Chowderfest 2013 Recap

I must say, Chowderfest 2013 was my favorite yet. Although I braved the cold weather sans coat (I had like 6 sweaters on, it’s okay), I managed to get myself to 9 spots for a really good sampling of chowders. As you can see in the last picture, Seven Horse Pub and Druthers really killed it this year, and I’m so happy for them. The smoked lobster chowder at Druthers truly blew me away, so it’s no surprise that they won two categories! As for Seven Horse Pub, they know their chowder is untouchable, which is why they have it on the menu all year long! As for some of the other places I tried, there was nothing unique about the Reuben chowder from Irish Times, although the flavors were decent. I really loved the Comfort Kitchen NYS Oyster Chowder, with fresh oysters from Moby Rick’s Seafood as well as local leeks, celeriac, and butternut squash. What I love so much about their take on chowder is the fact that they didn’t use all of the traditional ingredients that you saw in a lot of the chowders yesterday. They took it to the next level with these fresh, locally sourced ingredients. I thought the Indian inspired chowder from Sperry’s was really unique and different, with an abundance of flavors that you wouldn’t necessarily expect. Unfortunately, I think it might have been a little too out of the box for a lot of chowderfest-goers, which is too bad because it was delicious.

I hope everyone enjoyed Chowderfest as much as I did this year, and I would love to hear who won your hearts and votes! Another huge thank you goes out to Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau who does an excellent job every year of putting on this popular Saratoga Springs event.

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