We arrived at Sam’s for lunch and the place was already packed with diners. The restaurant itself sits right next to the ocean, giving you the opportunity for waterfront dining. We were lucky enough to grab a table next to the window.

So, what makes the lobster rolls at Sam’s stand out? You can start with the bread. The roll itself is a brioche bun, specially made for Sam’s. Toasted on all sides, giving a light crunch when you bite into the roll, but still remaining soft with a rich buttery taste.

And of course the lobster. The lobster they use for the roll is meat from the claws that has been tossed in butter. They are very generous when it comes to packing the rolls with lobster meat. I counted about six claws in the roll they served me. The lobster doesn’t hide behind any mayonnaise like a traditional lobster roll, so you can really taste the sweetness coming from the lobster and roll itself. The word succulent isn’t enough to discribe the roll.

Each order is severed with a side of house made potato chips and coleslaw.

In 2007, Sam’s lobster rolls have been mentioned on NBC’s Today Show as being one of the top 5 sandwiches in the country. Who would’ve expected that a restaurant on the West Coast would have such a standout lobster roll.

Sam’s Chowder House
4210 Cabrillo Highway North
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
(650) 712-0245
www.samschowderhouse.com

Coverage of the 29th Annual Santa Cruz Clam Chowder Cook Off & Festival Saturday wasn’t your typical day at the Santa Cruz Beach...

Recently, my cousin discovered that Suruki Supermarket in San Mateo offered uncooked Hamachi Kama. I took it as an opportunity to try and pick up a few to grill this past weekend. I browsed through Suruki and was able to pick up some collars. While browsing I noticed they also had Uni, Monk Fish Liver, and even Toro available. I was pretty impressed at the selection of goods they had.

Back home, I fired up the grill and prepared the collars just by seasoning them with sea salt and pepper on each side. I grilled them for about 15 minutes total, flipping the collars occasionally as they cooked. No special herbs or spices here for this dish. I served the collars with slices of lemon wedges and added a small pinch of finishing salt to them. If you want some extra flavor you could try serving a ponzu sauce along with the dish or do what I did and combine a little soy sauce and lemon juice for a variation of a toyomansi.

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Crawfish and shrimp are served in bags by the pound. Open the bags up and the aroma of garlic surrounds the table and you could just see your order swimming in a pool spicy cayenne garlic butter sauce.

We ordered a pound of shrimp which came out well cooked and was very sweet. And since we wanted to go Cajun, we couldn’t leave Crawdaddy without ordering their crawfish. It’s a lot of work to get to the crawfish meat, but it was worth it. The crawfish was sweet, and when dipped in the garlic butter sauce, the flavors just complemented each other. You had a taste of that sweet and spicy going on where sips of soda or water was a must to cool down the fiery burn.

There isn’t a lack of heat here. You have your choice of mild, medium, or hot with your orders. We went with the mild and still saw my friends gasping for cool air. I thought mild was the perfect heat level. Anything else just might make you really chug down water.

A final tip to keep in mind is to use the bibs they give you. With all the shrimp head twisting and crawfish shell cracking happening, things can get messy and you don’t want any of that on your clothes. Crawdaddy is truly a hands on restaurant and not for the lazy eater because you’ll be busily working for each bite.

Crawdaddy
779 Story Road #1
San Jose, CA 95122
(408) 286-2729
www.crawdaddysj.com

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Rain or shine, we were going to cover the event as Foodie Correspondents thanks to Foodbuzz. Thankfully, the weather stayed dry throughout Saturday’s festival where the crowds of hungry chowder fans walked the Boardwalk in search of the best Manhattan and Boston clam chowders. Booths were all set up attracting crowds. Some simple, others with playful themes like dancing mermaids or Oompa Loompas complete with a Willy Wonka commanding the crowd. It was all about checking out each booth because to try out the chowder, you had to give up one of five of your precious tasting tickets from your tasting kit.

Just like last year’s festival, we walked the Boardwalk just before the public tasting began to see the final prep work being completed.

You could see contestants busily mixing up their batches of chowder, chopping the remainder of their ingredients, and setting up for the rush of people ready to come to their booth. I can recall the smell of bacon permeating the air at one of the booths. Seeing all of this action was enough to get anyone excited to eat.

