Best place for clam "chowda" in Boston?

[pkbuchanan]

Where is the best place to get clam chowder in the Boston area?

[BobB]

Completely different from all the rest, and quite good in its own right, is the clam chowder at Great Bay in Kenmore Square, which I had a couple of weeks ago. It's one of those new-fangled soup "presentations" that high-end restaurants seem to be into these days, where they bring out a dish of dry ingredients and then add the liquid at the table.

In this case the bowl arrived holding a mound of what was basically a clam tartare, chopped raw clams mixed with bits of something crunchy (possibly celery or another vegetable), pepper, a bit of herbs and very distinct grains of sea salt.

Over this they then poured what tasted like a heavy cream-based clam bisque - no thickeners, but very clammy flavor and unctuously rich.

The end result was quite delicious, but utterly unlike any clam chowder I've ever tasted before.

[CambridgeFoodie]

As consumers interested in good food, people often like to overlook the "standards" and search for the unique.

Legal Seafood is well known throughout the country for its outstanding clam chowder. I'd advise you to start there and venture other places to satisfy your curiosity. IMHO, there's no other place that serves a better clam chowder.

Have fun!

[phatchris]

I actually prefer Kelly's to Legal, much thinner lots of clams more milky than creamy. Pretty good IMHO.

[Prav]

Are you referring to Kelly's Landing in South Boston? If so, I second that recommendation.

[Karl S]

Actually, Kelly's Roast Beef has a good milky clam-filled chowder. It's much better than what often passes for clam chowder in many finer restaurants. The thing about chowders without thickener or too much cream is that they cannot hide - either the clams and broth are there or they ain't.

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

I'm pretty sure phatchris meant Kelly's Roast Beef as well -- it's a reliable standby whenever I'm eating there.

[twentyoystahs]

Yes, Kelly's chowder is a pretty good milk-based chowder. I agree completely that milk/broth based chowders are the best at allowing the true clam/bacon/potato flavors to shine through. Throwing a bunch of flour and heavy cream into the mix just muddles it all up as far as I'm concerned.
One caveat: I know there is a season when Kelly's (at least the original, on Revere Beach) does not offer the chowder. I think it's the winter. No clue why, but they stop serving it for a certain period of time and I've been disappointed a couple of times when I've gone to get it during that season --anyone know specifics?

[chowfamily]

Not what you are looking for, but as an aside, Legal Seafood does have a light chowder that is broth based and contains no milk or cream. I used to get it as a to-go lunch from Park Plaza and it was a nice, sinus clearing winter (or summer) soup. It isn't Boston's best, but it was the one I had most often.

[CocoDan]

Turner Fisheries is not what it used to be, but they have the best clam chowder in my opinion. The thinner style. Lots of flavor, no filler. They also have the clear broth style, which suprisingly, is quite good. Oh, by the way, they still have one of the freshest raw bars in the city. Overlooked by this board.
Enjoy,
CocoDan

[ahipoke]

Great Bay makes an interesting one, more soupy than thick, where the potatoes/carrots/celery/clams are presented to you in a bowl first, then subsequently liquid is poured. It allows you to taste the other ingredients separately without it all tasting like chowder. In some ways, although non-traditional, it's up there in top three chowder places for me. Just make sure to ask them to bring it extra hot - by having it in the metal teapot, we had it once where it was not hot enough.

-----
Great Bay
500 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215

[Harp00n]

I know there are those on this board who are loathed to give them any props whatsoever but Legal makes a damn fine chowder.

[GeoffD]

I agree. For a thickened chowder, Legal Seafood is excellent. I prefer the clear broth Rhode Island style but that is unobtanium in metro-Boston.

[Harp00n]

I had a conversation with Blumie on this awhile back on another chowder post. Legal's is a bit thicker than some but not at all like the glue pot stuff. Is it my all time favorite? No, but I wouldn't hesitate to pass it off as my own.

Harp00n

[MC Slim JB]

There's also a Rhode Island style of clam chowder with no dairy at all, a clear broth, but I haven't seen that in Greater Boston.

Some Rhode Islanders serve this style of clam chower with pitchers of milk or cream at the table, which individuals can then add to taste. I think the thin style of clam chowder sometimes seen around Boston is similar to this. The gloppy, flour-thickened stuff is mostly an abomination, in my book.

[bachslunch]

I much prefer the thinner type, which actually tastes like clams and potatoes instead of creamy goop. For that type, go to B&G Oysters or Neptune Oyster.

Places that offer the thick type are a dime a dozen, unfortunately, and pretty much interchangeable.

[2peasinapod]

We like the chowda at Union Oyster House by City Hall.

[joestrummer]

Hahvahd Yahd.
Just kidding.
Try Neptune Oyster in the North End.

[wittlejosh]

Great Bay
B&G
Anthony's Pier 4

are my favorites

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

Well, first off, we make fun of anyone who calls it "chowda." Secondly, which do you want: the thin and milky kind or the stuff where you can stand your spoon upright in the bowl?

[Karl S]

Yes, a very important question. The classic kind is thinner - so you can taste more of the sea and less of the cream & cornstarch - but it is very hard to find because many people have been mislead into believing thick and goopy is traditional; all that cornstarch or flour does is help a restaurant hold the soup over heat longer (a classic chowder, with potato as the only thickener, cannot be held over heat for too long because the milk can curdle).