Chowdafest IV 2012, Bigger and Badder than Ever! Westport, CT

Chowdafest IV! Look at those chowdaphiles!

We pulled up to Bedford Middle School then drove 20 miles down the road (my lesson in school today was on hyperbole) and found a nice cozy spot to park.  As we walked into the school, we knew this was huge, more ginormous than last year.  Yeah, this was gonna rock in a major way.  Donations were dropped off and tickets were purchased and we threw ourselves into line.

Rory's takes home some chowda gold this year!

Wow, what a turn out!  Jim Keenan, Chief Chowda Head, said that there were about 2,400 visitors, which is 40% more than last year.  Damn!  Even more mind boggling are the food stats:  600 gallons of chowder and soup; 29 different soups and chowders.  More awesome?  Sure, we’ll top that.  40-50% more money was raised this year for the Connecticut Food Bank.  And…mark your calendars (we just did, too) for February 2, 2013:  Chowdafest V!  Ahh humminah humminah!

29 soups are a helluva lot to write about, so we’ll give you the winners and our combined Nom ratings for our highest scoring soups.  Remember the Nom system, right people?

Classic New England Clam Chowder Winners

1) Mansion Clam House

2) Rory’s

3) O’Neill’s

Soup/Bisque Winners

Pietro Scotti of DaPietro's has some soup on!

1) Crab Shell: NY Giant Lobster Bisque

2) Southport Brewing Company: Sausage, Egg & Cheese Sandwich Soup

3) Liquid Lunch: Roasted Cauliflower Soup

Creative Chowder Winners

1) The Ginger Man: Sweet Potato Clam Chowder

2) Crab Shell: New England Patriot Crab Chowder

3) Dunvilles: Louisiana Seafood Chowder

Critic’s Choice Awards (Chefs voted on each other’s soups/chowders)

Robert Troilo dishes out his Oyster & Pork Belly Chowder

1) The Ginger Man: Sweet Potato Clam Chowder

2) Cactus Rose Cantina: Corn & Poblano Chowder

3) Tavern on Main: Classic NE Clam Chowder

OmNomCT’s Top 5 Nom Rating Average

1) Tie between The Ginger Man: Sweet Potato Clam Chowder and Crab Shell: NY Giant Lobster Bisque (4.25 Noms)

2) Crab Shell: New England Patriot Crab Chowder (4 Noms)

3) Blue Lemon: Mexican Chicken Soup (4 Noms)

4) Mansion Clam House NE Clam Chowder (4 Noms)

5) Rory’s NE Clam Chowder (4 Noms)

Special thanks to Jim Keenan for the info before, during, and after Chowdafest.  We love what you do…keep doing it and doing it more awesome each year.  See everybody at Chilifest!