Best Bites: Chowder Room’s Vegan Chowder

Some might be hard pressed to call the Chowder Room‘s vegan chowder a true example of the genre. By definition, chowder contains seafood and/or potatoes; the South Broadway eatery’s version contains neither. Order it anyway. You’ll be rewarded with a filling bowl of coconut milk–rich green curry brimming with roasted cauliflower and eggplant. Chef/co-owner Matt Stein‘s green curry—he makes it in-house—lends layered depth and welcome spice. To top off the silky, addictive soup, Stein adds a wedge of pan-seared tofu. It’s not chowder per se, but it hits all the same comfort-food notes.

Of course, Stein also serves traditional chowders: expect an excellent white New England-style clam, a spicy red that eats more like cioppino than Manhattan, and a rotating chowder of the day. These can be ordered by the cup, bowl, or in a sourdough bread bowl—or, order a sampler and taste all three. The vegan version, however, only comes as a bowl and is not included in the sampler. But, that’s just as well because a cup of the spicy coconut elixir wouldn’t be nearly enough.

560 S. Broadway, 303-777-3474

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