When most people think of clam or other seafood chowder, they think of thick, creamy soups brimming with chunk-style seafood. This is comfort food, north eastern style. However, there has long been a debate as to the best kind of chowder available – New England, or Manhattan. Let’s look at both sides of the succulent seafood coin.
A Tasty Twist
In the mid-1800s, New York’s Italian immigrants began adding tomatoes to their chowder to create a different color, texture and taste. Heartier, healthier and pretty in pink, this became a sensation with local diners and a new kind of chowder was born. Area residents are willing to bet that once you’ve tasted it Manhattan style, you’ll never long for the pale original again.
Nothing Beats a Classic
If you measure by the sheer number of restaurants open, cans sold and bowls enjoyed annually, Manhattan chowder simply can’t compete with the New England original. The Quincy Market building is home to the Boston and Maine Fish Company, a New England eatery offering the finest in lobster, chowder, oysters and other seafood specialties. Residents of Boston have been enjoying its fresh catches since 1984. Partial to the New England style, customers of this and other area seafood restaurants enjoy the thick and creamy texture and mild taste offered by this homey, comforting dish.
While thin and zippy Manhattan style chowder may have its fans, the original is the kind of soup people across the nation have been enjoying for well over a century. Seafood lovers may add their own twists to the famous stew depending on their own culture and location, but there is simply nothing more authentically New England than the cream-colored broth and delicious chunks of freshly-caught clam. This is a contest with a clear winner, but no real losers – whether you enjoy the classics or fresh takes on old favorites, there’s a chowder out there for you!
