28th annual Chowderfest - Boston 2009
Stamp it in your soup passport.
Next edition
The 2027 date isn't out yet
Usually held around early August.
Based on 11 past editions
Event Details
- Date & Time
- Sunday, July 05, 2009
- Price
- $10 adults, $7 children under 12
Programme
-
Government Center
Chowder tasting competition. Winner: Ned Devine's. Competitors: Ned Devine's, House of Blues, Farmer Brown's, Parkers, The Fish Pier, The Algonquin Club, Beer Works, Yankee Lobster Company.
Clam chowder tasting and competition. Results: 1st Ned Devine's, 2nd Parker's, 3rd Farmer Brown's.
About This Event
The Boston Chowderfest took place on Sunday 5 July 2009, on a warm but not sweltering day, with thousands of Bostonians standing in the sun eating clam chowder. Ned Devine's won, followed by Parker's and Farmer Brown's.
History
Ned Devine's was officially the winner of Chowderfest 2009.
On the menu
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Ned Devine's chowder
By Ned Devine's
Creamy, with a dense (but not too dense) broth; potatoes and clams evenly and well cooked, especially the potatoes, tender but not falling apart; evenly spiced. Clear winner, both in the blogger's view and officially.
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House of Blues chowder
By House of Blues
Blogger spat it out after the first bite: a giant piece of clam tough as rubber, red potatoes that tasted like dirt, water-thin broth. Its awfulness was independently verified by someone who overheard.
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Farmer Brown's chowder
By Farmer Brown's
Very thick, almost pasty broth; clams well cooked but filled with grit and totally off-putting.
-
Parkers chowder
By Parkers
Like drinking a cup of cream; almost no chunks of anything, needed seasoning and salt. A commenter voted for Parker's but said it needed more pepper; Tabasco helped.
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The Fish Pier chowder
By The Fish Pier
Tasted like nothing; then 'it tasted like flour'.
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The Algonquin Club chowder
By The Algonquin Club
Nice thick, buttery broth but overwhelmingly bacon; dubbed 'bacon chowder'. Very, very good, but not what the blogger was looking for.
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Beer Works chowder
By Beer Works
Tasted very 'New England'; celery paired well with bacon; broth a little too thick, potatoes a little undercooked, but the blogger would not mind eating a bowl.
-
Yankee Lobster Company chowder
By Yankee Lobster Company
Very odd, thick weird texture akin to tapioca; more a potato chowder than a clam chowder, but tasty, with lots of black pepper and celery. Servers dressed as pirates or in crazy hats.
-
By Ned Devine's, Parker's, and Farmer Brown's
Winning chowder.
Second place.
Third place.
-
chowder
By House of Blues
The author says it was the only 'chowder' he could not finish.
-
bacon chowder (The Algonquin Club, as dubbed by the author)
Who's who
Organised by
- Boston Harborfest
Taking part
- Ned Devine's Restaurant with a chowder booth; Winner.
- House of Blues Restaurant with a chowder booth; Chowder entrant.
- Farmer Brown's Restaurant with a chowder booth; Third place.
- Parkers Restaurant with a chowder booth
- The Fish Pier Restaurant with a chowder booth
- The Algonquin Club Restaurant with a chowder booth
- Beer Works Restaurant with a chowder booth
- Yankee Lobster Company Restaurant with a chowder booth; Chowder entrant; everyone dressed as pirates (per a commenter).
- Parker's Second place.
Also involved
- Pam Blogger (Cave Cibum) who attended and reviewed
- Adam Gaffin Commenter who voted for Parker's
Good to know
- Tickets are bought on site to enter and taste the chowders.
- Official results were published on bostonharborfest.com.
- The plaza was packed with thousands of chowder fans.
- Sunny weather on the Sunday.
- Cholula hot sauce sample bottles were given out.
- It was warm but not sweltering; thousands stood in the sun.
- Attendance
- 'thousands of Bostonians'; over 2,000 gallons available
Everything the announcement says
Every detail, as the festival announced it.
Blog post dated Sunday, July 5, 2009, by Pam (Cave Cibum), reviewing Chowderfest 2009.
The weather: after a month of Pacific-Northwest-like weather the sun finally showed up; more sun on Sunday, perfect weather for Chowderfest.
She went to Government Center, where the plaza was packed with thousands of chowder fans. They bought tickets, went into the crowd and started eating.
Overall she was really disappointed with the offerings; some chowders were just ok, others downright inedible.
They started at the Ned Devine's booth, which remained the standard for all the others and was the clear winner, both in her mind and officially.
Ned Devine's: Creamy, with a dense (but not too dense) broth; potatoes and clams evenly and well cooked, especially the potatoes, tender but not falling apart; evenly spiced. Clear winner, both in the blogger's view and officially.
House of Blues: Blogger spat it out after the first bite: a giant piece of clam tough as rubber, red potatoes that tasted like dirt, water-thin broth. Its awfulness was independently verified by someone who overheard.
Farmer Brown's: Very thick, almost pasty broth; clams well cooked but filled with grit and totally off-putting.
Parkers: Like drinking a cup of cream; almost no chunks of anything, needed seasoning and salt. A commenter voted for Parker's but said it needed more pepper; Tabasco helped.
The Fish Pier: Tasted like nothing; then 'it tasted like flour'.
The Algonquin Club: Nice thick, buttery broth but overwhelmingly bacon; dubbed 'bacon chowder'. Very, very good, but not what the blogger was looking for.
Beer Works: Tasted very 'New England'; celery paired well with bacon; broth a little too thick, potatoes a little undercooked, but the blogger would not mind eating a bowl.
Yankee Lobster Company: Very odd, thick weird texture akin to tapioca; more a potato chowder than a clam chowder, but tasty, with lots of black pepper and celery. Servers dressed as pirates or in crazy hats.
The Yankee Lobster servers were dressed like pirates or had crazy hats.
Comments: Adam Gaffin voted for Parker's, which needed more pepper (Tabasco helped) and thought House of Blues should stick to music. Pam replied that if you have to add something it is not well seasoned; she liked the sample bottles of Cholula hot sauce given out, a hefty size for samples. Another commenter noted there weren't many fabulous chowders considering New England.
Post 'Ahoy, me hearty clam chowder' by adamg, Mon., 7/6/2009 - 7:28 am.
It was warm but not sweltering yesterday as thousands of Bostonians stood in the sun downing clam chowder.
Ned Devine's won, followed by Parker's and Farmer Brown's (results link: http://www.bostonharborfest.com/chowderfest.html).
Comments: the Yankee Lobster Company had everyone dress as pirates; the author says the House of Blues 'chowder' was the only one he could not finish.
It was warm but not sweltering as thousands of people stood in the sun downing clam chowder. Ned Devine's won, followed by Parker's and Farmer Brown's. BU Today predicted that 'the less flour in the chowder, the better the chances to win'.
Festival information may be incomplete, out of date or wrong. Always check with the organizer before travelling.
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Location
City Hall Plaza, 1 City Hall Square, Boston, MA 02203, Massachusetts, United States
Confirm the venue and access information with the organizer before travelling.
Open in Google MapsPrices and tickets
How to get tickets
- Tickets were bought on site (price not stated).