The 10th Annual Chowdafest took place on October 1st at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport, CT. Guests had a chance sample chowder from 40 restaurants from all over New England and as far away as Seattle, while rating each restaurant to determine the best soups across four categories: Classic New England Clam Chowder; Traditional Chowder exclusively for Rhode Island (clear broth) and Manhattan Clam Chowders (tomato based); Creative Chowders; and Soup & Bisque.
Our favorites were, once again, the Pike Place Chowder, Donahue’s Clam Castle, and Our House Bistro. I also liked the Oyster and Smoked Salmon Chowder from Harbor Harvest.
Congratulations to the 2017 New England Chowdafest Champions:
New England Clam Chowder:
1st – Pike Place Chowder (a threepeat!)
2nd – B.R.Y.A.C Restaurant & Raw Bar
3rd – Sedona Taphouse Norwalk, CT
Traditional Chowder
1st – Dunvilles Restaurant
2nd – Crave Fairfield
3rd – The Clam Castle
Creative Chowder:
1st – Our House Bistro (a threepeat)
2nd – Sam the Clam’s Pub and Grub
3rd – Hub & Spoke
Soup/Bisque:
1st – Crab Shell Restaurant
2nd – Geronimo Tequila Bar and Southwest Grill, Fairfield
3rd – J Timothy’s Taverne
Vegetarian:
1st – Old Post Tavern
2nd – Harvest Wine Bar Westport
3rd – Harbor Harvest
Save the date for next year’s Chowdafest, taking place on Sunday, September 30th. Here are a few tips:
- Come early.
- Buy/bring a cupcake pan to hold the samples. Bring them to a picnic table, and rate as we sample.
- Don’t finish each sample. Save room to try all 40, if you can.
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