Bowled over: Chowdafest offers 'souper' taste sampler

Chowdafest was the hot place to be in Westport on Saturday, with crowds arriving early to taste, and vote for, more than 40 different kinds of soups and chowders.

In its fourth year, Chowdafest is a fundraiser for the Connecticut Food Bank. Area restaurants volunteered their time (and soups) in exchange for the opportunity to win the coveted title of best classic chowder, creative chowder and soup or bisque.

Classic chowders ranged from thin to thick, briney to smoky. In the creative category, tasters sampled things like oyster and pork belly chowder, clams casino chowder and roasted corn and poblano chowder. The soup category boasted the most unusual choices, such as sausage, egg and cheese sandwich soup, roasted cauliflower soup and cheeseburger soup.

"I like to have fun with the classics," said Tim Doherty, chef at Bobby Q's and creator of the cheeseburger soup. "Who doesn't love cheeseburgers?" he said. "There was lots of trial-and-error with this, but it tastes just like a Big Mac."

By lunchtime, the parking lot at Bedford Middle School was filled to capacity. People sampled the chowders, discussing them with friends and making notes on their ballots.

Jayne Prabhudas of Stamford learned about the event from friends. "My favorite classic chowder was Da Pietro's," she said. The Westport-based restaurant also offered a Moroccan chicken soup. "In the bisque category, I liked the Crab Shell's New York Giants lobster bisque," she said. "And in the creative category I liked the Ginger Man's sweet potato clam chowder."

She wasn't the only one. Eve Catarevas from Westport also voted for the Ginger Man's sweet potato chowder. In fact, it was the only soup at this year's event that was a repeat from the past two years. (It won first- and second-place awards.)

"I should've never eaten breakfast," said Sari Bodi of Westport. She said she tried as many soups as she could, but didn't get to sample them all. "I went more for the soups," she said. "I went for the thinner, less viscous chowders."

Jill Ippolito of Fairfield was a newcomer to the event. "I'd heard about it in the past, but I'd never come," she said.

She liked the oyster chowder and the roasted cauliflower soup. "My kids love cauliflower," she said. "It was a lighter soup, a nice change from all of the creamy things."

Carol Bartosic of Weston said that a good chowder needs to be "not too thick and not too thin. Some were too herby and others were too salty," she said. "There has to be a good balance."

Jayne Prabhudas had some definite thoughts on what separates the best chowders from the rest. "The seafood should be tender," she said. "It shouldn't be too thick and creamy. There should be a nice variety of vegetables," she said.

After thousands of ballots were tallied, the winners were named.

In the Classic New England Chowder category, the winners were, first place: Mansion Clam House; second place, Rory's; and third place, O'Neill's.

In the creative category, Ginger Man won once again. Second place went to the Crab Shell and third place went to Dunville's.

In the soup/bisque category, Crab Shell placed first; Southport Brewing came in second and Liquid Lunch placed third.

Patti Woods is a freelance writer.