Clam Chowda: Red or White?

Ever since I was a child, I have had some kind of obsession with clam chowder....especially the white (New England). I couldn't get enough. Anywhere we went, if the menu had it, I would order it. New England Clam Chowder was so chunky and thick that it was really like a meal in itself - albeit an "unhealthy" meal, but a meal nonetheless.

I didn't pay much attention to the red (Manhattan). It was too thin and soupy for my taste - and I saw carrots. I did not like cooked carrots growing up. It wasn't until college did I really gain an appreciation for cooked carrots in soup (and soup only) but it has to be cooked to the point of mushiness.

As I grew older, I noticed that if a restaurant had 'Soup of the Day' menus, Fridays seemed to be New England Clam Chowder Day. That was great for me. I thought I grew to be somewhat of a New England Clam Chowder connoisseur however, I have to admit that I don't have nearly as much NE Clam Chowder as I did between the ages of eight to 28. I have grown to learn that it is quite unhealthy and my tastes for it has gone somewhat bland....maybe I overdid it as a child - but I find NOW that my tastes have turned to the 'not-so-popular' Manhattan Clam Chowder in the tomato base broth. Maybe it's living in the Chesapeake area where I am a HUGE fan of the Maryland Crab soup....it's very similar to Manhattan clam chowder but with crabs instead of clams. I like to think it's healthier and I actually make my own version of a Chesapeake Bay crab soup that I know is healthy (cause it's chock full of veggies) and is wildly popular among my dinner guests.

So why the change - what happened? I think part of it can be blamed on Wegmans. Although I have nothing but HIGH praise and loving admiration for Wegmans, they do add bacon to their New England Clam Chowder and because of that, I will not consume it. Bacon in clam chowder? That's unnatural. So that made me turn to their bisques, which is quite another problem in itself...talk about unhealthy! The other cause of the change from white to red? My darn semi-healthy conscience. In order to remove the lady lumps, I must stop eating the lumps - that would be the lumps of potatoes in cream in chowder.

I still, occasionally, bask in the glory of a good chowda....I've even thought about going to the Maryland Seafood festival where there is sure to be chowder galore....but I know better and try to stick with clear-brothed soups....darn my semi-healthy conscience!