Five Places to Get Great Clam Chowder in Boston

Boston is the self-proclaimed home of clam chowder - or, as the locals refer to it, "chowdah." They'll ardently defend their creamy white chowder as the only true way to make it - regardless of what proponents of red, tomato-based Manhattan clam chowder say. After all, they'll reason, red chowder eaters are probably Yankees fans.

If you're headed to Boston and need a bowl of the real thing, here are five places to try that some cross-section of natives will tell you is their favorite. Each lays claim to serving "Boston's best clam chowder."

Union Oyster House

Might as well start your tour at the beginning, and this is it. The Union Oyster House bills itself as America's oldest restaurant, having been open continuously since 1826 - shortly after a Frenchman named Louis Philippe moved out of his second floor room, and shortly before he became King of France. Through the years, the Oyster House - located just steps from Faneuil Hall and the Quincy Market - has been a favorite of everyone from dock workers to the political elite. Daniel Webster was a regular at the oyster bar and John F. Kennedy had a favorite booth upstairs.

This chowder sets the standard - diced potatoes, onions, salt pork and clams in a hot pool of half-and-half - it's as traditional as the restaurant itself.

Great Bay

Located in Kenmore Square, hard by Boston University and Fenway Park, Great Bay is a bit more upscale and formal than a place with Union Oyster House's workingman roots. Here, the chowder features more ingredients - celery and leeks, parsley and thyme, lemon and white wine - and a heavier cream. The smoked bacon gives it a unique taste as well. The Great Bay serving process often catches tourists by surprise, as the chowder is delivered to the table as a pile of clams and vegetable in a bowl, over which the server pours a pitcher of the hot cream.

Legal Seafood

Despite the longstanding rumor that putting tomatoes in chowder was illegal in Massachusetts, the name of this restaurant stems from its origins as an extension of the "Legal Cash Market" in 1950s Cambridge, not as a poke at misguided Manhattan chowder lovers. There are over 30 Legal Seafood locations up and down the Eastern seaboard these days - including nine locations in Boston. The chowder is here is much like the Union Oyster House's in its simplicity - though somewhat thicker as a result of flour added to the cream.

Tommy Doyle's Irish Pub

What would a trip to Boston be without a meal at an Irish pub? Luckily, you can experience the friendly atmosphere and charm you expect from an Irish pub, as well as a bowl of fantastic clam chowder. Tommy Doyle's has two locations in Cambridge - at Kendall Square and in the location of the original House of Blues in Harvard Square.

Sidney's Grille

Also in Cambridge is Sidney's Grille, with its beautiful setting in the University Park Hotel at MIT featuring high ceilings and an open kitchen, and a menu that highlights New England cuisine - much of it cooked over an open applewood-fueled grill. A local reviewer famously called the clam chowder here "to die for." But you might also be tempted to try their three cod chowder, with salt, smoked and fresh cod - you know, just for a change of pace!