Right when 1:00 P.M. hit, it was time for the public tasting. Armed with our tasting kits – which included 5 tasting tickets, a People’s Choice Ballot card, reusable chowder cup, and spoon – we began to line up. We sampled chowder from all three divisions: individuals, corporate/media, and professional, to get a balanced selection of different chowders. Below is what we were able to try.

Draeger Construction
Boston: This was the booth where I smelled bacon being fried, so I wanted to line up here first. Bacon fans would rejoice to the plentiful bacon bits. To complement the bacon, you had plenty of chunks of clams, potatoes, and celery.

Manhattan: Just like their Boston chowder, their Manhattan chowder was chunky. The taste of sweet tomatoes shined through.

Mom’s Clam Diggers
Boston: Right away, just visually the differences can be seen between Mom’s Clam Diggers’ chowder and Draeger Construction’s chowder. We noticed that their chowder wasn’t thick at all, but more of a lighter cream broth with a smokey and peppery finish.

The Clamtone Cruzers
Boston: It was back to the thicker Boston chowder with The Clamtone Cruzers. It seemed that the flavor mainly came from herbs they must have used.

Cabrillo Culinary Arts
Manhattan: Those who like a little heat would have enjoyed this Manhattan chowder. The chowder was bold and spicy.

Boston: On the other hand, Cabrillo Culinary Arts’ Boston chowder had a very sweet finish.

Aegis of Aptos
Boston: Strangely enough, the last Boston chowder that we sampled was almost a combination of every Boston chowder that we had. Both sweet and smokey, every bite reminded me of what I had throughout the afternoon. Almost the perfect way to end it.

We went to the festival not looking for the best… That’s left for the judges to decide. We were there more for enjoying everyone’s take on clam chowder and appreciating all of the uniqueness each competitor brought to the cook off. Whether they were cooking clam chowder based from passed down family recipes or just a plan amongst a circle of friends, everyone was out to have a good time.

Below is the list of the winners of the 29th Annual Santa Cruz Clam Chowder Cook Off & Festival:

Best Professional Boston
1st Place – Severino’s Grill, Chef Antonio Gomez (Aptos)
2nd Place – Blackboard Catering, Chef Clint Hughey (Santa Cruz)
3rd Place – Lil Biscuit House, Chef Martin Krawetz (San Mateo)

Best Professional Manhattan
1st Place – Severino’s Grill, Chef Miguel Ponce (Aptos)
2nd Place – Blackboard Catering, Chef Clint Hughey (Santa Cruz)
3rd Place – Cabrillo College Culinary Arts, Chef Danny Pena (Aptos)

Best Individual Manhattan
1st Place – “Little Kahuna” – Brad Winding (Castro Valley)
2nd Place – “Dragonmama’s Red” – Michelle Ber (Fremont)
3rd Place – “Mitchell’s Chowder” – Zack Mitchell (Santa Cruz)

Best Individual Boston
1st Place – “Ye Oldde Cape Codders” – Darin Wallace (Oak Grove)
2nd Place – “Clam Rock” – Chris Hirz (San Jose)
3rd Place – “Clamma Lamma Ding Dongs” – Amy Gilmore (Roseville)

Best Corporate
1st Place – Dominican Hospital (Santa Cruz)
2nd Place – Jerry’s of Hollister (Hollister)
3rd Place – MYC Delta Clammers (Martinez)

Most Original Team
1st – Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing (Santa Cruz)
2nd – Dominican Hospital (Santa Cruz)
3rd – Cocoanut Grove Castaways (Santa Cruz)

People’s Choice
Professional: Severino’s Grills (Aptos)
Corporate: Dominican Hospital (Santa Cruz)
Individual: Grandma’s Clam Digger (Aptos)

Most Tasted
Professioinal: Carmona’s BBQ & Deli (Watsonville)
Corporate: Draeger Construction (San Jose)
Individual: Rosie’s Clam & Get it (Soquel)

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The more time that I spent in the Bay Area, the more I found myself finding reasons just to go to the Ferry Building. I slowly began to discover my personal favorite finds, always returning back to them. There’s so much to take in. It’ll take awhile for me, or anyone to discover it all in one visit.

