By Naomi Tomky • originally posted to Thrillist on Mar. 29, 2018
Photo via THRILLIST ARNAUD MONTAGARD
Though rightfully famous for its quality, Seattle’s seafood doesn’t have a dish for which it’s known -- unlike the fried clam bellies of New England, the South’s shrimp and grits, and even San Francisco’s cioppino. This is partly because our raw ingredients are just so good: Northwest oysters on the half-shell don’t need sauce, a sautéed fillet of Neah Bay salmon stands on its own. Yet a vacancy exists. Seattle needs a dish that fits the city’s personality, demonstrates its culinary prowess, and showcases its excellent seafood. Recently, a food trend began proliferating that fits this description to a tee: chowder fries.
Charlotte Cook, the marketing director of award-winning Pike Place Chowder, watched customers pour chowder over scraps of bread they pulled from the inside of their bread bowls for years. Last year she took inspiration from a food-trend article about chili fries and added chowder fries to the menu at their Pacific Place outlet. Other chefs who ran with this trend took their cue from poutine, the Quebecois dish of gravy and cheese curds over fries. “Chowder is almost the same consistency as gravy,” explains Tyler Palagi, one of the executive chefs of Radiator Whiskey. Palagi helped develop sibling spot White Swan Public House’s “Poutine o’ the Sea” -- chowder poured over fries, fresh clams, and bacon. READ MORE >