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The Nation's Pulse
Chowder Time
When you can’t get a bowl of Manhattan clam chowder in New York.
I have called Boston home for more than eleven years now. As such I prefer nearly all things Boston to New York — Red Sox over Yankees; Celtics over Knicks; Patriots over Jets; Symphony Hall over Lincoln Center and the D Branch of the Green Line over the D Train.
Yet when it comes to culinary matters the preferences of my palate are not based on geography. At the risk of committing heresy, when it comes to chowder I will take the Manhattan variety over the Boston/New England version every single time. Now there is a practical reason for this preference. I cannot consume dairy products without becoming sick to my stomach. But even before dairy products became a health issue for me I was never a fan of cream-based soups.
Naturally this puts me in a rather awkward position in the land of Chowda. Contrary to popular belief it isn’t illegal in Massachusetts to put tomato in clam chowder. It just feels like it is. While you can buy a can of Campbell’s Chunky or Progresso Manhattan Clam Chowder in most grocery stores in the Bay State without being confronted by a State Trooper, finding a restaurant willing to serve a cup or bowl of Manhattan clam chowder isn’t so easy. In my early days here, when I would see clam chowder on a restaurant menu my eyes would light up and I would naively ask, “New England or Manhattan?” With the glare I would invariably receive from the server I might as well have asked, “David Ortiz or Derek Jeter?”
I do remember one Sunday afternoon a number of years ago when I ventured by commuter rail to Concord for one of my walks around Walden Pond. After I had finished contemplating Thoreau I walked into town and found an eatery. When I asked the waitress what the soup of the day was I did a double take when she said, “Manhattan clam chowder.” She added in hushed tones, “We don’t get that in here very often.”
Or consider what happened last week after my roommate Christopher Kain finished giving a poetry reading at Emerson College in downtown Boston. Christopher, a couple of his friends, and I adjourned to Remington’s of Boston, a tavern a couple of doors down on Boylston Street. Lo and behold there was Manhattan clam chowder on the menu. Or was it? Instead of displaying a price for a cup and a bowl the menu instructed patrons entertaining the idea of ordering chowder with a tomato base to “take I-95 South.”
A few days later I took their advice. Shortly after arriving in New York, my father and I walked a short distance to Utopia, an Upper West Side diner on Amsterdam Avenue between 72nd and 73rd streets. I have been there on several occasions and have always enjoyed a bowl of Manhattan clam chowder. In fact, no trip to New York is complete without a bowl of Manhattan clam. So imagine my surprise when I saw the waiter approach our table with a bowl that contained a yellowish white concoction. It turns out they ran out of Manhattan clam chowder and instead presented me with a bowl of New England clam. I ended up settling for chicken noodle.
Yet consider the contrast. When a diner in New York didn’t have Manhattan clam chowder it was more than happy to serve New England clam. There was no menu to tell me that if I wanted New England clam I would need to take I-95 North. Do you think for one moment that if a restaurant in Boston were to run out of New England clam it would be willing to offer the Manhattan variety in its place? Not on your life.
But why is this so? Based on my decade plus here I would say it’s because Bostonians are far more preoccupied with New York than New York is with Boston. Don’t get me wrong. New Yorkers pay attention to Boston and don’t like losing to Boston. Yet they don’t hate all things Boston. It isn’t an obsession. The same cannot be said for residents of the Hub.
Frankly, this works to our detriment. Because ironically enough Manhattan clam chowder didn’t originate in New York. So where was it invented? In New England, of course. The idea one could put tomatoes instead of milk and cream into clam chowder came to be in Rhode Island during the 1830s by Portuguese immigrants who lived in fishing villages. The Portuguese fishers already had a tradition of eating tomato based stews. Patrician and proper New Englanders from Massachusetts to Maine looked down upon this culinary practice and referred to the dish as Manhattan clam chowder. But instead of being insulted, New Yorkers happily claimed this soup as their own while Bostonians and New Englanders are the poorer for their culinary elitism.
Indeed, how many New Englanders know there is also a Rhode Island clam chowder that is made of a clear broth? For the record, I have never had a cup or bowl Rhode Island clam chowder but I am more than willing to try. New Englanders should take pride in all of their clam chowders. Now if I could only get a bowl of Manhattan clam chowder in New York.
About the Author
Aaron Goldstein writes from Boston, Massachusetts.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (42) | Leave a comment
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Robbins Mitchell| 4.20.11 @ 6:28AM
Well,part of the problem could be that Nabisco 'Crown Pilot' crackers aren't on the market any more...they were the best crackers going and could stand up to a good bowl of chowdah
NHLibertarian| 4.20.11 @ 7:26AM
The problem is that the residents of mASSachusetts recognize that New York in general and Manhattanites in particular generally display much better taste than the typical Bostonian.
Big Tony| 4.20.11 @ 7:28AM
It's difficult, if not impossible to find Manhattan clam chowder outside of the northeast, period. In variably when I see clam chowder on the menu either down south, or in my travels I ask is it Manhattan Clam Chowder? On the rare occasion when the server even knows what I'm asking for, the answer is almost always, No! More often than not I have to explain the difference or simply ask is it cream or tomato based? When I find out it's cream based I pass. Yesterday I purchased a can of clams so tha I can make my own, as I have given up on finding any in a restaurant in Georgia.
