The Shack

The Shack is a good place to know about if you are traveling along I-95 in Connecticut and hunger strikes near Exit 74. One day when we stopped in, the list of available pies included apple crumb, Graham cracker, Boston cream, pumpkin, and coconut cream. Three puddings were on the menu: rice, Grape-Nuts, and bread. The specials were all-you-can-eat pasta, macaroni & cheese, and shepherd’s pie.

We ordered that shepherd’s pie, and wow!, it sure was a big hunk of food. The size of a brick, it was layers of chunky ground beef with potatoes and vegetables under a mantle of gravy. We had arrived with good appetites; midway through this meal, they were long gone.

We also enjoyed the workmanlike clam chowder — creamy soup with bits of tender clam — and beef chili, which is dense and meaty, albeit served no-frills. (What, no cheese to sprinkle on top? No raw onions?)

Good as lunch may be, the big meal of the day at The Shack is breakfast. Omelets are huge and handsome; home fries, laced with onions, offer a vareigated spectrum of crunch and chew; and the coffee never stops coming.

Note: Connecticut has two other Shacks, in Groton and Waterford.