Manhattan Clam Chowder

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Quick Bite

Manhattan clam chowder is the tomato-based red chowder made with clams, potatoes, vegetables, herbs, and a bright brothy base. The name says Manhattan, but Rhode Island’s Portuguese and Italian fishing communities helped put tomato in the chowder pot first.

History

Manhattan clam chowder is usually associated with New York by name, but its roots are often traced back to Rhode Island’s Portuguese and Italian fishing communities. Those cooks were more comfortable using tomatoes in seafood stews, and tomato eventually found its way into clam chowder.

That red chowder was not always called Manhattan chowder. Earlier names included Coney Island-style or Fulton Market-style chowder, and Rhode Island’s Rocky Point amusement park helped popularize a tomato-based chowder locally under the Rocky Point name.

The dish caused real New England drama. Cream-chowder loyalists saw tomato as an insult to the bowl, and “Manhattan” became a convenient way to blame New Yorkers for the red version. Food history is rarely fair, but it is often petty in entertaining ways.

A good Manhattan clam chowder should be bright, savory, and clam-forward. The tomato should sharpen the broth, not drown the clams, and the vegetables should make it hearty without turning it into generic vegetable soup.

Fun Facts

• Despite the name, tomato clam chowder has strong Rhode Island roots.
• It was also known as Coney Island or Fulton Market chowder in some older references.
• Rhode Island’s Rocky Point-style red chowder is part of the same tomato-based chowder family.

Where to Try

Rocky Point Chowder House Warwick, Rhode Island
A modern return of a beloved Rhode Island chowder name inspired by Rocky Point Park’s famous clam cakes and chowder tradition.

Iggy’s Doughboys & Chowder House Warwick / Narragansett area, Rhode Island
A Rhode Island seafood favorite known for chowder, clam cakes, doughboys, and shore-food classics.

Aunt Carrie’s Narragansett, Rhode Island
A historic Rhode Island seafood restaurant tied to clam cakes, chowder, and Point Judith beach-food tradition.

About the Game

This recipe is part of Van Life Challenge, a travel-themed board game from Gray Dog Games where players explore the United States, discover regional foods, and collect memorable experiences along the way.

Each featured food celebrates a real place, a local flavor, and the kind of delicious roadside discovery that makes every trip feel like an adventure.

Recipe

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Home-Cook-Friendly Manhattan Clam Chowder Serves: 6 Prep: 20 minutes Cook: 30–35 minutes Difficulty: Easy Style: Rhode Island / Tomato-Based Clam Chowder

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon or 4 ounces salt pork, diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 ounces
• 3 cups clam juice
• 2 cups diced potatoes
• 2 cups chopped clams, fresh or canned
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• Salt, to taste
• Chopped parsley, optional

Instructions

1. Render the pork: Cook bacon or salt pork in a soup pot until the fat renders.
2. Cook vegetables: Add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook until softened.
3. Add garlic and tomato: Add garlic and tomato paste. Cook for 1 minute.
4. Build the broth: Stir in diced tomatoes, clam juice, potatoes, bay leaf, thyme, and black pepper.
5. Simmer: Simmer until potatoes are tender.
6. Add clams: Add chopped clams and cook gently for 3 to 5 minutes.
7. Remove bay leaf: Remove the bay leaf.
8. Season: Taste and season with salt.
9. Garnish: Garnish with parsley if desired.

Traditional note: To make it more traditional, keep it brothy and tomato-based, use clams and clam juice, and let the tomato brighten the chowder rather than thicken it into a stew.

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