Soupspice.mild
New England Clam Chowder
A thick, creamy soup of fresh clams, diced potatoes, onions, celery, and smoky bacon in a rich cream-based broth — the iconic chowder of the New England coast, best served in a hollowed-out sourdough bread bowl at a waterfront restaurant.
foodDetail.ingredients
foodDetail.mainIngredients
- fresh clams (quahog or surf clams)
- russet potatoes
- onions
- celery
- bacon
- heavy cream
- clam juice
- butter
- flour
- thyme
- bay leaf
foodDetail.whereToEat
Boudin Bakery, San Francisco (sourdough bread bowl)
Legal Sea Foods, Boston
Pier 39 restaurants, San Francisco
Luke's Lobster, New York City
Any Maine or Massachusetts seafood shack
foodDetail.priceRange
foodDetail.restaurant
$12-22 a bowl
foodDetail.tips
- New England (cream-based) is the classic American chowder — Manhattan clam chowder uses tomato broth instead
- The sourdough bread bowl filled with chowder is the ultimate San Francisco waterfront experience
- Fresh clams make a dramatic difference — ask if chowder is made with fresh or canned clams
foodDetail.culturalNotes
New England clam chowder has been a regional staple since at least the 18th century, when fishing communities along the Massachusetts and Maine coasts developed the rich, creamy soup using their abundant clam harvest. The ongoing debate between New England (cream) and Manhattan (tomato) chowder styles is a regional rivalry that coastal New Englanders take very seriously. A bill was introduced in the Maine legislature in 1939 to make it illegal to add tomatoes to chowder.