Even though he didn’t like eating clams as a kid, Chef Jeff Heineman has fond memories of going clamming with his Grandpa Freddie on family vacations in Maine. Now that he’s all grown up and running the successful Grapeseed American Bistro and Wine Bar in Bethesda, he loves the shellfish.
Grandpa and New England are the inspiration behind Heineman’s new project, Freddie’s Lobster and Clams, a seafood restaurant he’s opening in about six weeks right next to Grapeseed, in the short-lived Café Prezzo space at 4867 Cordell Ave.
“Chic, low-end fried fish,” is how Heineman describes the menu, which aside from fish and chips, clams strips, clam cakes and whole belly clams, will include lobsters, lobster rolls and hot dogs. There will be counter service at lunch and table service at dinner.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the simplicity and really tasty stuff that comes out of these shacks,” Heineman says of the informal fish joints up north. As for the décor, it’ll be the opposite of Grapeseed, he says. “Kitschy.”
