Posted by: chowderkids | January 26, 2012

ChowdaFest 2012 in Westport, CT is COMING SOON!!!!

We are so excited for next weekend! It is going to be a crazy busy weekend but featuring one of our favorite local events.

ChowdaFest is being held at Bedford Middle School in Westport again this year. The first year we went, it was at the Unitarian Church in Westport and it was wonderful but a bit tight! Last year, they moved to the cafeteria and it was much better.

We’re happy to see it back in the middle school cafeteria this year. We plan on getting there bright and early so we can get situated and find. We’ll be tweeting our thoughts all day – follow along @chowderkids.

Looking over the list of the restaurants, we see a few favorites, a few places we’ve reviewed and panned, and a few new and exciting places.

Links to all of the restaurants, check em out!

Have you tried any of these places? Who do you think has the best chance at winning our hearts?

And what on earth is Super Duper Weenie doing on there? Scary.

Posted by: chowderkids | January 7, 2012

Lego Katniss, President Snow, Peeta, Gale, etc.

Unrelated to chowder, we worked on a Lego scene from the Hunger Games. What do you think?

Posted by: chowderkids | August 27, 2011

Bobby Byrne’s Pre-Irene Celebration

We are at Bobby Byrne’s Pub in Mashpee, preparing for Hurricane Irene.

Preparations include nachos and of course. Chowder.

The kids have been hyping up the chowder here all summer, ever since I had to go to Chicago for work and the kids ate here with ChowderGrandma.

Well, it doesn’t disappoint at all!

How great is this chowder? Thick and buttery, perfectly cooked potatoes of just the right size, and fresh big clams. Tiny bit of grit, just enough to let you know it’s fresh. Perfect.

The nachos are fine.

You know what is really good though? The hurricane with the Myers floater.

Here’s hoping the Hurricane is as nice.

UPDATE: I just realized I never posted this entry in August – and am doing it now. I didn’t edit my comment about the Hurricane but it was actually a pretty easy way to experience it – on the Cape. We fared much better there than most of Connecticut did.

Posted by: chowderkids | August 23, 2011

A Date with ChowderDad at the Gingerman in South Norwalk

Sometimes we don’t have the kids with us. For example, sometimes we abandon them with their old babysitter at the Cape for a few days and go have sweet potato chowder at the Gingerman in South Norwalk.

Way too fraking hot. Sweet. Not salty enough. Not fresh clams.

It sounded so wonderful too. It should have been like a dream come true for ChowderDad. Perfectly warm and quiet night, just the  two of us, outdoor seating…and all the beer choices! Heaven.

Tasty tastes.

Unfortunately, all I can say is that they do much better on their beer than on their chowder. And that’s okay. Not everything can be “Dancing in September”.

Posted by: chowderkids | August 8, 2011

SoNo’s Papaya Thai’s Tom Yum Goes to 11!

I took ChowderBoy on a date night that involved mini golf and soup tasting.

We ended up going to Papaya Thai in Norwalk for dinner and the Tom yum goong soup was so good that chowder boy needed to increase the scale. “This soup is yum tastic. It gets  11/10.”

He was licking the bowl and ordered a second serving.
It’s funny going out with just the boy – he is always so positive about the food he eats and orders. Everything is awesome. It’s to 11. The world is filled with joy and awesome and delights. Always.
In this case, he was completely right. Their tom yum is outstanding.
Posted by: chowderkids | July 29, 2011

Chower Review – Hemisphere – Sandwich MA

I am beginning to think we have a major problem on our hands. The boy’s taste buds seem to be broken. Or, he is just so unfailingly positive about everything in his life that he can’t criticize anything.

Not bad! Not bad at all!

About Hemisphere’s chowder, he says “It’s better than Dolphin.”

Now, I am all about being positive. And rah-rahing people’s efforts. But seriously, ChowderBoy. You’ve gone off the rails here. It was good chowder. But better than the Dolphin? No way.

I said to him, “You know what I love about you? You’ve never met a chowder you didn’t like.” His response?

