosphere and no shoe thwacks to the back of the head.
***click on any photo to enlarge **
The Shack is located at:
2 Stony Hollow Road,Centerport, NY 11721-1734
(631) 754-8989 http://www.theshack.org
Love them clammy doggie bags
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