One spot that I catch myself going back to, time and time again, is the Hog Island Oyster Bar.

Why? Just so I can share the experience of having some of the freshest oysters available, some right out of Tomales Bay, with others. You can have them shucked and enjoyed fresh or baked. The Casino oyster, shown above, is just one example of baked oysters that they offer on the Hog Island Oyster Bar menu. Layers of flavor from paprika, shallots, thyme, and butter, just soak into the sweet oyster. Add just a touch of lemon juice to finish it off, eat, nod your head in delight, and repeat.

Backing up Hog Island Oyster Bar’s oysters are some solid soups that are not to be missed. One in particular that pleases us every time we visit is the clam chowder. Floating around the creamy broth you’ll find the standard potatoes and bacon, but what stands out here are the Manila clams. Still in the shell, you’ll have to work at picking them out. We don’t mind. It just adds to the aura of knowing you’re getting fresh clams and not any of that canned stuff. With my friends and family, we all agree that for the most part, the texture of chowder is pleasantly on the light side, not thick and heavy. I’ve had chowders in the past that were always thick, leaving me with a full feeling in my gut after one bowl. I can tell you that it’s refreshing to get something on the lighter side of things. You focus less on the richness of the texture and begin to see the clams as the highlight.

They say that everything should be enjoyed in moderation. It’s hard for us to follow that when we’re here. You just want to keep ordering oyster after oyster, savoring each sweet bit from their shells.

Hog Island Oyster Bar
1 Ferry Building #11A
San Francisco, CA 94111
www.hogislandoysters.com

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One question that sits on my mind is, “What to barbecue?” I could do a plain old hamburger or steak, but I wanted something more exciting that would combine some of my personal favorite spices to bring out rich flavors. And then, it hit me. What could be better than having sweet shrimp sizzling in a smoked Spanish paprika butter sauce right on the grill?

Ingredients
For The Shrimp:
2 Pounds of Uncooked Shrimp with the Shell On
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper
2 tsp. Ground Cumin
1 tbs. Smoked Spanish Paprika

For the Sauce:
Olive Oil
1/2 Large Sliced Red Onion
3 Cloves of Chopped Garlic
4 tbs. Butter
2 tbs. Smoked Spanish Paprika

Steps
First, prepare the butter sauce by heating up a large sauce pan with enough olive oil to sauté the onion and garlic. Keep the temperature at medium high heat and place in the butter until it melts completely. Finally, add in the smoked Spanish paprika into the sauce. Keep stirring everything together. Remove the sauce pan from the stove top and set it aside while you prepare the shrimp.

Next, clean and peel the shrimp. In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, salt, pepper, cumin, and smoked Spanish paprika.

Add the butter sauce into the bowl and toss the shrimp. Make sure the shrimp gets a generous coating from the sauce.

It’s time to get your grill fired up. Cook the shrimp for two minutes on each side. Grilling the shrimp adds a touch smokiness flavor which complement the spices. You can pair the shrimp with a mango salsa for a finishing touch.

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Contestants were divided into to three divisions. The first division was made up of Individuals that consisted of families sharing their version of clam chowder. Next, there was the Professional division that ranged from restaurants, food caterers, to culinary schools. Finally, the last group was the Corporate/Media division. This bunch was made up of cooks representing companies and organizations. Both the best Boston and Manhattan clam chowder titles would be awarded separately. A select panel of judges was to pick the winners later that afternoon.

We arrived a little past noon at the Boardwalk just in time to see contestants wrapping up the rest of their prep work. Stoves were lit and everyone was busily hurrying to get their chowder ready for public tasting.

Tasting Kits were available for event goers. Each kit included a small paper cup, spoon, napkin, and a blue voting ticket for you to pick your favorite chowder. The contestants with the most blue tickets would be crowned the People’s Choice Winner. Your Tasting Kit also included five tickets that you would hand out to each contestant so that you could sample their clam chowder. You also had to make sure you don’t throw your cup away. You had to reuse it each time you were to sample chowder from different booths. You could see that our cups were pretty much beat up by the end of the tasting.