“Mom. I don’t meet chowder I eat chowder.”

I love it! I really do!

 

ChowderGirl says “It needs a bit of salt.” She keeps putting more and more salt in it and continues, “This chowder should be called potato chowder because it doesn’t have many clams in it.”

Personally, I really like the potatoes. A bit big but cooked perfectly. I felt like it was too floury. And I was bored with it halfway through. I didn’t get a lot of clams.

A rare photo with ChowderMom

ChowderDad said “It is certainly buttery enough for me but the flavoring is meh.”

All in all, Hemisphere was a great place for a family meal. It was a wonderful lunch, a great place to stop after biking the canal, and the wait staff was friendly. I’ll join ChowderBoy and say – thumbs up.

Posted by: chowderkids | July 29, 2011

Undisclosed Massive Chowder #Fail

ChowderGirl told me we cannot ever tell anyone where this is because it would be so mean to the place. She said there’s no way to review the chowder kindly. I have to obey chowder law and respect her wishes. However, I will post a few pictures just for giggles.

Posted by: chowderkids | July 27, 2011

Chowdering Via Canal Bike Path

We have 3 choices for our mid-biking lunch today:

Any thoughts?

Posted by: chowderkids | July 26, 2011

The Dolphin, Barnstable MA

We don’t even know where to start, our meal at The Dolphin in Barnstable was such a great experience. It made me want to move to Barnstable year round.

They have Whale Tale Pale Ale on tap. So right off, ChowderParents want to weep with joy.

Here’s how the rest of the meal goes. Our chowder arrives and…

Dolphin's Chowder - a.k.a. OMGZZZZZx30

ChowderBoy just nods emphatically. Then he gives it a thousand. The bacon was great. He says it is almost as good as Bobby Byrnes. How this came to be his number 2 chowder, I don’t know…but he thinks it’s great.

ChowderDad. It was almost as good as lobster trap. Apparently it was so good, all he could do was stab at ChowderBoy’s spoon and grunt and make mmmmmm noises.

ChowderDad stealing the last bit from ChowderBoy.

ChowderGirl says “The taste was excellent.” She was speechless it was so good.

And then there’s ChowderMom, who seems to be solely responsible for typing it all up. These are my notes from mid-eating: “OMG. It has brandy in it I think. And the potatoes are perfect and the clams were cooked perfectly. I can’t get over it.” then muffled eating noises. Then “ChowderDad, did you EAT this? OMG – can I have yours?”

Honestly, all heck broke loose while we ate. And then we got perfect bread. The kind you want to take home to mom.  And the bacon wrapped scallops? They were almost as good as Chowder Mom’s.

These appetizers are MARVELOUS!

I don’t even know how to continue the review. The scallops carbonara made 75% of us weep with joy. ChowderDad’s stuffed shrimp meal was outstanding. The whole night was almost as good as it gets.

And chowder aside, I do want to say, I love when a place can embrace a family dining experience. The bartender (I now know her name is Liz) was kind to the kids, talked to them like people, and made the whole experience more than a regular meal. We adore this place. It may well be the perfect place for our lazy Jeep drives up 6A. In fact, I feel like making up an excuse to go back…

Posted by: chowderkids | July 25, 2011

American Lobster Mart – Bourne Bridge Rotary

For the last 30 years or so, we have driven past this place. And you have too. And I’ve never been interested in eating here. I mean, it is ON THE ROTARY. Ew.

But it seemed like such a glaring absence in our review. So today, a gloomy day, seemed like the right time to try. And holy crow was it the right thing to do. This chowder was OUTSTANDING.
Now THAT'S a clam!
ChowderBoy says it wasn’t good…it was great.

He is right. It was perfect. So many clams, so perfectly cooked. The seasoning was dead on. It was all things a chowder should be.

And as a bonus, the owner was kind and friendly. He came outside to check on how we liked the food, complimented my proper pronunciation of the letter r, and had hockey stuff all over the place.

BIG thumbs up. Huge.

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