Iggy's Doughboys

889 Oakland Beach Ave., Warwick, RI - (401) 737-9459

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Posted By Michael Stern on 6/17/2002 11:13:00 AM

Iggy’s is a modern “eat in the rough” restaurant overlooking Narragansett Bay. Stand at a counter, place your order and pay for it, then wait for your number to be called … by which time you hope to have secured a table in the dining room to which you can tote your tray. Everything is presented in disposable containers – salads in plastic, chowder in a Styrofoam cup, stuffed clams in a cardboard boat, and doughboys in a brown paper bag – so that when you are finished eating, you can sweep everything from the table and dispose of it yourself.

The term “doughboy” after which this restaurant is named is unique to New England’s southern shores, but it is a food with cognates throughout the east and even way out west. A doughboy is a small square of puffy fried dough, served hot and rolled in granulated sugar. Sold by the dozen, doughboys are excellent sweet-bread companions for just about any meal. Elsewhere in New England, similar foodstuffs are known as flippers or cheats or (in Portuguese bakeries) malassadas; and they bear a remarkable resemblance to the scones of Utah and the sopaipillas of New Mexico. Iggy’s doughboys are so easy to eat that we suggest getting only a half dozen, lest you consume nothing but dough and thereby deprive yourself of appetite enough to eat the big, crusty clamcakes, red or white chowder, and good fried clams. We also suggest including in any meal a few stuffies – quohog clam shells piled with a luscious clam stuffing.

The beverage menu includes locally bottled white birch beer and sarsaparilla.

Scorecard

Overall: Legendary - Worth driving from anyplace

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Reviewers Photos [Upload Your Photos]

"A doughboy, served hot and spangled with sugar, is addictive."
Michael Stern

"Clam fritters are a balance of gentle fried dough and sweet clam flavor."
Michael Stern

"An only-in-Rhode Island passion: snail salad. It's cool, garlicky, and refreshing."
Michael Stern

"You know you are in Rhode Island by the choice of chowders, the listing of fish and chips, and the prominence of clam cakes. Snail salad is an off-the-menu daily special."
Michael Stern