So yes I'm headed to San Francisco. Where has the best clam chowder???

Is there clam chowder outside the northeast?

old port lobster shack in redwood city perhaps.

What a great question!
Has this been discussed before somewhere?
There is a place on the wharf at Monterey, if you fancy a drive, which has chowder so good that Aussies make sure they get to this place, buy several large-cans, then do it over each year ^

I don;t remember the name of the place, but they use condensed milk or similar for a thicker, creamier consistency. This place gives out samples on the wharf to lure in customers, and it works a treat

Sadly, I have only found mediocre clam chowder in San Francisco.

I have to agree, the chowder is SF is played up at Fisherman's Wharf but it's pretty mediocre overall in SF. Not a lot of clams here. Although somewhat fished out, it gets much better down south, near Pismo Beach. But the good stuff is in New England, on a cold winter's day...

I lived in SF for a decade and good clam chowder was readily available at lots of places -- every bit as good as in Boston. But my preference ran to clam pizza (which is really great in SF).

The BBC lists clam chowder in their "50 things to eat before you die" list and happen to list Pier 39 in SF as the place to get it (and not New England, fwiw). http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/tv_and_radio/50eats15.shtml

I do agree that too many restaurants are now using corn starch and less clams, but that isn't just an SF problem, more of a pricing problem. Any of the foodie restaurants (and there are many in SF) will have great clam chowder if they offer it, for a price. While there aren't a lot of clams caught in SF Bay (probably none!), there are plenty along the rest of the coast (Washington). Plus great oysters (always liked pacific oysters better than Atlantic).

I found that A. Sabella's had awesome clam chowder....it's near Fisherman's wharf but you don't feel like you are in the tourist hub at all. Awesome view (try the halibut)

OK, I'll ease up on my hometown. Folks in SF eat out a lot, and there's a lot of restaurants given the population. So competition is fierce, and mediocre places soon die. So I will change "mediocre" to "pretty good". So the chowder in SF is pretty good, or even very good. But I love great clam chowder, and as much as I love SF I have to say the really good chowder is not abundant here.

I concur on the clam pizza. And A. Sabella's has very good chowder (but at $8 a bowl).

But it's really hard to find the GREAT stuff, something not partially out of an industrial-sized can. I'm talking fresh vegetables and plenty of big, healthy clams. It's just not easy to find. I think the best choices are a couple of raw seafood bars frequented by locals - Swan Oyster Depot (1517 Polk St., San Francisco, (415) 673-1101) and PJ's Oyster Bed (http://www.pjsoysterbed.com/). Be prepared for a wait, at least at Swan's.

As mentioned before, clams are not really a specialty of SF, although featured in a lot of dishes. The local fresh seafood are Dungeness crab (the season starts in early Nov) and salmon.

Many thanks to number_6 for much useful advise in the past, but I must say that:

Pier 39 is a tourist place and, as such, doesn't depend on repeat business. Like most places with such characteristics, food quality is not the highest priority because their main goal is to get people in, not to get them to come back. People that live in SF generally don't go to Pier 39 to eat (unless maybe at the crusty ol' Eagle Cafe). And, risking the wrath of this board, quoting a BBC food critic???

4 slices bacon cut into 1/4-inch pieces (optional)
1 large onion , diced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 (8-ounce) bottles clam juice
4 cans (6.5 ounces each) minced clams, juice drained and reserved
1 cup water
3 medium potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds), diced
1 large bay leaf
1 teaspoon fresh or dry thyme leaves
1 cup heavy cream (more or less to richness desired)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Table salt (or tamari) and ground black pepper

Fry bacon until crisp. Add onion; saut� until softened, about 5 minutes. Add flour; stir until lightly colored, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in bottled clam juice, reserved clam juice from clams, and water. Add potatoes, bay leaf, and thyme; simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Add clams, cream, parsley, salt (if necessary) and ground pepper to taste; bring to simmer. Remove from heat and serve.

It don't get easier than this. And NO restaurant is going to equal it.

Gladstone's in Malibu (you're in the wrong city)

[duck]

What KIND of clam chowder?

New England? (cream broth)

or

Manhatten? (tomato broth)


For the former, I'd go to Pier Market Seafood Restaurant on Pier 39, although the little Boudin's bread shop on Fisherman's wharf does a good bowl of chowder....and has the advantage of having the best hot sourdough bread coming out of the oven all day...

For Manhatten chowder, Tadich Grill does a great bowl (...and their New England isn't bad either). They've had the time to get it right, the restauruant is one of the oldest continiously run in the city, dating back to the gold rush.

However, the best bowl of Manhatten chowder on the planet requires a drive of about 200 miles north to Fort Bragg, and a visit to Carine's Fish Grotto.

A. Sabella's is very good.

The Renaissance Parc 55 has a good New England style clam chowder.

Never get it at Perry's in the airport.

I like getting chowder in a fresh bread bowl from the streetside vendors across from Boudin's, then eating outside in the brisk weather.

If you're a foodie, avoid A. Sabella's and nearly every other restaurant in the FW area. A. Sabella's has a nice view, and they do a few dishes/desserts right, but they get more wrong! Too much vinegar for example.

There's an Ivar's (Seattle) outpost in a popular mall in San Jose. They won the restaurant category at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Clam Chowder Cookoff few year's back:
http://www.beachboardwalk.com/clam_chowder.html

canned clams?? i don't think so!

ok so i live on "the eyelant" and we can walk into the Great South Bay and harvest our own- or buy them at any fish market or on the docks

then when you shuck and chop your own you will collect enough juice so you may not need the bottled stuff

maybe if i wasn't able to get them fresh and live i would also use a can- but first i'd look for frozen clam bellies (not the breaded ones!)

and i'd cut the potatos way down- i'm not making potato chowdah

and i'd add a pinch- no more- of red pepper flakes to this recipe

oh my i'm salivating just thinking about this! yum yum