Tortilla Days

Chowder Family just got back from a week in Arizona where Chowder Mom obsessed over tortilla soup. The clam chowder situation seems to have fizzled out recently. Luckily, there are other kinds of chowder and even soups out there.

Casa Grande:
Creative Cafe - The place was cute and the food was fine. And the soup was chock full of stuff and tasty. But nothing special.

Tucson:
Maya Quetzal - When we lived in Tucson, this was my favorite place in the world. I still love it. It was fantastic. And their tortilla soup, while just cheese, broth, and tortillas, was as tasty as I remembered. And light enough to allow me to eat their vegetarian taquitos and 2 helpings of special cheesey rice.

La Parilla Suiza - Speaking of cheese. Their broth is totally different from Maya Quetzal's but my god, if I could marry a soup, I would marry this one. With a side of queso.

Old Tucson Studios - I should know better than to eat much at a trap like this but following my rules, I tried it. And it was so hot, I couldn't even eat it. I got a pretzel.

El Charro - It was onioney, no tomatoes, and thin. Not great. Nor were the chips.

All that said, tacos at the roadside stands in Tucson are still better than the best Mexican food in NYC.

Long Time No Chowder

Yes, I know. We seem to have over-extended our chowder eating for a while. We did go out for some chowder last weekend and have a review but then we all got hit with various flu like issues and haven't been able to update until now.

Good news though! We discovered that there is a Chowdafest right here in Fairfield County! Tomorrow and Saturday! Big plans ahead for chowdering, geo-caching, and resting up after today's turkey coma!

Hiking + Chowder

So we've been doing a decent amount of hiking this fall and are heading to the Northwest region of Connecticut to check out some foliage and then get some pumpkins.

Naturally, at some point we will need to warm up with some chowder. Any Litchfield County recommendations?

Max's Oyster House - West Hartford, CT - 10/3/09

At the recommendation of our friendly neighborhood creative director, we stopped at Max's on our way back from the Connecticut Science Center. Which, by the way, is excellent and had a great exhibit on sailing and wind.

So here's the thing about the chowder we had. It was flavorful and the clams were OUTSTANDING. But it was thin - not surprising in CT but still, not a great joy for me. The bigger issue for me was that the kids were tired and we were tired and the place was a bit fancier than the kids could easily manage without being distractive nutjobs.

I will say, I absolutely loved the way they presented the chowder in pewter cups before they dumped it into a bowl.

ChowderBoy was very unhappy with the oyster crackers though. Turns out, if it doesn't come in a plastic bag, he doesn't want it.

Black Duck - Westport, CT - 09-13-09

The Black Duck is a local treasure. And I can see why. Reasonably priced food with plenty of sports and fresh seafood. OUTSTANDING Bloody Mary. I mean, absolutely exceptional. So I can give it a thumbs up in general.

But oh the chowder. Chowder Girl sums it up in a single sentence:

As usual, ChowderBoy's enthusiasm for all kinds of chowder knows no limits. And we love him that way. He did say it needed more salt and then proceeded to pour a TBSP or so in there. Which was actually too much.

The thing is, it takes a lot these days to make us cry out for more chowder. But we are hopeful.

Paradise Bar and Grill, Stamford CT

The kids and I took our new au pair to lunch even though she didn't want to eat at all. We got chowder and it was pretty tasty.

It was thick enough and had a more than acceptable amount of very fresh and tasty clams.

ChowderBoy gave it a big thumbs up and then had a fit that we didn't bring any for ChowderDad.

ChowderGirl started waxing poetic about chowders we have loved.

Thickness: 6
Quantity of Clams: 8
Quality of Clams: 8
Buttery: 2
Temperature: 3
Seasonings: 5
Potato: 4
Freshness: 9

45/80 = F (ack! - maybe I should call it D-)

Quahog Republic - Chowder Dad's review