Blink and you might miss it—a tiny, timeworn shack tucked along Park Avenue in Portsmouth, just steps from the water, where locals line up for chowder, clam cakes, and the fiery, bread-crumb-crisped stuffed quahogs Rhode Islanders affectionately call “stuffies.”
This unassuming spot is Flo’s Drive-In at Island Park, the retro sister to Flo’s Clam Shack over in Middletown, and it’s long been a local legend.
Ask any Ocean State native where to find a proper stuffie in the wild, and chances are they’ll send you here. I stumbled upon it one summer afternoon, and with a single bite, I finally understood Rhode Island seafood devotion.
The Roadside Stand Hiding In Plain Sight
Flo’s Drive-In sits steps from Island Park Beach in Portsmouth, operating as the humble, walk-up outpost of the long-running Flo’s brand founded in 1936. Its own menu board and the company’s locations page call out the Island Park drive-in distinctly from the larger Middletown shack…