9th Annual Long Island Chowder Contest Long Island’s Annual Chowder Contest, which is traditionally held on Super Bowl weekend, proved to be quite poignant this year in consideration of the fact that the two namesake chowders are New England and Manhattan. How fitting for a Super Bowl that paired the New England Patriots against the New York Giants. This contest was not played out on a gridiron nor did it have a halftime show, but it was quite excitingly delectable. The 9th Annual Long Island Chowder Contest was held Saturday, February 2nd, at the Snapper Inn on the Connetquot River, in Oakdale. The event was hosted by the Remmer Family, which has owned and operated the Snapper Inn since 1929.
Richard Remmer presided over the ceremonies as did Frank “The Wiseman” of Radio Station B103 as the master of ceremonies. Carl LoBue of Nature Conservancy, Assemblywoman Ginny Fields, Charlie Hart of Shellfish Marine and Islip Town Supervisor Phil Nolan officially judged the contest (above right). Participating restaurants included: Blue Island Seafood, Jolly Fisherman, Bigelow’s, Northport Ship’s Inn, Brewster’s, Riverbay, H2O Seafood Grill, Snapper Inn, and the Irish Coffee Pub. The winners in each category were as follows:
For Manhattan Clam Chowder:
For New England Clam Chowder:
For Bisque:
Also, honorable mention went to the Irish Coffee Pub (above left) for their crab & spinach creation. With all due respect to the judges, who had the benefit of tasting the chowders side by side, we have this to say about the products we thought were considerably tasty, our results were as follows: Brewster's (above right) Lobster Bisque was excellent with chunks of lobster in every spoonful. It had a very creamy consistency with a traditional pinkish hue. Their New England clam chowder was quite a tasty concoction with potatoes that just melted in your mouth. Finally, Brewster's Manhattan clam chowder had flavorful bits of tender vegetables that you could tell were well seasoned and delicately prepared.
Northport Ship’s Inn (above left), which was a past gold medallist, created a Lobster Bisque that was simply superb. This bisque was loaded with pieces of shrimp, scallops, and crab. It had a very nice consistency and a wonderful aroma. There was a perfect balance between creamy and salty that others could not pull off. You could tell that this lobster bisque had been simmering for hours. The shrimp, scallops, and crab were married perfectly into the bisque. Snapper Inn’s (above right) lobster bisque, which was this year’s winner, was excellent with ample shrimp that literally crumbled in your mouth.
Scott Szekretar, Executive Chef of H20 Seafood Grill (above left), was by far the most courageous by pushing the envelope with some exciting untraditional chowders. His Manhattan clam chowder was a departure from the other entries with a great depth of flavor achieved with crisp apple wood smoked vegetables and speck ham. His New England clam chowder was also very flavorful and included smoked bacon and speck ham. Blue Island Seafood (above right) had some interesting entries as well. Their New England had a nice combination of double smoked bacon and sage. Their Manhattan clam chowder started with a Mirepoix, which is French for a combination of onions, carrots and celery. Although devoid of carrots, it included leeks, fresh clams, thyme, sage, and double smoked bacon.
Last but not least, was Bigelow’s Seafood (above left) which was established in 1939 and was this year’s First Place Winner for their Manhattan entry and second for their New England variety. Both were traditionally seasoned crowd pleasers. |
