A Tale of Two Chowders

Whenever I spend any time on the coast (and out here that would be the Pacific Ocean) I always have a hankering for clam chowder. Growing up on the other coast (that would be the Atlantic Ocean) in New Hampshire, I had more than my share of great clam chowders. As a New Englander clam chowder (or “chowdah” as they say in my neck of the woods) is probably part of my DNA so I always take whatever opportunity I can to eat some whenever I have a chance. I make a pretty mean clam chowder myself, but when I don’t have the time to do that, I’ll even resort to the canned variety (Snows Clam chowder comes pretty darn close to what I grew up on).

I recently spent a couple of days in Astoria, Ore., and of course I had to have some clam chowder. One night I had dinner at the Fort George Brewery and Public House in Astoria (I’ll be writing more about them in a separate blog) and I was pleased to see on the handwritten menu board by the entrance that clam chowder was the soup of the day. I excitedly ordered a bowl of chowder to go with my fantastic entrée of pan-seared oysters (again, more on that in a separate blog) and had my mouth all set to enjoy some creamy, chunky chowder. Imagine my surprise when my chowder arrived and it was red! This wasn’t New England clam chowder-it was a variation of chowder known as Manhattan clam chowder. In the Manhattan variety, tomatoes are used in the chowder, which gives it more of a vegetable soup taste than chowder. In fact, famous cookbook writer and chef James Beard described Manhattan clam chowder as " . . . that rather horrendous soup called Manhattan clam chowder . . . resembles a vegetable soup that accidentally had some clams dumped into it."

I am definitely a “purist” when it comes to clam chowder but I gave this Manhattan variety a try and I have to admit, it was pretty good. The almost salsa-like tomato base was seasoned well and had a nice little kick to it. There was an abundance of clam pieces mixed with finely diced onions and green peppers. It was an interesting take on Manhattan clam chowder but wasn’t what I had my taste buds set for when it came to chowder.

The next day I headed down to Seaside for lunch and to take a quick walk on the beach. Since it was raining and gale force winds that day, the walk on the beach was more of a sprint to the beach and then back to the car. Note to self: never try to open an umbrella in heavy winds.

For lunch, I was really looking for a place where I could enjoy the sights of the ocean without filling my mouth, eyes and hair with blowing sand and I settled on the restaurant in the Shilo Inn that has a stunning view of the ocean. Still craving a proper clam chowder, I ordered a bowl of chunky New England-style chowder that came with thick slices of bread, cheddar cheese and apple slices. It made my little New England heart go pitter-pat. It was a dish that would have made any Yankee proud. It was exactly what I wanted and exactly how I expect chowder to taste and best of all – it was white.

Here’s my clam chowder recipe. Most chowders use heavy cream but I modified it to use half and half (it lowers the fat content but to me it doesn’t sacrifice the flavor).

Ingredients

3 slices of bacon, diced

1 c. small-diced onion

2 c. diced potatoes (I use Russets)

 1 bottle (8 oz) clam juice

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp white pepper

2 cans of minced clams (7 oz. each)

3 tablespoons flour

2 c. half-and-half

1 c. milk

Directions: Cook bacon until crisp in a large soup pot. Remove bacon and drain on a paper towel. Add onion to bacon drippings and sauté until soft. Add potatoes, clam juice, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove pot from heat and add minced clams (with the liquid). Whisk flour into milk and add to the chowder with the half-and-half. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until chowder thickens.

Serve with oyster crackers or a loaf of thick bread. Serves 4.