The Clam Digger: A Bit Of The Shore In Manchester

Summer in Connecticut. The very phrase brings up thoughts of blue skies, boat shoes, lobster rolls, crab cakes, fried clams, lounging by the Sound, warm sunny rays, feet in the sand.

But here I am, in jacket and jeans in a parking lot in Manchester on the last Saturday of June praying the sky doesn’t open up until I’m done eating. Is this summer in San Francisco?

The Clam Digger and its mascot, Sir Clamalot, don’t care if it is a bizarro summer. In fact, the woman behind the counter confirmed, the Clam Digger is open year-round.

I remembered visiting this seafood stand years ago, though its name at the time escapes me. The Clam Digger is affiliated with Doogie’s in Newington, and their website says it was “formerly City Joe’s.”

In addition to seafood, it offers most of the Doogie’s trappings. Before we ordered, a woman whisked away a tray of two massive hot dogs. “Sixteen inchers, chili, and chili with kraut,” she says.

“We’re getting one of those,” says my friend, a hungry man coming fresh off triathlon training.

The menu is pretty straightforward: beach fare, minus the beach. We went all in on the biggest seafood plate, the Admiral’s Platter ($23.50), which boasts fish, clam strips, shrimp and crab cakes, with fries. On the side we got a hot buttered lobster roll. (Clam Digger kindly offers a “chilled w/ mayo and chopped onion” lobster roll for heretics.) Either way, it’s a very reasonable $14.98 on a 10-inch bun or $22.98 for a half pounder.

Imaginations on overdrive, we ate outside to pretend it was actually summer. Split down the middle, the lobster roll disappeared in two bites. Rich and tender, served with lemon and no mayo, like God intended.

The Admiral’s Platter was a heaping mass of food, revealing treasures under treasures of fried wonder. Fried fish and fried shrimp? Impossible to mess up, and hence were delicious. Crab cakes had visible chunks of meat but not enough for my friend, who admittedly was spoiled by a year living near Chesapeake Bay. The Admiral’s star was the clam strip, not chewy in the least and, luckily, plentiful.

So plentiful that we skipped the 16-inch dogs. Next time.

>>The Clam Digger, 11 Tolland Turnpike, Manchester, is open 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; Friday and Saturday until 8 p.m.; and Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Information: doogieshotdogs.com and 860-649-3663.