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.

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…

Dolphin Restaurant on Urbanspoon

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.

444 North Bar & Grille, North Falmouth, MA

New restaurant, new chowder. And boy was it half mediocre. This place, located on 28A in North Falmouth, appears to have opened in the last month.

We had a guest visiting who has a lot of chowder eating experience.

First, let me say that the chowder was wicked hot. Like, unacceptably hot.

ChowderGuestStar added both salt and pepper almost upon the first taste which leads me to believe she’s got skills and should probably represent the Boston Chowdering Scene. Halfway through the bowl, she hadn’t gotten a clam yet.

The most accurate assessment of their chowder – “If I were looking away and didn’t look at it, it would taste good.”

I’m with her, the taste is very good but the texture is totally bizarre. The seasonings were great.

ChowderKids are being lame and have nothing to add.

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444 North Bar and Grill on Urbanspoon

Reveiwing the Chatham Squire’s Clam Chowder in Chatham, MA

As part of our annual ChowderDay, we went to the Squire in Chatham. The reviews on the actual chowder were not strong but the day was fantastic and it was great to be at the Squire again. Plus, I got to decorate the Jeep with beach towels.

Where Lucy doubles as a drying rack.

I hadn’t been to the Squire in the daytime. Ever. Naturally, it seemed like a logical plan after our morning at Nauset. I got all nostalgic – especially since I was driving nearly the same vehicle I drove the last time I was there.

Four bowls of chowder please!

Survey Says!

  • Ewwwwwww. Flour. Pasty. Canned clammy. Tasteless.
  • ChowderBoy thinks it is great. He says it is the third best chowder ever. He must be running a fever.
  • To be fair, it’s not as bad as it initially seems. They just overdid it.
  • The super excellent Bloody Mary is overpowering it.
  • ChowderGirl says it has enough potatoes but they are too big to actually enjoy.

Now THAT's a CLAM!!!

It’s certainly a great place to drink and meet Boston Bruins players in the summer. And the beer is great. The bloody mary was sublime. And the kids loved the whole license plate decor. So it was a great visit. But I can’t help feeling that we should have been there in September and maybe the chowder would have been better.

So what’s the deal here? I love the Squire. Of course, I’ve never consumed anything solid there so who knows? Maybe their food is terrible and always has been? We had a few theories on what could possible have gone wrong.

Theory One: Touristy places don’t need to make good chowder.

Theory Two: Drunks have no standards. Present company excluded.

Perfect Pint


Chatham Squire Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Falmouth Cinema Pub

ChowderGirl and ChowderDad are off seeing Harry Potter. This leaves me and my boy to try something new.

We are at a cinema pub and waiting to see Zookeeper. This theater also has table service with beer and nachos and yes yes yes!!!! Chowder!

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I am absolutely shocked to say this. The chowder is REALLY GOOD. CB seems to think it is the third best he ever had but that is just crazy.

Still. It is thick and creamy and contains fresh clams and is pretty well flavored.

We highly recommend this experience – both for the chowder and for the interesting experience of table service at a movie theater.

Oh also. They have beer and wine.