The Rockaways

     We have been spending a lot of time in Rockaway Beach, Queens as of late and are exploring the sights and sounds in that beach community. It is a very unaffected area with just a few chain restaurants.  We love it because it is 10 minutes from Kennedy Airport, 10 minutes from Long Beach (another fun filled town) and 10 minutes from Howard Beach which has a plethora of  diners and restaurants. As you drive along the main drag of Howard Beach which is Cross Bay Blvd. your head will be spiinning with all the different ethnic eateries that are represented. Since we were in the mood for Italian food and fish we chose Lenny's Clam Bar. Lenny's Clam Bar  has graced the corner of 161 St and Cross Bay Blvd in Howard Beach since 1974 and is known for the owner Joe's hot sauce-a kind of Fra Diavlo.  We ordered linguine with red clam sauce and the "combination" which includes shrimps, mussels, calamari and scungilli sauteed in a marinara sauce.

Both dishes were nicely prepared with fresh seafood and a light not cloying sauces. The portions were more than ample and everyone brought home treats for the next day.
     Believe it or not we decided to have the dessert specials for the night which were lemon sorbet served in a garnished lemon shell and the Bananas Foster which I make at home but have never had out -both were as we expected. The lemon sorbet, which  was a perfect way to cleanse the palate after a slightly spicey meal, was a smooth, tart, lemony treat.  The Bananas Foster had the slight cinnamon-rum taste I was looking for and blended with vanilla ice cream AND whip cream although not prepared table side the presentation was good and the taste decadent! We will definately return. The other great thing about dining out in Queens is that everything is still bustling late night so we were not rushed and leisurely enjoyed our meal and was by no means the last to leave.