I've been crazy about chowder since the first time I tasted it in the US - it's kind of my favorite of all western soups. So when I saw this even somewhere among my trashy surfing activity, I commited myself to go there and try various kinds of the city's best chowder. So there I was this afternoon: Portland 9th Annual Chowder Challenge!
I don't know if this kind of activity is popular enough in Jakarta or Palembang, but for it's a really nice process to legitimately determine which chowder is "The Best Chowder in the town"! So the idea is, upon paying $10, the committee will serve you 12 sample chowders (2 ouces each) from various bars/restaurants in a numbered tray, you blind-taste all of them, pick which one is your favorite, write it in your ballot, and submit it to the committee. After everyone's done with their ballot, the committee will count the vote (just like in all types of vote counting) and announce the winner. To make it easier to imagine, here are some pictures of my blind-tasting joy:
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| Here is the rule! |
It's also amazing how Portlanders are so enthusiastic with this kind of thing. Portland is a city where everyone's willing to spend 30 minutes or more in a long line to try "what's hip in the town" - and apparently this annual challenge draws many voters each year!
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| The famous Portland long line |
In the entrance, the committee will collect the $10, and then give us an empty tray and the ballot. Unfortunately I did not take the picture of them, but it's not so hard to imagine a tray with a paper divided by lines into 12 squares, each numbered from 1-12. What for? Since it's blind-tasting, so instead of revealing the names of the bars/restaurants cooking each chowder, they give us numbers so we can consider our favorites easily. And the ballot also provides a place to take a note in the back side!
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| Reception desk? |
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| Volunteers filling the 2 ounces samples and put it in our tray according to their number |
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| Welcome the chowders! |
I started with a spoon for each of them, and it was amazing how chowders can really taste different! By tasting little by little and not finishing one at a time, I can go back to particular cup for a more narrow comparison when I need it. I did it repeatedly, each round dropping my least favorites until I end up with only 2 cups, and think carefully which one between the two is my favorite. Some people eventually made a mistake by finishing a cup before tasting all of them, making them can't go back to the other ones when they need to compare. My method eventually drawn attention from other people, some regretting their method and thought I'm a serious taster. I chatted with random people in my table, sharing our opinion and some of them even tell me particular ingredients they notice in each sample. Since my cooking knowledge is super tropical (and my chowder knowledge considerably zero), I enjoy the names they mentioned without really knowing what kind of thing they are.
Ah, and anyway, I finally done with my ballot and pick chowder no. 2 as my favorite and no. 3 as best with beer!
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| Comment section |
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| This was the place where everyone sit together and share their thoughts on chowders! LOL. |
Anyway, they just announced the winner for this year! Wilwood Cafe (no. 3), my pick for "Best with Beer" eventually get the title! But my pick for best chowder of the year did not make it, and the trophy goes to Lompoc Tavern (no. 5) - the one that I throw easily because I had a big chunk of potato instead of clam right there.
So when you visit Portland, don't forget to try 'em!
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