“The Chowder Bar”

The Chowder Bar

123 Maple Avenue

Bay Shore, NY

        Yesterday, here in New York was a cold and damp rainy day. When I suggested to my wife the idea of clam chowder she jumped at the opportunity as she too felt the chill in the air. She asked if I was planning of going to the Chowder Bar for a delicious bowl of their yummy soup. Indeed I was.

        I started going to this quaint little seafood restaurant located next to the Fire Island Ferry in Bay Shore way back in the 80’s. It was shortly after I asked for the recommendation of one of my bread delivery vendors. He recommended this restaurant even though he knew it would be a bit of a drive for me.

        The drive was well worth it as both my mother, who has since passed many years ago, and I loved everything we ate that day. I do have fond memories of that day spent with her. I have been going there ever since. Luckily, I have even moved a considerable distance closer so I could go more often. They do not have a large menu nor is it a “bougie” fancy pants restaurant. No, not at all, as a matter of fact, it is laid back and relaxing place. Almost like a small dinner. The inside still has its original counter where you can sit and watch the chef preparing your meal though the small service window.   After all this time it continues to have a really good selection of hot soups and after long cold day on the beach or traveling on a boat, their soup sure helps to warm you right up.

        By now, three decades later, I have eaten every fried item on the menu, several times. Even after all this time, I am never disappointed with their food. Their consistency in the making of the food has remained the same throughout all this time, which is more then I can say about most things and most places in life.

        On this most recent visit, I ordered a quart of New England Clam Chowder and the fried shrimp basket. It was, of course cooked to perfection and it is always just how I remember it on that very first trip way back in the 80’s. When I mentioned to my son, who is currently up in Boston, that I had gone to the Chowder Bar and ordered the clam chowder, he said his favorite soup there is the seafood bisque. He even tried to convince me I made a mistake and that should have ordered the soup that he likes. Both are very good. I have also had the Manhattan clam chowed many, many times and it too is delicious too.  

        Any trip there always takes me back to when I first took my mother. Soon after, when I was dating my wife we went there on a date. To this day, I continue to recommend this cozy eating establishment to friends and family.  

        So if you ever in the neighborhood of Bay Shore on Long Island NY stop by for a bowl of soup and maybe the fried flounder boat. I promise you, you won’t regret it.

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

© Russ Ahrens and The Magic of a Perfect Pairing, 2022

This is a pizza place review of a place called Mulberry Street in Bayshore.

Last night was New York style pizza night. This meant no cooking for me. I did not even make the toppings this time. We let the pizza place do it all.

I went over Scott and Ally’s for pizza. Scott ordered the pizza from a place called Mulberry Street in Bayshore, NY. There are a lot of “Mulberry Streets” here on Long Island, and they are not all the same. This one makes some fancy pizzas. The first one we had last night was a Lasagna pizza.

Above, you can see the lasagna pizza. It is a Sicilian style pizza with ricotta cheese, ground beef, mozzarella cheese, and sauce. Everyone loved this pizza. Sam ate two slices of this where I could only eat one. Jennifer had a slice of the traditional round plain New York Style pizza. Some people call this a Margherita Pizza. The third and final pizza was the meat lovers. This was Scott’s favorite slice. Ally enjoyed it too but she liked the Lasagna pizza better.

I liked the lasagna slice of pizza I ate, but I’m a cheese guy and for me there just was not enough mozzarella cheese. There was plenty of ricotta cheese but I like mozzarella cheese. To me, the reason to eat pizza is for the mozzarella cheese. I mean, salad pizza, really? Give me side salad and a nice slice of Italian bread, but don’t put salad on my pizza. I am a mozzarella cheese guy all the way. If I had my way, and I don’t usually get my way, I would order a plain pie with EXTRA cheese. This is how we ordered all our pizzas when I was a kid. When I got older, I cut down on the cheese and added different toppings.

My favorite pizza is what I call the garbage pie. Sam calls it a supreme style pizza. It is a Margarita Pizza with a traditional super thin crust, marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, Italian sweet sausage, meatballs, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, and black olives. I can usually only eat one slice of this overly indulgent work of artistry, even when it is done correctly.

That was dinner last night. I hope to be cooking something good tonight. Until next time, I hope all your pizzas are good ones and they arrive on time, unscathed and fresh from the oven!

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

Del Fuego – 17 Hewitt Square, East Northport, NY (631) 651-9393

Happy Monday and welcome back to the work week. I did not cook last night as we (Jennifer, Sam and my mother in-law) were invited out to dinner by my sister in-law. Adam, her son, had picked out a Mexican restaurant called Del Fuego. We have all eaten at Del Fuego’s Babylon location before, but this time we went to their Northport location, which was a bit more of a drive from our house on the South Shore of Long Island to East Northport. The drive is very scenic and fairly direct, so not bad at all. The app Jennifer was using to find the place was the only glitch. It took us to a church located just behind the restaurant, instead of the restaurant itself. I began wondering if that was a BAD omen.

We regrouped and drove around the corner to find the restaurant parking lot next to the church. I am a big fan of irony, so thought this should be fun.

We walked in and were seated right away. I did the call ahead seating thing but there was no need as there was PLENTY of empty tables this early (5:30pm). Maybe it’s more of a night time place. There were plenty of people outside and lots of staff. It looked liked they were expecting a big crowd. I’m just glad we had a nice big comfy booth and were in air-conditioning on a hot summer day in July.

