Redeye Grill, NYC

 

Redeye Grill, NYC

Overpriced, but generous, well balanced and well built, if not over-engineered, with some surprising extras, like a cherry red tomato, it was brought to the table almost immediately and kept us content during the long wait for the similarly unreasonably complicated main course.

Rizzuto's Oyster Bar & Restaurant

 

This New England Clam Chowder had plenty of clams but was too mushy and salty to deserve a star, especially at this Connecticut near shore seafood restaurant. They should've known better.

Princess Island, Istanbul, Turkey

 

This seafood soup was served at a seaside cafe "Konak" near the ferry on the Adalar (Princess Island) across Istanbul. The trip to the island took on a slow island-hopping ferry took almost two hours. This soup wasn't worth it at all. No stars.

B-Ack Yard BBQ, Nantucket, MA

 

B-Ack Yard BBQ, Nantucket, MA

This salty and thick number sticks to the classic recipe, done competently and with generous helping of clams. If you're craving chowder, this will not disappoint, but otherwise, we suggest that we skip it and use the space and calories for the best BBQs we had in a long while. Half-a-star for the true chowder and another half-a-star for the friendly and re-assuring COVID-compliant service.

Queequeg's, Nantucket, MA

Queequeg's, Nantucket, MA

Fresh with plenty of clams, but a bit too thick and too boring for wanting to order it again. Try if you must, but okay to skip too. One star.

Spanky's Clam Shack, Hyannis, MA

 

Spanky's Clam Shack, Hyannis, MA

Classic thick, salty and mushy clam shack fare. Normally, it would not get even a half-a-star, BUT it was the first dish of the first restaurant meal in more than six months since the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown. And for being there at the right time and the right place, after hours long drive on our way to a short vacation at Nantucket, and for the fast and re-assuring service with a smile (under a mask), this dish and this restaurant and its staff deserve no less than a star!

P.S. Incidentally, the last time we went out was on March 1st at the Original Joe's Westlake, also documented on these pages.

Homebrew 5

New England Clam Chowder, home made from scratch, with extra calamari

Good, but a bit too liquidy. Next time, add a pinch of rice flour and a bit of celery or leeks. The seasoning (Pickling Spice by The Nutmeg Spice Company, picked up at random at Stew Leonard's) was great though. Two stars: one for freshness and another for the effort.

Original Joe's Westlake, Daly City, CA

Original Joe's Westlake

Too much salt destroyed this otherwise decent chowder with plenty of clams, good texture, creamy potatoes and a hint of bacon. I'm giving it a conciliatory half-a-star to acknowledge a special occasion we were gathered to celebrate at this historic location.

CajunSea and Oyster Bar, New York City

CajunSea & Oyster Bar, NYC

I didn't expect much when I ordered this cup of New England-style clam chowder in the Cajun place and I was pleasantly surprised by how well the soup texture and saltiness were balanced. A solid one-star and if it would have more clams, I'd give it two. But, honestly, the Cajun offerings in this place are too good to waste room on a soup that doesn't really belong there.

The Grand Central Oyster Bar, New York City

The Grand Central Oyster Bar

My guest, who never had New England clam chowder before, liked it, but it was not my cup of soup... Mushy, not articulated, too few clams. No stars. Just go for oysters.

Artisan, Southport CT

Seafood Chowder at Artisan, Southport CT

Artisan at Southport CT is not top-rated for no reason. This Seafood Chowder is my new three-star and a categorical best! Fresh, complex, well structured and textured it is a must have and worth a trip to Southport just for that. But call for a reservation, this place is super popular.

Pearl Restaurant and Bar, Westport, CT

Pearl Restaurant and Bar, Westport CT

This place opened recently in a location previously occupied by Splash, which was the first entry in this blog. Made from scratch, with a nice load of claims, it got somewhat improved from before. But it was way too salty to enjoy. Half star for effort.

Legal Seafood, King of Prussia, PA

Legal Seafood, King of Prussia, PA

Reasonably well balanced and well articulated! Which is surprising, for something produced at scale by a chain than emphasizes safety over taste, offered at a mall-based location, for a lunch at a random Wednesday. This chowder doesn't break any records, but it is competent enough for a star.
If you're there you may as well order a small cup.

Duke’s Seafood & Chowder- Bellevue

Duke’s Seafood & Chowder- Bellevue

I really wanted to like this "award-winning" entry... Sadly, mushy and salty, this offering was sub-par at best. The wrinkled sheen on the surface (see picture) betrays having too much flower, albeit a gluten-free variety.

