Clam Chowder Wars
I have had several occasions to have clam chowder along the California coast over the last couple weeks. Clam Chowder always tastes better when it’s made at the ocean. Not that the clams are necessarily local. But I think the restaurants that are at the beach and making seafood have the best recipes. Maybe the clam chowder just tastes better when you are at the beach or waterfront.
For example, 2 of my favorite seafood restaurants along the California coast are King’s Fish House and Enterprise Fish Company. I first found King’s Fish house in renovated downtown Long Beach on Pine Street and Broadway while making call at the refineries in the early 1990’s (God that sounds so long ago). And Enterprise Fish Company at the train station on State Street in Santa Barbara has been around for years. These restaurants have a great bar atmosphere and great fresh seafood. They are both pleasant place to go alone when out of town traveling. And they both have expanded their restaurants to other areas. Kings Fish House has 12 restaurants in Arizona, Nevada and California. They have a great recipe for success with the fun bar, great fresh oysters from Washington state and great side dishes with the fish. The Mac and cheese is especially tasty. http://www.kingsfishhouse.com/locations.html
Enterprise Fish Co. is my restaurant of choice when I’m in Santa Barbara. And they have a restaurant in Santa Monica also. The wood fired grill and kitchen in the middle of the dining room provides a great atmosphere. And in Santa Barbara, the college students that work there add a lot of enthusiasm. http://www.enterprisefishco.com/
The New England clam chowder at both of these restaurants is top of the line and the sourdough bread makes it a meal in itself.
Anyone reading this blog has probably been to the Splash Café in Pismo beach. The clam chowder at Splash is as great as it getw. But the Splash offers a seafood topping for an extra $1. It’s a spoon of crab meat and shrimp that puts it over the top. And they have the toasted bread bowl that is unique compared the other restaurants.
Betty and I went to pick up the fall shipment of wine at Le Cuvier in Paso Robles recently. If I haven’t told you already, Le Cuvier is the best wine that I know of – at any price. Although there are some great equals, like Ramey in Sonoma, Paoletti in Calistoga, Napa. And Chateau Margene in Creston is producing some sought after Cab. The Le Cuvier Wine is amazing. As part of my normal shipment, I tasted the non-vintage Chardonnay. It’s non-vintage because it’s from 2005 and 2006 vintages. The wine has been aging in neutral oak for an average of 5 ½ years. And the Reds only shipment has a 4 year barrel aged Sangiovaise that is wonderfully mellow and has big fruit like a cab. We picked up wine for ourselves and 3 other members. Betty calls me a wine mule.
As I was saying, on our way to Le Cuvier, we stopped for lunch at the Splash Café in San Luis Obispo. It was our first visit to this location. I like it because the line is not long, there is more seating and the bakery has some great pastries. Betty ordered the clam chowder bread bowl and I ordered a pint of chowder. Betty’s bread bowl is enough sourdough for both of us. I also ordered fried oysters a la cart. I don’t need the fries. We both ordered the seafood topping that adds a nice portion of seafood to the chowder. We got a table outside, but we were in the sun that was really bright. It was a very enjoyable meal in spite of the 7 year old kid throwing a tantrum in the parking lot in front of us. The little boy may have been autistic so I have compassion for him. The Dad is either a saint or a tool. He had control and this little boy was upset about something that caused him to scream and run around like a banchee. A young woman walked by me and said, “I see you have your own entertainment”. I said sarcastically “yeah, it’s great. I think I’ll schedule a vasectomy tomorrow”. (I didn’t really say that, but I wanted to)
Recently, I visited Long Beach on business and ate lunch at a seafood place that I have seen but never stopped at, Beth 55 fish market and deli. It’s at a sport fishing dock at pier C on Pico Ave. The chowder is equally as good as the other greats and the fish is grilled fresh and generous portions are served. The atmosphere is not so great. The seating is outside overlooking the boats and industrial harbor and some of the tables were still wet after the morning wash down. But it is a less costly option for great seafood and chowder when Kings Fish House downtown is not convenient. http://www.berth55fishmarket.com/
And further south at San Clemente, the fisherman’s Restaurant is at the San Clemente Pier. The view can’t be beat. The Clam Chowder is tops also. But they charge $3.25 for the hot bread, but I guess that is the going rate for overlooking the San Clemente beach. I’ve eaten here many times over the years and recommend it for a great meal and some of the best atmosphere there is. http://www.thefishermansrestaurant.com/
So, who has the best clam chowder? Is it fair to say that it’s all equally great once I add the tobacco sauce? All the above chowders use potatoes sparingly, which is good. King’s Fish house offers a Cajun garlic sauce that is superior to the tobacco sauce I normally use. And for the view, Fisherman’s at San Clemente is the best. But the overall winner considering the clam chowder alone has got to be the Splash café with the seafood topping and a side of fried oysters and some of Betty’s toasted bread bowl. I could do without the screaming kid though.
