Best Clam Chowder Ever: Duke’s Chowder House, Seattle WA

I am a fan of chowder. I was raised on breadbowls of chowder in San Francisco, eating it sometimes as my only sustenance for months at a time. I cried at the tale of the old time chowder-maker who sold his buisness to a big corporation that went and watered down his chowder, breaking the hearts of all those thousands who had come to love his heartfelt creation. If Duke’s Chowder House in Seattle, Washington ever did such a thing, oh yes, this grown man would cry.

Duke’s chowder is excellent. It’s thick and full of diced clams. It’s not pure white like your average tin can New England chowder, rather a creamy yellow, but that’s because it’s got character. You can even get it in a breadbowl, a serving very dear to my heart. The last time I ate at Duke’s I also ordered the dungeness crab and seafood pot pie. I expected a small pastry with scraps of crab and gravy. I wasn’t very hungry at the time. What I got was a bowl of salmon chunks, vegetables, gravy, and enough scraps of real crab to fill me up before I was half done, all tucked neatly under a light, baked-on pastry crust.

Duke’s Chowder House has three locations in Seattle. Dinner for two with an appetizer should run about $50.

www.dukeschowderhouse.com

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