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Four Washington, D.C. Restaurants That Serve Great Fried Clams and Oysters.

Updated in September 2022                                                                                    

Washington D.C. is home to several restaurants that are known for serving delicious fried clams and oysters. At these eateries, customers will discover many variations on their favorite mouth-watering mollusks. Presented here are brief profiles of some of Washington D.C.'s top spots for fried clams and oysters.

Hank's Oyster Bar..1624 Q Street NW Washington, DC https://hanksoysterbar.com/

A favorite spot for fresh seafood in Washington, the original Hank's Oyster Bar has been open since 2005, and there are other Hank's locations on the waterfront in D.C. and Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia.

Hank's serves small plate orders of fried oysters, an oyster po boy sandwich and a fried oyster dinner with Old Bay fries and cole slaw.

The raw bar at Hank's offers oysters and clams on the half shell, shrimp cocktail, seafood ceviche and peel and eat shrimp. Fried fish sandwiches, lobster rolls, hushpuppies, BBQ oysters and chilled marinated beets are some of the small plate options here.

In addition to the oyster po'boy sandwich here, the menu features a shrimp po'boy, crab cake sandwich, cheeseburger, lobster roll, as well as fried chicken and fried fish sandwiches

Pan-seared rockfish, molasses braised short ribs, fish and chips and oyster Rockefeller pasta are some of the large plates served at Hank's Oyster Bar.

Full bar service is offered at Hank's Oyster Bar, and an Oyster Happy Hour is available Tuesday through Friday. Open Tuesday through Sunday.

The Salt Line..79 Potomac Ave SE79, Washington, DC  https://www.thesaltline.com/location/the-salt-line/

Located in the Capitol Riverfront/ Navy Yard neighborhood, this friendly establishment offers both indoor and outdoor patio seating.

While the menu at the Salt Line offers items such as Portuguese stew, clam chowder, grilled swordfish and lobster rolls, the restaurant's raw bar features a rotating assortment of oysters and other chilled seafood delights.

Designed to feed multiple diners, the two sizes of seafood towers at the Salt Line are loaded with crab, lobster, oysters, shrimp, clams and various accoutrements. Full bar service, Friday "Happy Afternoon" specials and a kids menu are all provided at this D.C. business.

BlackSalt Seafood Market and Restaurant..4883 MacArthur Blvd, Washington, DC  http://www.blacksaltrestaurant.com/carry-out-menu

Visitors to BlackSalt have the option of shopping at the seafood market, or dining-in or getting foods to-go from the restaurant. Curbside pick up and contactless transactions are other options that are available here.

People come from near and far to partake of the fried Ipswich clams that are served with a dill pickle aioli at this eatery. Their menu features cold boutique and premium oysters on the half shell, as well as Oysters Rockefeller, made with spinach, Parmesan, vermouth cream and bacon.

Rappahannock Oyster Bar..1150 Maine Ave SW, Washington, DC  https://hanksoysterbar.com/

Open seven days a week, Rappahannock Oyster Bar is an attractive, waterfront eatery located in Washington's Wharf district.

At the raw bar here, customers can enjoy clams, and three different types of oysters.

Among the smaller plate selections are scallop carpaccio, shrimp cocktail, Caesar wedge salad and ceviche. 

Po Boy sandwiches and burgers are served at this oyster bar, as are peel-and-eat shrimp. Larger plate selections include seared scallops, whole branzino, fried clams, fried oysters, Chablis-steamed clams and more. 

For dessert, a goat cheese cheesecake with lemon zest and black cherry is offered. Full bar service and an extensive wine list are also provided. 

  

"TEN MINUTES" Thomas J. McCabe is a painter and writer in Hartford..The Hartford Courant-2004

 "TEN MINUTES"

Thomas J. McCabe Thomas J. McCabe is a painter and writer in Hartford

THE HARTFORD COURANT

'Be back in 10 minutes."

The handwritten sign was taped to the inside of the door. Like a human, I went ahead and pushed on the handle anyhow. Nary a budge.

"Oh shit, you've got to be freakin' kidding me! Ten minutes, oh, who knows when the hell that started."

This was the first time I ever stopped at this package store. A spur of the moment decision, this was not. All day long, I had been thinking about stopping there. Back in Rocky Hill, at my first stop, before 8 a.m., I was planning on it. Whenever I started a new route, one of my top priorities was to scout out the locations of all nearby liquor stores.

The lonely stretch of state highway near Litchfield looked like a photo from a 1950s 10-cent postcard. Surrounded on all sides by majestic rows of dour, watching trees. Trees of all sizes and lengths and widths. Trees wiser than I'll ever be.

