3 Buoys Seafood Shanty & Grille

I walk by 3 Buoys Seafood Shanty & Grille every day of my life. The restaurant sits directly across the street from what may be the sketchiest 7-11 in town (this is highly debatable) and is housed within a structure that last served as a conduit for spicy chicken via Buffalo Wings n' Things. It is with a heavy heart that I say I have avoided 3 Buoys like the plague up until recently. Blame it on preconceived notions, a healthy fear of food poisoning or sheer disinterest — it just hasn't been on my radar.

I may as well get right down to the point here and say that without the pressure of Haddockquest, I may very well have overlooked this not-so-hidden gem of a fried fish spot.

3 Buoys' fried haddock sandwich costs $10.99 and is served with fries and coleslaw. At face value, it'd be easy to dismiss this as being overpriced, especially considering the location and overall look/feel of the place (though it does grow on you more with each gulp of Narragansett Lager). Haddockquest knows no financial boundaries, however, so we pressed on and placed an order, which turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made.

There's no word to describe 3 Buoys' haddock sandwich better than "benchmark." Served with lettuce, tomato, tartar & lemon on a traditional (re: flimsy, but whatever) bun, this colossal beast is topped off with three heaping fillets of absolutely perfect, "golden delicious" fried fish. The coleslaw (not pictured) was nothing to write home about to be honest, although the hand-cut fries more than made up for this first-world problem, bursting with flavor and doing that "I'm-gonna-burn-the-shit-out-of-the-roof-of-your-mouth-and-demolish-your-taste-buds" thing that all good fries must do.

What truly sets this sandwich apart from the competition is its portion size. We're basically talking three haddock sandwiches in one here, which made me feel like a complete asshole for doubting the relatively high (for fried fish) price-tag. The guy at the counter (who was an absolute riot of a character and fun to complain about the current boat prices of lobster with) wasn't kidding around when he gave us his word that we wouldn't walk out hungry. Still, we ordered fried clams and a lobster roll to round things off, because this is America. Both were delicious and worth a repeat visit.

I have to say, I didn't walk into 3 Buoys expecting to enjoy anything about the experience, yet the place nailed everything from start to finish. It's far too early in the Haddockquest timeline to declare this the best fried haddock sandwich on the peninsula, but it sets a high bar right out of the gate. 

The Verdict — Dinosaur-sized portions of glistening, golden fried fish. Worth its weight in gold. (★★★★½)

Next week, we'll take to the streets and check out the fried haddock sandwich at Small Axe Food Truck.