Stammon| 4.20.11 @ 7:31AM
There is a reason we call them massholes.
I love both kinds of clam chowder, and the clear broth too. Go to Maine, we will serve you what you want to eat without a lot of attitude.
Massholes!
Anthony| 4.20.11 @ 9:40AM
Indeed there is!!! And I use the word loudly and often, especially on 495 heading to Maine, with the aforementioned Massholes traveling at 80 mph, (ok as far as that goes), but on my bumper, and just dying to cut in front of me at said speed, with only 6 inches between me and the other car.
Of course, to make the whole wretched driving experience complete, there are the ubiquitous Red Sox bumper and window stickers on every damn car, which like cicadas, appeared suddenly and in staggering numbers overnight in late 2004.
But when finally over the bridge in Maine, hope springs eternal; there's always the chance a huge moose, sporting the NY Yankees logo, will take out a few Masshole vehicles and their damn "Yankees Suck" bumper stickers.
Anthony| 4.20.11 @ 10:02AM
A slight correction Mr Goldstein, actually, no trip to NY is complete without a visit to the Oyster Bar at Grand Central Station and the comsumption of seveal dozen succulent oysters.
Now, get your butt back to MA and take David Ortiz and Manny being Manny, oops, he's gone, female fertility drugs and all.... with you.
Jocon307| 4.20.11 @ 8:24AM
I prefer New England clam chowder, but as a native NYer of course I'll have that kind too. I've never heard of the Rhode Island kind, but I'll try that ASAP.
One thing I do like about New England in general is that clam chowder is their basic soup, while in NYC it is chicken noodle. That is, every day there will be chowder (or chicken noodle) on offer, with a different soup de jour.
What is it like in other parts of the country, is there a standard daily soup?
Bob K.| 4.20.11 @ 8:36AM
In the city with the biggest Jewish population in the world it's gotta be chicken since clams ain't kosher!
John G.| 4.20.11 @ 8:43AM
Well, during the winter months in Virginia Beach we have a variety of favorite soups from our own kitchen; such as:
Butternut squash
Vegetable lentil
Split pea
Meatball and spinach
and so on....
Stoddard| 4.20.11 @ 1:56PM
I haven't seen Manhattan clam chowder since I was a kid living up north.
Soups in the South vary state to state, but some common ones are corn chowder, chicken mull, gumbo, Brunswick stew, crawfish bisque, and chicken & dumpling soup.
Stoddard| 4.20.11 @ 1:58PM
Oh, and gazpacho is becoming more common down here too.
Great on a hot summer day.
ChrisC| 4.20.11 @ 2:46PM
In Texas, the standards are tortilla soup and, of course, chili.
john| 4.21.11 @ 6:41PM
Standard daily soup?? I don't know, but you may want to try the bouillabaisse spice blend available of all places at www.indonesiancooking.com
Alert1201| 4.20.11 @ 8:47AM
When I was a kid we use to travel to Rocky Point Part in RI. They had a large dining hall there (I can't remember its name) where they served a 5 or 6 course seafood dinner. It always started off with clear broth clam chowder.
FastJohnny| 4.20.11 @ 8:57AM
Well done article. It is nice to read a light sociological piece now and then. Very enjoyable and amusingly astute as to the attitudes. Most of my family is from New England, although they are very accomodating and accepting, they still view me as their lower class (gouche) mid-atlantic (New Jersey born and bred) brethren. It is funny to observe. Very nice reading, thanks.
Bill| 4.20.11 @ 9:15AM
Massholes, yes! But try getting Manhattan clam chowder here in Colorado.
I love Colorado, moved here from New York 30 years ago, and will never (but never) return to New York, but I still have a fondness for New York cuisine.
maximumrandb| 4.20.11 @ 9:52AM
Mr. Goldstein: May I suggest a drive on Rte. 128 to Cape Ann and go to Farnham's in Essex, and get yourself some fried clams (not during the winter months). The best.
Occam's Tool| 4.20.11 @ 10:35AM
Walleye, anyone?
Strudwick Wickerwire| 4.20.11 @ 11:54AM
Great reading, the posts too!!!
Funny, but I purchased the makings for clam chowder just this morning and without having read this piece, gonna be good!!!
marcia| 4.20.11 @ 1:03PM
In the real Washington, Ivers Acres of Clams has always served their buckets of steamed clams with clam necter.
Dave Williams| 4.20.11 @ 1:06PM
ANYONE who can ingest clams -- slimy, gooey invertebrates who also manage to absorb every gram of cadmium, mercury, etc. from their surroundings -- is, by my definition, stark raving mad. But it takes all kinds to make a world....happy dining.
Occam's Tool| 4.20.11 @ 6:41PM
Fun dinner date, eh, Dave?