"Ahhh, this sucks! I don't freakin' believe it." For the second time in less than a minute, I checked my watch. Still 1:03 p.m. The 1:00 news was just coming on the radio when I pulled the van into the driveway and parked around back, so nobody could see it. I figured I'd be in and out in seconds; that way, there'd be enough time to slam down a 16-ouncer out back. So much for that.

Traffic on that portion of the roadway was minimal at best, but with each passing car, I could just imagine the thoughts of the occupants. "Look at that bum, he really needs a drink, huh?" "See that man, Ronnie? If you drink and take drugs and drop out of school, you'll end up just like him, standing in front of a package store in the middle of the afternoon."

1:05 p.m. "Oh, c'mon, what are you doing, using the bathroom? Or ... making lunch? ... What up?"

My job, as a route driver for a small company that serviced supermarkets, was built around a fairly rigid schedule. Each supermarket has certain "receiving" hours for vendors. It was expected of me to be creative enough to meet the daily quota of stops, regardless of my stores' receiving hours. Regardless that my drinking was spiraling out of control and my life following close behind.

"Afternoon receiving hours" were from 1:30 to 2:30 at Shop Rite in Torrington. If I wasn't there by 1:30, the Coca-Cola trailer would probably beat me to the loading dock. Then, I would have to lug everything up the side stairs, and that was a pain in the ass!

"All right, c'mon ... It's 1:07 already! ... Let's go ... What the hell are you in business for? ... You $%#$%#!" On top of everything, I was supposed to call in from my last stop, in Newington. But, I couldn't get to a pay phone. I had to hurry, otherwise, I'd never be able to get in at Shop Rite.

"Yeah, I worked my ass off, all freakin' morning, just waiting to get a couple of 'kingers' here. Now, I can't even do that!"

I hated calling in. It was like calling my freakin' babysitter. Do they ever say, "You're making good time?" No, of course not. All you ever hear is, "What took you so long ?" It was important that I call in though. They were watching me, closely.

Two times now, they had me in the office. Supposedly, some lady at Waldbaum's said I smelled like alcohol. What does she expect? I work right near those deposit can and bottle machines. The old beer in those cans just permeates the air, and my jacket. And that PUNK janitor at the high school I had to go to. He said he saw me drinking a beer in the van. What a bunch of crap. I wasn't drinking it, it was already empty!

"OK, 1:09, What UP? ... What up? ... Hey, maybe there was a robbery and the robber killed the clerk, then put that sign in the window to deter ... HEY! ! ... huh? ... ALL RIGHT!"

There was movement inside the small brick store. A short, middle-aged woman opened the door.

"Ya' been waiting long?" she asked.

"No, no, just a couple of minutes."

"Can I help you with something?"

"Aahh ... I just feel like drinking a couple of beers today. I'm not usually much of a drinker, but could I please get three Budweiser 16-ounce cans?"

That's the way an alcoholic thinks.

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Boston Market Sweet and Sour Chicken Frozen Dinner is Highly Recommended

Last night, I had the opportunity to try a frozen

Boston Market Sweet and Sour Chicken dinner, and I'm very glad I did so. Not only was this frozen dinner quite tasty, but it was priced at only $4 at a Hartford, Connecticut, Sam's Food Store.

Being a semi-regular customer at a local Boston Market restaurant, I'm accustomed to them serving pretty tasty, high-quality food. Such is the case with their frozen sweet and sour chicken dinner.

Normally, Boston Market is not associated with Asian food, but this frozen meal is the closest to restaurant-style and quality that I've found yet.

The dinner contains a decent amount of good-tasting, breaded chicken pieces coated in a delicious sweet and sour sauce. Accompanying the chicken is a large mound of vegetable fried rice studded with carrots, peppers and peas.

If you're looking for a flavorful, frozen, Asian-style dinner, look no further than the Boston Market Sweet & Sour Chicken dinner. Chances are good that you'll be very satisfied.

Nutritional Facts

Each 14 ounce package of Boston Market Sweet and Sour Chicken dinner contains 640 calories, with 130 calories from fat. This dinner also contains 15 grams total fat, 0 grams trans fat, 30 mg of cholesterol, 1490 mg of sodium, 35 grams of sugars and 20 grams of protein, per one-package serving.

Nestle's Dibs Ice Cream Balls Are a Dynamite Frozen Treat

The Nestle company scores high with their Dibs frozen dairy dessert. In case you haven't seen them, Dibs are bite-sized pieces of vanilla ice cream that are accented with a thin layer of chocolate.

While I've seen photos of plain vanilla Dibs and strawberry-flavored Dibs, the variety that I recently rediscovered features pieces of vanilla ice cream enhanced with a Nestle Crunch chocolate coating.

