Westport, CT – “We call it the ChowdaQuest – the never ending quest to find the best chowder, soup and bisque in New England to compete in Chowdafest each year,” said Jim Keenan, event director. “And there's no doubt this is the best group of chefs, restaurants and chowders yet."
Now in it's 9th year, Chowdafest, presented by Stop & Shop, will once again showcase 40 incredible restaurants from all over New England as as far away as Seattle in a battle to determine the best of the best. With an expected attendance of over 10,000 discernible foodies, everyone who attends gets a spoon, ballot and pencil. They will then enjoy unlimited sampling, rating everything they try on a scale from 7 to 10.5 with intervals of a half point. “Last year the scale went to 10 but the chowders and soups are so good this year, we had to go to ten and a half” Keenan noted.
Keenan believes the rating system is a much fairer competition and favors quality over quantity. The emphasis isn't on the number of votes but the quality of the soup or chowder. “This system allows the cream to rise to the top,” he adds. "A restaurant with 10,000 votes with an average rating of 9.1 will not beat a chowder that gets 5,000 votes with a 9.5 rating."
This year's competition features 21 restaurants new to the competition with six residing outside CT. Many of those invited to compete have won their local or state chowder championships and are now competing to be called best in New England.
Here is the official chowder, soup and bisque roster for the 2016 competition:
- Bar 3 Thirty Three (Milford): Crab & Corn Chowder
- Beacon Bar & Grill (Groton): New England Clam Chowder
- Boothbay Lobster Co. (Stamford): Gulf of Maine Stew
- Captain Scott's Lobster Dock (New London): Rhode Island Clam Chowder
- Castello of Niantic (Niantic): Shrimp & Corn Chowder
- Chef's Table (Fairfield): Rhode Island Clam Chowder
- Crab Shell (Stamford): Lobster Bisque
- Crave 52 (Fairfield): New England Clam Chowder
- Donahue's Clam Castle (Madison): Rhode Island Clam Chowder
- Dunville's (Westport): Manhattan Clam Chowder
- Gaffney's (Saratoga Springs NY): Southwest Shrimp & Corn Chowder
- Gaspar's (New London): Lobster Bisque
- Geronimo (Fairfield/New Haven): Hatch Green Chili Stew
- Harlem Yacht Club (Bronx NY): Manhattan Clam Chowder
- Hub & Spoke (Bridgeport): Smoked Chicken and Corn Chowder
- Liquid Lunch (Shelton/Milford): Flower Power Chowder
- Little Barn (Westport): New England Clam Chowder
- Local Kitchen & Beer Bar (Branford/Fairfield/Norwalk): Buffalo Chicken & Corn Chowder
- Mediterraneo (Norwalk): Shrimp & Andouille Sausage Chowder
- Old Post Tavern (Fairfield): Truffled Mushroom Bisque
- Oscar's Woodmont Kitchen (Milford): Turkey Corn Chowder w/Rattlesnake
- Our House Bistro (Winooski VT): Fried Seafood & Sweet Potato Chowder
- Parallel Post (Trumbull): Manhattan Clam Chowder
- Pike Place Chowder (Seattle, WA): New England Clam Chowder
- Restaurant at Rowayton (Rowayton): New England Clam Chowder
- Rizzuto's Oyster Bar & Kitchen (Westport): Manhattan Clam Chowder
- Rory's (Darien): New England Clam Chowder
- Rowayton Seafood Market (Rowyaton): Rhode Island Clam Chowder
- Sam's America Bistro (Stamford): Spiced Chocolate Bisque
- Sedona Taphouse (Norwalk): New England Clam Chowder
- Shell & Bones Oyster Bar: New England Clam Chowder
- Simply Delicious (Norwalk): Simply Clam & Sausage Soup
- Smithsonian Chowder House (Northampton MA): Competition Seafood Chowder
- Take Five Cookery (Hartford): New England Clam Chowder
- The Blind Rhino (Norwalk): Lobster Chorizo Chowder
- The Boathouse (Westport): Seafood Bisque
- The Lobster Shack (Westport): Lobster Bisque
- The Sign of the Whale (Stamford): Whale Tale New England Clam Chowder
- Tikkaway (New Haven): Bacon Cilantro Chicken Soup
- Two Fifty Market (Portsmouth NH): New England Clam Chowder
Tickets to the New England Chowdafest are $15 adults, $5 kids (6-12) and parking is free. Participants get a ballot, pencil and spoon then enjoy unlimited sampling with their votes determining the best chowder, soup and bisque in New England. Tickets also includes tastings in the Italian themed “Ciao”dafest where you can sample freshly baked artisan breads, dip it in premium pasta sauces and enjoy a “MINI”strone soup. You can also sample premium chips and salsas in the“ChowdaMex” section. Sample juices, teas, sparkling beverages and more plus there's a sweet treat section that includes cheese, yogurt, cookies and farm fresh milk & ice cream – all included.
Chowdafest hopes to raise enough to fund over a half million meals in the ongoing fight against food insecurity. Chowdafest is also a model of sustainability as it's a zero waste event where everything is composted, no garbage.
For additional information about Chowdafest, please visit www.chowdafest.org or email event director, Jim Keenan at chowdafest@gmail.com Chowdafest, presented by Stop & Shop, is sponsored by: AAA, Aquafina, Bigelow, BlumShapiro, Cabot Creamery, Chabaso Bakery, City Carting, Clover, CT Bites, Dannon, D'artagnan, The Farmer's Cow, Frontera Foods, Galilean Seafood, HamletHub, Hotel Zero Degrees, Jersey Italian Gravy, Kids Helping Kids, Local Food Rocks, Lowe's, MasterCard, MINI of Fairfield County, New Milford Farms, Ocean Spray, OmnomCT.com, Pagano's Seafood, Schweppes, Sustainable America, Tate's Bake Shop, WEBE 108, Westminster Bakery, World Centric and Yankee Magazine.