Montauk Pioneer - April 10, 2009

When The Clam Bar opens in Montauk, the crowds come. This historical restaurant is about as laid back as you can get for lunch. Located on the side of the road as you head to Montauk, you can't miss The Clam Bar.

The restaurant is simple and scrappy, and that's the way you like it. It offers good old fashioned America with saltwater. Its bar stools that you sit on are deliberately little so you feel like a kid when you sit down. Its menu involves clams, lobster, burgers, fried clams, steamers and clam chowder. A lunch at the Clam Bar is an experience in real eating, and the realness of the restaurant speaks louder than any fancy shamancy in Manhattan.

I ordered the steamers for lunch at an alarming $18, but almost never pass up a plate of steamers at any restaurant for their rarity. Leather strapped motorcycle men waited for their chowders as a young boy endlessly enjoyed his burger. When my steamers came out, I was stunned.

The plate of steamers The Clam Bar will fill your body and soul. They are rich, cooked perfectly and topped off with a fresh dish of melted butter and hot water to dip and clean. Steamers are like heaven in a shell and this wonderful dish is a must try. The $18 is a bit much, but you get an unusually large portion, and they are a deal if you share them with a friend.

Across the bar a display of soup sizes hang, offering excellent deals. Clam chowder, Manhattan or New England, can be bought in a cup, a bowl, a pint or a quart and a big part of you wants a quart. The soup is insanely good and a can't miss for casually trying to impress a guest. The soups begin at $4 and go up to $13.

The music at The Clam Bar is noticeably charming. Old rock and roll hits fly through the kitchen, which you can see right from the bar. The Rolling Stones are commonly played, as well as other hits. The whole vibe of the place screams the word unpretentious. At The Clam Bar you can be yourself. There are no people watching here.

What is here, however, is an excellent beer selection that flows out of the bar as fast as the clams. Not a bad place to share a summer beer with some buddies, enjoy some good music and a bowl of chowder. If you only want to spend 10 bucks there, you can, and if you are really crafty, a burger will run you only about five.

Probably the best deal at The Clam Bar is the fried clam sandwich that runs about five bucks and is a lot of food. Other favorites are the fish and chips. You don't have to worry about them running out of clams, but on busy days, they have been known to run out of lobster, mainly because the lobster at The Clam Bar is like eating it on a lobster boat. It's that fresh, that expertly made and that good. These guys know what they are doing.

The Clam Bar is open on weekends, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On good weather days, you can catch them open during the week. Call them up at 631- 267-6348. Its vacation time folks, and the Clam Bar knows exactly what that means.