There are several different sizes of Dibs containers sold at retailers throughout the U.S. The red, cup-like container that I purchased at CVS Pharmacy a week ago, weighs-in at 3.99 ounces and holds roughly 26 pieces.

Not only are Dibs delicious treats that are very hard to stop eating once you've started, but everything about them spells-out "fun." The vanilla ice cream in the treats has a nice, mellow flavor, and the Nestle Crunch coating complements it well.

Texture

If you're looking for an ice cream treat that has a great mouth-feel, Dibs certainly fit the bill. The combination of soft and flavorful vanilla ice cream contrasts quite well with the crunchy chocolate coating.

With each piece being bite-sized, it's fun to pop a bunch of Dibs in your mouth, one after the other. If you eat too many too fast, though, you could experience a numbing Brain Freeze. 

Nutritional Facts

Dibs contain 320 calories, with 21 grams total fat per container. Each package contains 21 grams total fat and 0 grams total fat. These bite-sized frozen treats also contain less than 5 mg of cholesterol, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 22 grams total sugars and 2 grams of protein.

Whether you enjoy just a couple of them, or an entire container, Dibs Nestle Crunch-flavored bite-size ice cream treats are always a pleasure to consume.

Price

Like other products, the retail price of Dibs ice cream treats can vary from store from store. The lowest price I've seen in Summer 2022 is $2.99 on sale at Walgreens, and at CVS the most recent price is $3.79. 

 

 Connecticut News

Probably about 20 years ago, I had the opportunity to take part in an essay-writing course at the Hartford Public Library. The course ran for six to eight weeks, I think, and it was taught by Lary Bloom, former Editor at Connecticut Magazine.

The essay I wrote about alcoholism was based on personal experience, and was written from the perspective of a route-driver in the late-1990s, who serviced supermarkets. The t

TEN MINUTES

Thomas J. McCabe Thomas J. McCabe is a painter and writer in HartfordTHE HARTFORD COURANT

'Be back in 10 minutes."

The handwritten sign was taped to the inside of the door. Like a human, I went ahead and pushed on the handle anyhow. Nary a budge.

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Mrs. Freshley's Raspberry Dreamies are a Great Alternative to Hostess Raspberry Zingers

 

Updated in August 2022

What happened Hostess? The two Zingers I ate this week tasted completely different from the ones I've been eating intermittently for a couple of decades.

 Appearances can be deceiving. While they may look essentially the same, today's Raspberry Zingers don't possess the same tart, raspberry flavor.

Gone is the abundance of creme filling that made these coconut-dusted snack cakes the dynamic treats they used to be. Now, just a small amount of creme filling inhabits the centers of these treats.

Yes, the Hostess Zingers were a less-than-healthy addition to any diet, but they sure did taste good.

If you have the munchies while you're in a drug store or convenience store, I recommend purchasing the Mrs. Freshley's brand version of raspberry zingers.

The Mrs. Freshley's cakes are called Raspberry "Dreamies," and they're quite outstanding. In addition to the raspberry flavor Dreamies,  Mrs. Freshley's makes regular-srtle Dreamies.

Appearance

Mrs. Freshley's Raspberry Dreamies are similar in size and shape to Hostess Twinkies, but their color is light red. The snack cakes are distinguished by a thin coating of fine coconut flakes.

Size

Mrs. Freshley's Raspberry Dreamies are usually sold in twin-packs that hold two cakes. For bigger appetites,the Dreamies are available in six, 16 and 18-count packages.

Texture / Consistency

Soft yet sturdy is a good way to describe the texture of Mrs. Freshley's Raspberry Dreamies. The addition of the tiny coconut flakes on the exterior of the cakes makes them even more fun to eat.

Nutritional Facts

Each Mrs. Freshley's Raspberry Dreamie cake contains 200 calories, with 60 calories from fat. There are also 5 mg of cholesterol, 0 grams of trans fat, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 21 grams of sugars and 2 grams of protein in each of these cakes.

Flavor

When it comes to flavor, Mrs. Freshley's Raspberry Dreamies score high. The cakes have a pleasing raspberry flavor, and they're not overwhelmingly sweet.

The creme filling in these cakes complements the raspberry taste very well, and the coconut garnish is a winning touch.

                                          

Price

The average retail price charged for one twin-pack of Mrs. Freshley's Raspberry Dreamies is approximately $1.99.

The average cost of an 18-pack of these cakes on various web sites is $20-$22.

Overall Rating

While some people might point fingers at snack cakes because of their high sugar and fat contents, there are those of us who still appreciate a tasty raspberry-flavored cake. That's what Mrs. Freshley's Raspberry Dreamies are; tasty, creme-filled, raspberry-flavored snack cakes.

A great companion to a cup of coffee or tea, or a glass of milk, these reasonably priced snack cakes are highly recommended.