But perhaps it was an off-day or we got something from the bottom of the barrel. My friends liked it on their previous visit and this deserves a star.

P.S. The other chowder depicted on the photo is "Lobster Monster Pernod Chowder". It was sweet, but mushy with no sign of any seafood in it.

Microsoft Executive Conference Center, Redmond WA

Cafeteria at Microsoft Executive Conference Center

The best chowder I ever had! Fresh, well balanced, plenty of clams, perfectly executed potatoes.

This is our new "three-star" gold standard for how the chowder should look and feel and taste!

The place and the setting makes this offering quite exclusive. But if you're ever on the list, make sure to stop by the cafeteria at a lunch time and hope they have it on the menu.

The Brixton, San Francisco

The Brixton, San Francisco

Our West Coast correspondent reports "... I have not had better. Ever...".
Out of brotherly love, San Francisco, we grant you two stars, provisionally, until we visit and confirm by ourselves.

Bobby B’s Seafood and Pizza

Bobby B's Seafood and Pizza

Popular street spot at VH. The chowder is not as bad as one might expect from a popular fried food spot. Claims are aplenty and it's not overly salty. Order one if you must, but not feel obliged to stop for it. Half-a-star.

The Seafood Shanty, Edgartown MA

The Seafood Shanty, Edgartown, MA

Better than I remember it to be years back, but not too inspiring or original. Half-a-star. Maybe.

It was raining non-stop...

The 41-70 Restaurant near Woods Hole, MA

It was raining non-stop since we left home. Max and I secured the passage for the women and elderly, waved our goodbyes, queued the car to be loaded and ventured into the rain in search for warm food and comfort. After crossing a small bridge we spotted this place, polished wood and brass kind, empty, smelling of beer and fried food. We were the only customers. The chowder that they brought was what you expect from a bar - salty, mushy, stale. But it did hit the spot.

If caught in a rain, do visit and order it. Otherwise - avoid by all means. 

Half-a-star for being our right place at the right time.

The Bancroft, Burlington, MA

The Bancroft, Burlington, MA

One of the best tried in a long while and the reason I brought this blog back to live. Plenty of clams, not too thick. though a bit salty. Two stars. A must have if you happen to be in the neighborhood.

We are back!!!

Lilly's Bistro, Louisville, KY

Very convincing and not too bad.
Goes exceptionally well with one of local's favorite cask-strength Angels Envy Rye.
One Star: 1/2 for presentation + 1/2 for being there.

Jason's Beachside Grill, Kings Beach, CA

Jason's Beachside Grill
Kings Beach, CA

Glue-like and tasteless. No stars.

Ed's Chowder House

New England Clam Chowder as part of a three chowder sampler
at Ed's Chowder House, Empire Hotel across Lincoln Center

Two stars - fresh and well balanced. It's missing some flavor and a bit too sterile.

George's Bistro, Santa Monica

At George's Bistro, 3rd Ave, Santa Monica, CA

Very fresh! Too bad it had almost no clams or anything seafoody...

Still, 1 star for exemplary freshness.

Homebrew 4

Homemade Rhode Island Clam Chowder with Mushrooms

Came out way too salty. Also, the kids complained about spices and parsley.

The Forge, Miami Beach

Lobster Corn Chowder at The Forge, Miami Beach

Nice texture, but absolutely no flavor or taste... Half-a-star for texture.

Treehouse at Mystic Oyster Club

A cup of Rhode Island Chowder at Mystic Oyster Club's Treehouse

One star for freshness and another star for the alfresco treehouse setting and super nice wait staff.

Black Pearl, Newport, R.I.

While on tour of historic Newport with our friends, we sat down for seafood dinner at the famous Black Pearl. We were denied access to Commodore Room, which doesn't let jeans wearing public in, but the common room was decent. Which I cannot say about the clam chowder - salty, thick and not well pronounced.

At Black Pearl, Newport, R.I.

Half-a-star for the decorum and friendly service.

The Sono Baking Company & Cafe

The Sono Baking Company & Cafe at Westport

Avoid.

Cross Eyed Clam, Montauk, NY

Cross Eyed Claim

Fresh, salty and heavy, it was heaven-sent to settle the stomach after nine hours in a rocking fishing boat.
One star for being at the right place at the right time. Otherwise, not too exciting.

Fishermen's Grotto #9, S.F.