Ed| 4.20.11 @ 1:17PM
As a Buckeye, I like both kinds of chowder. In addition, there are very good tomato-based seafood chowders from the Bahamas, Bermuda, and Maryland. The best New England chowder I ever had was in Tadoussac Quebec, of all places.
carol| 4.20.11 @ 1:33PM
living in the land of the fruits and nuts I'd like a GOOD bowl of either
have to go east to get it
Sheila| 4.20.11 @ 2:43PM
While "chowda" is lovely, nothing can beat fresh steamed clams, just dug up from the beach in Maine. Neither will I eat lobster anywhere else - after you buy it fresh off the boat and cook it yourself (various vacations, visiting friends, etc.), nothing else will do. I love Texas, but a seafood state it ain't.
Strudwick Wickerwire| 4.20.11 @ 2:56PM
I just remembered, "The Roaster" in Seattle WA has what I consider the best NE Clam Chowder "I've" tasted. It contains no potatoes, just heavy cream and clams, smooth like butter...
Occam's Tool| 4.20.11 @ 3:18PM
I like the NE clam chowder in Minnesota better than the one(s) in Cape Cod----the Thai Restaurant on the Cape is OK though.
Melvin| 4.20.11 @ 4:01PM
If you want tomato based Clam Chowder, with clams. bacon, hard boiled eggs, with a very Liberal amount of red pepper, you must indeed drive South.
I'm talking North Carolina South, cooked by a great grand son of the Confederacy. I have never been a fan of any Chowder, but I'll eat Johnny Davis's concoction.
Ain't nothin in the world like it, with Saltines.
Occam's Tool| 4.20.11 @ 6:40PM
The Outer Shore of NC has incredible food, period.
NHPatriot| 4.20.11 @ 5:01PM
Alert1201; I grew up in RI , and fondly remember many visits to Rocky Point Park, and its 'Shore Dinner Hall'. They offered the 6 course 'Shore Dinner', or the smaller fare of Chowder & Clam Cakes. To this day, I've yet to find a clam cake & chowder meal as delicious as RockyPoint's.
It is quite a shame the property fell to development pressures.
Rjack3054| 4.20.11 @ 6:03PM
I have always preferred clam chowder of the Hatteras variety. This is a clear broth version with a much purer flavor base than those pretenders up north. C'mon down to Hampton Roads or the Outer Banks and give real, unadulterated chowder a try.
PCPSmoker| 4.20.11 @ 6:05PM
High five on this one. Following the weekend evening watch(5 to 1130), hungry and cold as heck, I saw the cook had left the pot of Manhattan Chowder warming up for the crew to eat. Since the crew didn't care for it, I ended up having 8 bowls of the stuff while watching movies. Best good deal I ever got out of the Navy.
Tina B| 4.20.11 @ 6:38PM
I remember growing up in Alhambra, Cali and assuming I always had a choice, I'd pick the Manhattan. Then I get to Florida, the deep south to me y'all, all you can get is the white creamy stuff. I've always wondered about that.
Now y'all made me wanna look up good Manhattan chowda recipes on the web, thank you.
Tina B| 4.20.11 @ 6:40PM
all that y'all stuff was me JK.
skip| 4.20.11 @ 8:45PM
Pshaw.
Cherrystone clams on the half shell.
Or, even better, screw the land of Kennedy, Kerry, and Frank, go north to Bar harbor, take the ferry to Nova Scotia, and experience fresh Bay of Fundy scallops.
JConroy| 4.20.11 @ 9:20PM
They didn't come more New England than my uncle Leo, and he made Manhattan chowder.
His sister (my Nana) makes hall of fame Rhode Island style (clear.)
The Chowder Pot restaurants in Hartford and Branford Connecticut serve all three while Seafood, Etc. in Norwich sells it to take home. All recommended.
PJ| 4.20.11 @ 9:30PM
The best NE clam chowder is right here at my home.
Quahogs taken right out of the LI Sound. Use whole milk not cream. Cream dilutes the fresh clam taste.
I also agree, cherrystones on the 1/2 shell, no more than 1.5 in in diameter. Sweeter & tender that way.
Osamas Pajamas`| 4.21.11 @ 1:07AM
Get thee over to "The Barnacle" restaurant on Front Street in Marblehead, across from 142 Front Street where I lived for eight years until late '75. They used to make a killer chowder --- New England style, of course, but if you can't tolerate that, they made really fine lobster rolls.
Hal G. P. Colebatch| 4.21.11 @ 1:44PM
Sounds delicious! What a pity we Aussies reduced our contact with American cuisene following that unfortuinate incient in 1777! Another argument to bring back the Anglopshere!
GENE HAUBER| 4.24.11 @ 9:16PM
manhattan clam chowder is very easy to make.
easier than new england version
Creative Recreation | 8.10.11 @ 10:04PM
is good
Val| 9.14.11 @ 9:42AM
As a MassHole, I of course prefer a creamy bowl of New England clam chowder, but I certainly do not discriminate against others! When I'm in NYC, I always make sure I get to Mary's Fish Camp in the Village for their tomato-based Conch Chowder. Also, I have fond childhood memories of enjoying the delicious Manhattan Clam Chowder at Rocky Point in RI.