The Shack

The Shack

"Clams and Chaos"

1 Stony Hollow Road

(Route 25 A)

Centerport, NY 11721

631-754-8989

http://www.theshack.org/index.html

Map and Directions

The Shack is a local roadside eatery on Northern Blvd. in Centerport. It is a favorite in the area and, when open, is always packed. I say "when open" because it is a summer hangout. It opens in April and closes in early fall. As long as the weather is nice, it is open, but if it rains, don't expect to get food from The Shack, there is no indoor seating. It truly is a roadside shack with a kitchen. There are a lot of picnic tables and some counter seating so if you go in a group or alone, you will feel comfortable eating there.


The Shack was a biker bar 20-odd years ago, but was bought out and renamed. They went from burgers and apps to seafood, pasta, salads, soups and burgers and apps. You will still find lots of bikers stopping there for a meal, but The Shack caters to a much larger clientele nowadays. Being on the north shore of Long Island, The Shack brings together people from all socio-economic backgrounds for good food. I don't care who you are, good food is just that, good food.


Now for the wings. On the menu you can order, and I quote, "A Classic... Shack 'Buffalo Wings' with celery sticks and bleu cheese dressing," so I did just that. I also ordered some onion rings. They came out piping hot, and looked a bit different than normal wings. The Shack deep fries the wings naked, plates them (and by plates I mean puts them in paper trays) and then adds the hot sauce. They then garnish them with some fresh parsley sprinkled on top. The wings were crispy, very juicy on the inside and were pretty big. There were about 10 wings and a few stalks of celery to the order.

How did they taste? I personally prefer the wings to be completely coated in hot sauce. I want every ounce of the wing to be covered so that no matter where I grab the wing, my fingers will be sticky. At The Shack my fingers did not get all that sticky, which is a minus in my book. Also, I am pretty sure they use a generic hot sauce. This is only bad if it tastes bad, which it definitely did not, but making a "Shack" hot sauce would be a solid idea. I am sure they could come up with one, bottle it and sell it on the website. All that being said, they were pretty good wings. They were spicy, but did not kill your mouth, they were big enough to fill you up and cooked well and quickly. The onion rings were also quite good and they have a pretty extensive beer selection.

I really don't think you can miss at The Shack. The prices are a bit high ($9.95 for the order of about 10 wings), but it is the north shore of Long Island, so you have to expect the prices will be a bit higher. The staff was friendly, helpful and quick. All in all, this was a great Saturday afternoon and I can't wait to try their burgers! As I sat there, I saw a bunch come out and they looked pretty damn good. So if you are enjoying a nice scenic drive along the Long Island Sound on Route 25A and want a good bite to eat, The Shack is good place to do just that.