Chowderfest 2008 was today, and I attended, and had a grand time. It was hard for me to give up a food that I love for two whole weeks coming in to this event (especially being in New England) but I knew that that’s what I would have to do in order to not get sick of the stuff afterward. Held at Government Center this afternoon, organizers expected 11,000 gallons of the white stuff to get gobbled up by day’s end, and a winner to be crowned.

There were eight competitors, so I decided to pick a winner like what college football should do: bracket-style. Actually, semi-bracket style… I had 8, narrowed to 4, narrowed to 2, and picked one from there. But you get the point. The competitors on the day:

 The Chicken Bone: This chowder had lemongrass as one of the ingredients in it, and, as one voter put it, was “all Asian-ed out.” Lots of clams in the chowder, though, and that’s always a plus.

USS Battan: Unfortunately, the Navy boys ran out of their chowder before I could taste it. Too much chowder: never a bad thing in this competition.

The Oceanaire: What was I here for? Clam chowder. What did I get? Baked Potato soup. That sums up that experience. Oh, that and the obnoxious guy wanting to put pepper on everyone’s chowder.

The Daily Catch: These guys had a couple of servers putting together quite a few fishy puns. Needless to say, the puns were quite clammy, unlike their chowder. Reminds me of Dr. Kesling’s wonderful rendition of “The Fish Song.” Honestly, the chowder wasn’t the bass I ever had. In fact, The Daily Catch really had no porpoise being at Chowderfest. I’ll stop now.

Farmer Brown’s: This was a very thick chowder, but, again, almost no clam or clam taste in the broth. So far, I haven’t been too impressed with any one chowder.

Daily Grill: Finally, someone gets chowder right. A good thick consistency. The people that cook up their soups and sandwiches under the Prudential Tower will definitely be moving on to the next round.

Omni Parker House: Great balance of clams, broth, seasoning, potatoes. An excellent chowder, probably two or three notches above Daily Grill.

Christopher’s of Maynard: The defending champions and Omni seem to be the two to duel for my vote, as Christopher’s chowder has some herbs and spices that make this chowder as good as it was.

So, moving on to the final four we have The Chicken Bone, Daily Grill, Parker House, and Christopher’s.

This time around I add some tabasco and pepper where it’s offered. The Parker House guys have none of these such things to offer, saying that their seasoning “was the perfect balance.” And, he’s right. Parker House easily outshines the other competitors. The Chicken Bone falls flat on its face, and Christopher’s beats out the Daily Grill.

So it’s down to 2, and, upon sampling them with oyster crackers and peppers (my personal favorite way of eating chowder without a bread bowl) Parker House beats out Christopher’s. There you have it. 15 sample cups of clam chowder later I reach my decision. I don’t know if I feel so well…

–jl–