Award Winning Clam Chowder Story about the Best Clam Chowder in Seattle
My grandfather, John Fitzgerald Cox claimed he made the Best Clam Chowder in New England.
I grew up believing it and when I opened my first restaurant I remembered his recipe.
After starting with bacon and then making a roux of flour and butter comes a complex list of ingredients that have to be stirred in at precisely the right moment: dill, basil, marjoram, parsley, thyme, potatoes and heavy cream. Lastly come the single sourced clams from the famous Chesapeake Bay.
It took awhile with regular threats from the chef to resign before we got it right.
So right that it won both the judges and people’s choice awards for three years straight at the Seattle Chowder Cook Off.
The standard was set. Each bowl we turn out has to be just as good as we made for the awards.
Count on it, the best clam chowder in Seattle.
P.S. Now all of our chowders are also Gluten Free!
P.S.S. Duke's voted Best Seafood Restaurant in Seattle in KING5 Best of Western Washington (2015), voted best restaurant in Seattle in 425 Magazine (2016), 100% Sustainable Seafood by Smart Catch two years in a row (2015-2016)and the highest rating in Washington State, in the world for that matter, by Fish2Fork.com
As seen in Northwest Travel Magazine
"Because Duke’s is a Chowder House, the restaurant offers other varieties besides clam. Their symphony includes Lobster Pernod with langostinos and a hint of licorice, Northwest Seafood Chowder with Penn Cove mussels, Alaskan salmon, cod and halibut, and a Dungeness crab bisque. Duke’s also serves Cajun Chicken Corn Chowder with Creole seasonings. Some of Duke’s chowders are gluten-free. Can’t decide? Order a “full fleet” to sample them all." Heather Larson | Photo © Erica Bolvin | January 2 2015 |
As seen in Seattle Magazine - Where to Get the Best Clam Chowder in Seattle
At Duke’s Chowder House, it’s precisely that—a family recipe (using a bacon roux and unique combination of herbs) on which a local empire with six locations was built. Jessica Yadegaran, Chelsea Lin and Cynthia Nims; with additional reporting by Haley Durslag | June 2016 | FROM THE PRINT EDITION
Duke’s Chowder House, Greater Seattle WA Area
When I started researching the best Northwest chowders, I asked my daughter what she looked for in great chowder and she said it had to be made with heavy cream and real butter. No wonder Duke’s is one of her favorite places to dine, because that’s exactly how their executive chef, Bill Ranniger, makes his award-winning, all-natural clam chowder. He has generously converted the recipe (above) for home cooks.
“The heavy cream is what gives our clam chowder its richness,” says Ranniger. “The original recipe came from Duke’s (owner Duke Moscrip) grandfather, but we’ve changed it over the years. Most recently we researched and sourced products so we’d have an all natural version.”
Duke’s clam chowder won the Seattle Chowder Cook-Off three years in a row. Then, the powers that be asked Moscrip not to enter again to give other chowder recipes a shot at the prize. Instead they made Moscrip an honorary judge.
Because Duke’s is a Chowder House, the restaurant offers other varieties besides clam. Their symphony includes Lobster Pernod with langostinos and a hint of licorice, Northwest Seafood Chowder with Penn Cove mussels, Alaskan salmon, cod and halibut, and a Dungeness crab bisque. Duke’s also serves Cajun Chicken Corn Chowder with Creole seasonings. Some of Duke’s chowders are gluten-free. Can’t decide? Order a “full fleet” to sample them all.
Duke’s Chowder Houses are located in Seattle at Alki, Lake Union and Green Lake, and in Kent, Tukwila and Tacoma, Washington. For more information and reservations, go to dukeschowderhouse.com.