According to some people, chefs should be barred from dropping tomatoes into clam chowder.
Not a big deal, you say? Well, clam chowder pits New England against New York in a brawl older and more virulent than the Yankees and Red Sox. In fact, Maine considered a bill back in 1939 that would have made the act of serving the famed soup with tomatoes illegal.
At Park Place Restaurant in Lakeport, the serve only the New England style.
“Most people like New England clam chowder,” explained Nancy Zabel, who owns the popular spot with Barbara Morris — and who happens to claim a Connecticut upbringing. “I grew up with New England clam chowder. That was a natural choice.”
What”s the difference? Well, Manhattan clam chowder draws color and a sweet, tangy backdrop from tomatoes stewed in a watery broth. The New England version includes potatoes in a filling, creamy stew.
And definitely no tomatoes.
“We like it thick,” Zabel said, shunning even the lighter Rhode Island style.
Yes, clam chowder can be complicated. But it also defines hearty, a meal in a bowl served for at least a couple of centuries in the clapboard homes along the north Atlantic coast. In New England, it starts with a simple mirepoix of onions browned in pork fat. Zabel prefers applewood smoked bacon.
The rest is easy: potatoes, perhaps some carrots — all fresh — thick slices of shellfish, a little clam juice, milk and cream. Park Place prepares the soup every Friday, serving only two days a week.
It”s a warm, filling bowl. The clams and liquid add an earthy, mineral element. The vegetables also keep it grounded. There”s a smoky comfort, as well, turning each spoonful into a reminder of chimney”s on a frosty evening. Yet the creamy base, more rustic than a bisque, will tease you with a peppery bite.
“It”s nice and fresh,” Zabel pointed out. “With good bread, you can”t get any better than that.”
Her enthusiasm for the steaming dish comes in part from her Connecticut roots. But her father also owned a restaurant back east, specializing in the regional favorites.
And Park Place”s setting, along Clear Lake in downtown Lakeport, also inspired her to include clam chowder on the menu.
“Anytime you”re by water,” she said. “It doesn”t matter if it”s a lake.”
It does, however, matter to certain people where the chowder hails from and whether or not it is polluted by a certain vine-grown fruit.
Contact Dave Faries at 900-2016
