TWO SUMMERS AGO, when we cruised to Alaska, it wasn’t the king crab legs that got our attention. It was the thick, chunky, delicious clam chowder we enjoyed in Seattle at Pike’s Place Chowder, a hole-in-the wall located in Pike Place Market. Pike’s Place’s smoked salmon chowder was also terrific, but the clam chowder was so good it has been voted Nation’s Best Clam Chowder three years running.
     Last summer, as we explored the New England coast with our friends Dottie and Billy, we were once again on the trail of good eats in off-the-beaten-path places. We found incredibly tender fried clams at The Clam Box in Ipswich, Mass., and filled-to-overflowing lobster rolls at Day’s Take-Out near Freeport, Maine, and Red’s Eats, a literal hot dog stand in Wiscasset. 
     The last two were seafood shacks where diners ate at picnic tables outside, located along U.S. Highway 1, which meandered through the picturesque New England scenery as we inched our way to our final destination of Camden, Maine. When we weren’t eating fried clams and lobster rolls, we were dipping our spoons into thick and creamy New England clam chowder.
    
TRY THIS AT HOME
     Back in Savannah, with our few months of chilly weather ahead, my mission was to re-create a chowder recipe worthy of sharing with Savannah Magazine readers.
     And, as Eliza Doolittle said to Professor Higgins: “I think I’ve got it!” Of course, nothing can compare to the taste and tenderness of clams fresh from the glistening New England waters. I had to use the canned variety. But I did manage to hit just the right note in the vegetables-to-broth ratio, and the texture was exceptional. 
    
MANHATTAN VS NEW ENGLAND CHOWDERS
     For clarification, Manhattan chowder contains tomatoes, and New England chowder is milk-based.
     Actually, the two types of clams we sampled in Seattle and Maine are probably not of the same variety. According to the wonderful “Food Lover’s Companion” (Barron’s Educational Series, 1995), hard-shell clams are found on the East Coast and come in three sizes — littleneck, cherrystone and chowder clams. West Coast hard-shell varieties are the Pacific littleneck clam, the pismo and the small, sweet butter clams from Puget Sound. There are also several varieties of soft-shell clams.
     The inspiration for this recipe is a spiral-bound collection, “Food Editors Hometown Favorites,” which was published back in 1984 by the Food Editors and Writers Association. The recipe came from The Boston Globe’s food editor, Gail Perrin. I added celery, chicken broth and the white sauce to Perrin’s recipe to create the perfect winter stew.
 
New England Clam Chowder 
4 pieces of lean bacon, finely diced
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 ribs of celery, finely chopped
1 8-ounce bottle of clam juice
1 cup of chicken broth
2 small white potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup half-and-half
1 8-ounce can of clams, with juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Crackers
 
In a heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan, cook the bacon over medium heat until it is very crisp. Remove the bacon and reserve. Saute the onion and the celery in the bacon fat over low heat until it is very tender, about 8 minutes. Add the clam juice, the chicken broth and the white potatoes, and cook over medium-low heat until the potato is tender, about 15 minutes.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour. Add the half-and-half and cook until the white sauce is thick. Stir it into the vegetables and stock. Add the clams. Stir. Turn off heat. Add the salt and pepper. Stir in the reserved bacon.
Makes 6 cups, about 3-4 servings.
Serve with crackers. n