While the hallmarks of traditional New England clam chowder are sacrosanct – a milky-white creamy base, chopped clams, diced potatoes and often bacon or salt pork – opinions vary on other elements and ingredients. Sewall himself thickens Row 34’s chowder with a traditional roux of flour and butter, adding salty bacon fat to deliver a velvety taste. His secret ingredient is a subtle dash of green tabasco. “It adds a nice little bit of spice and acidity to it,” he says. “[Chowder’s] been a part of Boston culture for a long time and represents what New England is. It’s a hearty, simple dish that, when done really well, is an iconic thing. That’s why it’s been around for hundreds of years and is still one of the most popular dishes in Boston.”
Sewall adds that Boston’s location on Massachusetts Bay, and by extension, the Atlantic Ocean, intrinsically lends itself to phenomenal just-caught seafood. “It’s accessible here,” he says. “It’s just part of how we make things; certainly a simple thing like chowder. The chopped clams that everybody traditionally uses for chowder, they’re all available, so it’s just how we cook here.”
Here are Sewall’s favourite clam chowders in Boston.
1. Best classic chowder: Summer Shack
Summer Shack is a laidback restaurant in Boston’s affluent Back Bay neighbourhood, just three blocks from the world-famous Boston Marathon finish line. Summer Shack’s menu promises a “classic New England clam chowder”, and delivers a medium-thick, clam-packed creation. “I think they’re really good about not letting it get too thick. Some places do a really thick chowder, which I don’t love,” says Sewall. “Summer Shack’s is classic. It’s oyster crackers and bacon and chopped clams and potatoes.”