The waiter came right over to take our drink orders. He introduced himself as Jake and asked if we wanted anything to drink. Before I discussed drinks, stupid me asked for menus. I guess restaurants are stopping the whole laminated menu thing now. This is the second or third restaurant I have been to where you bring the menu up on your phone from a QR code located at the table. This is a neat use of technology. I can see how the menu can be updated easily, but it can be hard to read on a phone if it is not done well, OR you’re getting older and have bad eyesight. What old geezer is going out for spicy Mexican food anyhow? ME that’s who! Besides that, they could have done a much nicer job with the ONLINE menu. For example, pictures of everything would have been helpful. Even if you can’t read worth a shit, you could see at least what you are going to be getting on your plate, then point to the picture and ask them not to make it too spicy…LOL. It’s not like they are constrained by space or printing costs anymore.

Even before the drinks came out, we had chips and salsa on the table. My sister in-law loves Del Fuego’s salsa. She probably loves the salsa more then the entrée she orders. Since there were six of us, Jennifer asked for more salsa right away. Jake was back within minutes with more salsa and chips. Jennifer didn’t even ask for the chips but he brought them anyway. He is good waiter. Their service so far was perfect. We already had enough drinks, chips, and salsa to keep everyone happy until we all knew what we wanted to eat.

Jake was soon back at our table to see if we had any questions or wanted to start with an appetizer. Jennifer ordered the Guacamole for us to share. Then, we went to work deciding and discussing who wanted to eat what. By the time Jake returned with the guac, we were ready to order. The Guacamole is excellent by the way. Jake had his pen in hand and was ready to take our orders. My mother in-law went first. She ordered the beef Chimichanga. Debbie ordered the BBQ brisket Enchiladas Baja Loco style (Tomatillo Guajillo Sauce, melted Mexican cheese, crispy onion rings, mango BBQ drizzle). Adam ordered the Fajitas with skirt steak. I ordered the Carnitas Enchiladas Baja Loco style. Jennifer ordered a beef Burrito and Sam ordered a chicken Enchilada Yucatan Style (Roasted Tomatillo Sauce, Melted Mexican Cheese , spicy salsa Rojo, and pickled red onions).

We ate chips and guacamole and talked. Jake returned to get us refills on drinks, chips and salsa. The time passed fairly quickly as we waited for our food. It was the dinner rush and I saw lots of plates going to the outside tables. It seemed that several staff members helped bring the food to the tables quickly.

We had almost finished the second round of chips that were delivered to our table when our food soon arrived. It seemed to be there in a reasonable amount of time from when we placed our order. That is good sign they know what there doing in the kitchen.

Everyone seemed to enjoy their meal. Only Jennifer and I had to box up leftovers. There were chips left on the table too but the salsa and Guacamole were both gone. Everyone thought their meal was delicious. It must be consistently good since this is our fourth or fifth time to Del Fuego, even if it was in Babylon. I would go back again. Next time, I may get something different. I loved the guacamole and salsa. The chips were really excellent too! I was not super fond of the enchiladas, but that is my own fault. I prefer the ones I make at home. The one here at Del Fuego were good but to me the sauce was just a bit too “smoky” flavored. I wonder if there is liquid smoke in it? That may just be my taste buds. Yours may love it, so I would definitely recommend this place to my family and friends. I have also been to the location in Patchogue for lunch and that too was very good. I had the Burrito there and would recommend that as well.

My suggestion is to visit one of the four Del Fuego restaurants here on Long Island if you want a casual dining experience. Have a drink, some food, and you won’t be disappointed.

Until next time. Eat, drink, and be happy!

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

35 MAIN STREET SAYVILLE, NY 11782 PHONE: 631 589-5529

Happy Tuesday. Last night’s meal was a repeat. It consisted of filet mignon (what was left), whole kernel corn with butter, and a tossed salad. It was good but I feel like I keep cooking the same boring things. I did have a good lunch yesterday, however.

Yesterday, we went out to eat for a coworker’s birthday. At first, we tried two different sushi restaurants that still had no indoor seating, huh. Then, we decided to eat at Crickets in Sayville. Again, no dice. They are closed on Mondays. As we looked across the street, and there were two more OPEN restaurants. We let the birthday boy decide. He picked the Greek place called Aegean Cafe.

The Aegean Café is a cozy little place in the heart of Sayville, Long Island on Main Street. Ahh, Main Street in small town America. I felt all Norman Rockwellish as we crossed over Main Street and headed into this fine establishment.

The waitress sat us down promptly and took our drink orders. We all perused the lunch special menu and regular menu. Everyone ordered the standard Greek fair, Gyros. I said “how boring” and ordered the sole over rice pilaf lunch special for $12.

We sat a reminisced about the New York City Food carts that of course included delicious gyros. Soon, our food was there. First out were the three gyros. They all looked and tasted great (or so I was told). Then came out the sole over rice and veggies. Everyone oooed and ahhhed and said how good it smelled.

It did smell good, just as good as the sole and vegetables smelled, and it tasted even better! I enjoyed every last bite of it. We talked about wine and beer as we ate our lunch but unfortunately, we all had to go back to work. We all had some kind of iced tea drink instead. Here is where I was boring and ordered a Snapple and my coworkers all ordered the fresh brewed stuff. Everything must have been good because there was nothing left on any plate and no time for dessert but I would happily go back to try their desserts next time.

The next time you’re in Sayville looking for a new place to eat, I would recommend the Aegean Café. The service is quick and friendly, and the food is amazing!

Now, I’m off to take Jen to the doctor as she is still in a lot of pain and didn’t get much sleep last night.

Until next time. Be well, eat well, and be happy!

The Drunken Chef (Russ)