So, how do you pick out which chowder to try out with only five tickets to redeem? It helped that past event winners showed off their reward plaques that they’ve collected over the years. Some contestants went as far as dressing up in costumes and setting up themed booths to catch the attention of people walking by. I found the best way to find out which chowder to try was to actually talk to the people at the booths. This way, we found out the stories behind their clam chowder and what makes their chowder stand out above the rest.

I was browsing through a pamphlet that listed all of the contestants and last year’s event winners. It was our first time at the event and we wanted to be as fair as possible when it came to selecting which chowders we planned to taste. We ignored the list of the 2008 winners so that we could find our own favorites. We also went on a little chatting spree with several booths to find out more about them and their clam chowder.

2 Guys Cook’in

I wondered what makes a good clam chowder. Eric from the 2 Guys Cook’in booth said, “It’s all about the clams. Whether they’re fresh or canned.”

This group from Ben Lomond have always tried to create something new with clam chowder. This year they tried to have a Thai inspired clam chowder that uses coconut milk, basil, and lemon grass.

Moms Clam Diggers
This is a family operation from Aptos. Their booth showed pictures of their family digging out clams from a sea shore. What made their chowder different was the Mexican flare they added. It looks like this group prided their chowder on their heritage.

Draeger Construction
What caught our attention was the chef chopping up crispy strips of bacon. I was able to talk to one of the representatives from their booth and I asked what made their chowder stand out.

“Our chowder is not low in calories. Be warned!”

She pointed out the bacon as she told me about their chowder. She also pulled out a boxed carton of the largest slab of cream cheese that I’ve ever seen. After seeing that, I knew she wasn’t kidding about the calories in this one.

Dominican Hospital
A very whimsical fellow from this booth was dressed up as a doctor. He used his stethoscope on the pot of clam chowder and kiddingly said, “I think we killed the clams!”

We exchanged a few words about what kind clams they were using. He said they used fresh Manila Clams. I noticed the bowl right in front of me and saw how the clams were sautéed in garlic. I sampled a taste of the clams and it peaked my interest to see how they would taste in chowder.

Chowder Kids Making Bacon
When bacon is in the air, the crowds are there. You could just smell bacon as you walked by this booth. The smell attracted a large crowd. We decided to give it a try just because of the long line that was forming.

Fog Mountain Café

With contestants using the same basic ingredients, it’s almost crucial that you take a step to differentiate yourself from others. We saw that with Fog Mountain Café’s chowder. They utilized applewood smoked bacon and roasted corn. We saw the beautiful yellow corn being heated over two skillets as the rest of the Fog Mountain Café team worked on getting their chowder together.

Good Samaritan Hospital
This high spirited bunch showed off over 20 of their awards that they’ve collected in past events. We just had to stop and see how they managed to win so much.

“Chef Ray Ramirez is behind the chowder. It’s his secret.”

I knew that not everyone was going to share their recipe for success. As we were about to leave the Good Samaritan Hospital booth, we heard a loud yell from behind. A military sound off was happening at their booth. This little skit accompanied the military uniforms and theme they had going.

It goes to show you that family recipes, secret ingredients, and special techniques will always be a part of making one’s clam chowder the best.

I mean, look at this modified drill made specifically for mixing up clam chowder.

It was such a fantastic event. It was great fun especially if you are a big clam chowder fan. My experience with clam chowder was limited to what was available in restaurants in Monterey’s Fisherman’s Warf. Being able to attend the Clam Chowder Festival was a welcomed change to what I’m used to. To have several samples of different chowders with their own distinct characteristics really can show you how clam chowder isn’t just clam chowder.

