C Is For Chowder Bar

Chances are, if you've visited the Northern Coast of the United States, East or West, you've tried New England Clam Chowder. 

Familiar as it is, New England clam chowder is a little strange. Clams 'n' cream? Really, if you didn't know, you'd never know. [from Nina Lalli's review of the Chowder Bar in The Village Voice]

What's particular about this chowder on Bay Shore, Long Island, is not just that it beats the chowder at Nicky's next door, but that it beats the chowder on Nantucket. Furthermore, Bay Shore is a perfect stopping point along the middle of Long Island's Atlantic Coast. Now that the months have R's in them, you can sample oysters unhampered by elbow-to-elbow traffic in the Hamptons.

Coming to the Chowder Bar

1. To get there from Vespa Southampton, go West on the Sunrise Highway (or the Montauk Hwy).

2. To get from Vespa Queens to the Jackie Robinson Parkway, this map is as good as any. In case you didn't know, Parkway means No Trucks Permitted. Unless you're daft enough to like drafting behind trucks for speed, you probably prefer to have no trucks around while riding your Vespa at full tilt. You can take service roads most of the way along The Long Island Expressway East of Corona Park. Nevertheless, The Jackie Robinson Parkway is fine and curvily takes you straight onto The Grand Central Parkway, which becomes The Northern State Parkway. Here we do want that L.I.E. s service road because that becomes Old Westbury Road as it intersects with Glen Cove Road. Glen Cove Road is an easy way to get to the Old Country Road entrance for the historic Meadowbrook Parkway. Of course you could stay on the Northern State the whole way to where the Meadowbrook begins. And of course there are many other short cuts along surface streets but, well, they're on surface streets and therefore aren't really shortcuts. The main thing is that The Meadowbrook gets you to Ocean Parkway. Ocean Parkway has none of the curves or overhanging willows that beautify the other parkways of the TriState Area. It is yet by far the lovliest. Follow it all the way East, past Gilgo Beach, to the Robert Moses Causeway. After the bridge, take the first exit on the main land towards Bay Shore. That's 27A not 27 aka Montauk Highway, and here it's called South Country Road (where there's a BP station), and it soon becomes East Main Street in Bay Shore.

I don't know why throughout Long Island street names are called East on their west ends and West on their east ends but, anyway, from West Main Street, just after the theatre on the left, make a right turn onto Maple Avenue and you're practically there.

3. To get from Scooter Bottega or Brooklynbretta take Union to Prospect Park and, from Grand Army Plaza either 3a. take the long way via Eastern Parkway to the Jackie Robinson and the rest of the directions above, or 3b. take the other long way via Flatbush down to Linden Boulevard, Linden Boulevard (27) all the way out to Conduit and the rest of the directions from yesterday. Actually, Nassua Expressway takes you all the way out to Atlantic Beach. There's a toll, something like a buck and a quarter, to enter the town of Atlantic Beach but from there it's almost a straight shot to Ocean Parkway. However, if, just after the airport, you get back onto the Belt and take the exit for Sunrise Highway, it's a straighter shot.

Heading homeward, West from the Robert Moses Causeway, I had Ocean Parkway all to myself, save for the sea birds hovering out over the water. I watched them beat their wings against the giant orange sunset sky. They watched me beat my LX150 up to 70 mph without maximum throttle. Must have been the wind... or the chowder.

Chances are, if you've visited the Northern Coast of the United States, East or West, you've tried New England Clam Chowder. 

Familiar as it is, New England clam chowder is a little strange. Clams 'n' cream? Really, if you didn't know, you'd never know. [from Nina Lalli's review of the Chowder Bar in The Village Voice]

What's particular about this chowder on Bay Shore, Long Island, is not just that it beats the chowder at Nicky's next door, but that it beats the chowder on Nantucket. Furthermore, Bay Shore is a perfect stopping point along the middle of Long Island's Atlantic Coast. Now that the months have R's in them, you can sample oysters unhampered by elbow-to-elbow traffic in the Hamptons.

Coming to the Chowder Bar

1. To get there from Vespa Southampton, go West on the Sunrise Highway (or the Montauk Hwy).

2. To get from Vespa Queens to the Jackie Robinson Parkway, this map is as good as any. In case you didn't know, Parkway means No Trucks Permitted. Unless you're daft enough to like drafting behind trucks for speed, you probably prefer to have no trucks around while riding your Vespa at full tilt. You can take service roads most of the way along The Long Island Expressway East of Corona Park. Nevertheless, The Jackie Robinson Parkway is fine and curvily takes you straight onto The Grand Central Parkway, which becomes The Northern State Parkway. Here we do want that L.I.E. s service road because that becomes Old Westbury Road as it intersects with Glen Cove Road. Glen Cove Road is an easy way to get to the Old Country Road entrance for the historic Meadowbrook Parkway. Of course you could stay on the Northern State the whole way to where the Meadowbrook begins. And of course there are many other short cuts along surface streets but, well, they're on surface streets and therefore aren't really shortcuts. The main thing is that The Meadowbrook gets you to Ocean Parkway. Ocean Parkway has none of the curves or overhanging willows that beautify the other parkways of the TriState Area. It is yet by far the lovliest. Follow it all the way East, past Gilgo Beach, to the Robert Moses Causeway. After the bridge, take the first exit on the main land towards Bay Shore. That's 27A not 27 aka Montauk Highway, and here it's called South Country Road (where there's a BP station), and it soon becomes East Main Street in Bay Shore.

I don't know why throughout Long Island street names are called East on their west ends and West on their east ends but, anyway, from West Main Street, just after the theatre on the left, make a right turn onto Maple Avenue and you're practically there.

3. To get from Scooter Bottega or Brooklynbretta take Union to Prospect Park and, from Grand Army Plaza either 3a. take the long way via Eastern Parkway to the Jackie Robinson and the rest of the directions above, or 3b. take the other long way via Flatbush down to Linden Boulevard, Linden Boulevard (27) all the way out to Conduit and the rest of the directions from yesterday. Actually, Nassua Expressway takes you all the way out to Atlantic Beach. There's a toll, something like a buck and a quarter, to enter the town of Atlantic Beach but from there it's almost a straight shot to Ocean Parkway. However, if, just after the airport, you get back onto the Belt and take the exit for Sunrise Highway, it's a straighter shot.

Comments

[Joe Grant]

We need to do a ride to this place. Chowdah's best when it's cold outside!

--JG