Like almost all food at Fishermen's Wharf - a bit stale, a bit salty, a bit mushy... Avoid. No stars.

Fog City Diner, S.F.

With Alik's family, Max and Leon at S.F.'s famous Fog City Diner.

This Manila clam chowder was two-star good. The broth was milky and thin (how I like it) and it was freshly made. It somewhat lacked flavor, because, I think, it was served too fast, not given the otherwise excellent ingredients enough time to steep.

Curry Clam Chowder

Remember - you heard it here for the first time!

Curry Paste + Clam Chowder = Awesome Curry Clam Chowder.

Before	After

Park City, Utah

Utah is not exactly where one goes for clam chowders, so, mostly out of curiosity we ordered a cup at the Easy Street Brassiere. Not surprisingly, mushy and salty, with no signs of clams it was a disappointment. No go.

No clam chowder was served in other establishments that we visited this time, but at much recommended Chimayo we had an excellent Crab and Corn Chowder. Cannot go wrong with sweet corn, generous amount of fresh crab meet and a crisp potato chip. Two stars.

Martha's Vineyard Chowders 2011

Not sure why, but all sampled chowders seem to be much improved in comparison to the last year. From the thin and milky at Among the Flowers to a thick pudding-like variety in Atlantic, it was so good, that we kept ordering them every time we went out.

Here is the list:

• The Seafood Shanty - okay, one star for the effort
• Among the Flowers (top pic) - very good, milky (so Leon didn't like it), but two stars still
• Newes (second) - good, thick, one star for the crispy bacon and another for Leon liking it.
• Quaterdeck Shack - very good, two stars
• The Wharf (third) - competent, two stars
• Atlantic (last) - gourmet thick pudding like, two stars

Overall - three stars across the board! Definitely worth a special trip!

Balducci's

The store brand from Balducci was an utter disappointment. Overdone with everything under the sun, but quality clams and too salty. No stars.

Riverhouse Tavern, Westport

We had a late Sunday lunch there. It wasn't our first choice, but all other places were already closed and even here, they served only from the bar menu. So, the expectations were not high at all, but the chowder was very good. Two stars good.

Homebrew 2

After making my own clam chowder in September, I somehow cooled off to the subject and stopped collecting new experiences. Though, we haven't been anywhere since September, except for Killington, where the clam chowder on the base was same as  before.

Yesterday, I made my second clam chowder for Alik, visiting for New Years. This time, I followed the recipe more closely affording only one deviation - instead of the bacon grill, I cooked with five or six strips of bacon cut into little squares (I used kitchen scissors). Also I added generous amount (2tbs) of butter while sauteing onions and potatoes. I seasoned it just a bit with some Russian "delicious salt". I think it came out perfect. I'd give it three stars. Leon said it's better than the first time. Alik said it's a bit too thin, but I think if we would wait a few hours, it would thicken more.

Homebrew

Today, I made the batch of chowder following the recipe from the previous post. Clam juice and chopped frozen clams came from Stew Leonard. To get some bacon fat, I fried plenty of bacon and kept it in the pot until it was time to add clams, milk and cream (oy, gevolt). Overall, I think it came out rather good. I liked the consistency, but thought it was a bit too salty (I added no extra salt, so it's all from clam juice). Leon thought it's good too, but said it had too many potatoes and was not thick enough. This was likely due to lack of scales and proper measurement cup. Max liked the potatoes.
Having such chowder at a restaurant, I'd probably award it two stars. So here it is.

Clam Chowder Recipe

Here is a simple recipe from the "Cooking for Engineers" site. Published back in 2005 and still drawing comments and reviews (all - positives). A must try.

Finally, the best Martha's Vineyard Clam Chowder

And here it is - nicely balanced, served in a carton cup at the Quarterdeck Shack stand (behind Seafood Shanty) at the Edgartown Harbor. Even Max loved it. Two stars.

More Martha's Vineyard Chowders

At the acclaimed cafe "Among the Flowers" we tried the excellent sweet corn chowder (two stars) and the way too milky clam chowder (half a star).

Martha's Vineyard Chowder

On the way to MV, we stopped for dinner at Waterfront Grille in New Bedford, MA. While fresh and loaded, the chowder was too salty. Half-a-star.

At MV, we tried clam chowder in two locations - classic New England style at The Seafood Shanty in Edgartown (half-a-start, too salty) and a clear-broth style in Aquinnah (no stars - way too salty).