A special thank you goes out to Kiersten of Foodbuzz and the Foodie Correspondent Program and the contestants that let us chat with them. Also, another thank you to Brigid Fuller from Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

Below is the list of the winners of the 28th Annual Santa Cruz Clam Chowder Cook Off & Festival:

Best Professional Boston
1st Place – Blackboard Catering , Santa Cruz
2nd Place – Cabrillo College Culinary Arts, Aptos
3rd Place – Lil Biscuit House, San Mateo

Best Professional Manhattan
1st Place – Severino’s Grill, Aptos
2nd Place – Cabrillo College Culinary Arts, Aptos
3rd Place – Redwood Sluggers, UCSC

Best Individual Manhattan
1st Place – Little Kahuna Chowder, Brad Winding, Castro Valley
2nd Place – Grandma’s Clam Diggers, Salome Ponce, Aptos
3rd Place – Manhattan Mama, Kathy Cooper, Sacramento

Best Individual Boston
1st Place – Clam Halen, Brad Bishop, Santa Cruz
2nd Place – Rack of Clams, Tom Mietz, Santa Cruz
3d Place – Moms Clam Diggers, Salome Ponce, Aptos

Best Corporate
1st Place – Aegis of Aptos, Aptos
2nd Place – Draeger Construction, San Jose
3rd Place – Dominican Oaks, Santa Cruz

Most Original Team
Good Samaritan Hospital, San Jose

People’s Choice
Good Samaritan Hospital, San Jose

Most Tasted
Good Samaritan Hospital, San Jose
Carmona’s BBQ Deli, Watsonville
Rosie’s Clam & Get It

Sal Dinapoli Special Spirit Award
Continental Airlines

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One of the questions that come to mind when I go on a vacation is where to eat. My rule of thumb is to shy away from the chain restaurants and try to find restaurants that locals dine at. I thought we would have a hard time finding local eateries in South Lake Tahoe when we visited for the weekend. Luckily, there was a spot called Freshies that catered to the South Lake Tahoe locals with its Hawaiian influenced cuisine. I know what you’re thinking. Hawaiian? In Lake Tahoe? The two make an odd combination, but yet they’ve been doing it for eight years and have been successful. They must be doing something right.

Freshies mission is to focus on fresh ingredients. They make everything from scratch. It’s printed on their menu and it shows in their food. When you have a restaurant that pushes for that mission or promise, it makes you appreciate their efforts even more. It’s nice to know that there’s a restaurant in the area that does pride their food on freshness and quality.

And yes, it shows. I ordered the Fish Tacos Platter and was left amazed at how it tasted. You get a choice of how you want your fish prepared. Choose from grilled, fried, or blackened. I opted to go for a healthy route and went with the grilled. They used Red Rock Cod in the tacos. The fish was flakey and moist. As you bite into the taco, the crunch of the lettuce, the spice of the zesty sauce all combine with the fish. A side of rice, black beans, cole slaw, chips, and salsa come with the platter. You are definitely getting plenty to eat. My only disappointment was that my meal only included two tacos. I could have gone for two more.

Along with the tacos, we had an order of their Teriyaki Chicken platter. This was also packed with plenty of sides. A salad with sesame vinaigrette dressing was included. The vinaigrette brought together a tangy and sweet taste to the fresh greens. The chicken thighs themselves were grilled with beautiful char marks. This locked in all of the juices of the chicken. You get a bright yellow bits of pineapple garnishing the top of the chicken thighs. The teriyaki sauce The teriyaki sauce at Freshies had stronger flavors of tangy pineapple as opposed to traditional sweet Japanese teriyaki sauce. It was a welcomed change.

This was a perfect way to start off our trip to Lake Tahoe.

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The Crab Cioppino here is hands down the best thing on the menu. This thing is huge and perfect for a group of 2-4 people to share. The Cioppino is served in a pot with a lid to keep it from getting cold. Take the lid off and you’re in for a surprise. Lots and lots of seafood here. This thing is loaded with crab, mussels, scallops, fish, clams, shrimp, and penne pasta.

Let’s not forget about the other fresh seafood choices. There are daily specials of various fish and seafood offerings. The last time I’ve dined here, they had Monkfish, Black Cod, and Sea Scallops as their specials. All are served with vegetables.

After hearing that Monkfish was on the menu, I had to order. Quoted as the poor man’s lobster, this fish has a soft and delicate texture. A sweet tomato sauce topped with capers was served with the fish. The combination of the fish and sauce had intense flavors that are quite satisfying.

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