Long Island Chowder Contest

We were so glad we found this event on Unilocal because it was way bigger than we imagined. This was the 17^th annual Long Island Chowder Contest but only our first. The Snapper Inn itself is off the beaten path and right on the water so the location couldn’t have been better.
People and restaurants from across the island came to participate in this chowder palooza. The even ran for two hours of unlimited samples of different chowders and soups from about 8 – 10 different restaurants were available to taste until they ran out. Most samples only brought one tray and that was a big mistake. By 1 o’clock almost all but two restaurants ran out of their respected soups. My favorite was probaly was actually the Snapper Inn’s seafood bisque. It wasn’t overly salty and had tons of shellfish.
The Snapper Inn has a nice bar and more than half the restaurant was dedicated to the event and they needed every inch of it. It was a little hard to move around, maybe they should use the entire Snapper Inn and charge people a $ 10 donation to the charity instead of the «suggested» donation. The outside had a fire pit going and a couple heat lamps and even a few sailboats going in the middle of winter which was an awesome surprise. I would come back to the Inn for a special brunch for an occasion because of the ambienance, the staff and the soup.

This was such a fun event! It was at the Snapper Inn — a nice restaurant that’s right on the water. There were so many different chowders to try I was in heaven! I’m so glad I wasn’t a judge because all of them were so good it was hard to pick my favorite
The room was a little small for the amount of people there it was kinda cramped. But you could go outside if you were feeling claustrophobic and watch the sailboats out on the water under a warm heat lamp. If you go next year (which I plan on doing) make sure you make a donation to the Great South Bay conservatory! I would definitely come back for a nice brunch even though it seems a little pricey.

All in all this was a good event, i pulled up about 12:15 scurried inside.
The snapper inn doesn’t do it for me when it comes to beer selection so I had a extra dirty martini, surprisingly it was made excellently!
Moving right to the chowdah, I was a little disappointed to see some were already out just 15 minutes in, and some just didn’t show up.
I don’t know if it was a public voting thing or what, nor do I know the winner. All of the Manhattan clam was sorta… Off; snapper inn probably had the winner in that it was the most authentic, robust, and ingredient driven, but really could have benefitted from salt, pepper, and any other flavor. The other Manhattans fell short and one was pretty much just cambels soup (Jolly fisherman)
Moving on to the New England (better selections) the Wave at danfords was good and the Views was great too but they ran out almost immediately after I tried some. After a while it all starts tasting «tinny» because of the amount of times I burnt my tongue.
My honest and surprising favorite, was the Irish coffee pubs seafood bisque, that stuff was perfectly balanced. Everything else I had was lacking flavor or draining salt factories of their supply.
Irish coffee pubs New England was good and could have been great if instead of the salt shaker they used clams.
I didn’t get any shrimp and corn chowder which stunk, but I guess ya gotta get there early.

I came here Saturday February 6, 2016 with my dad & uncle. We came early & they were still setting up.
103.1 Max FM was simulcasting the event & the host kept everything lively. There was football question answering contests to win gift cards & plenty of chowders & bisques to sample.
I even ran into a fellow Unilocalers Justin M & Victoria S. I recognized them from the Spuntino event in G. City & Justin & I had a brief convo about the construction business.
Any who thanks to Snapper Inn for hosting this FREE event with so many delicious options. The lines got long but moved fast. And I will add that my favorite Manhattan chowder belonged to Snapper Inn!
My favorite New England belonged to The Irish Pub. Creamy & full of clam pieces with a great clam flavor that wasn’t overpowering or fishy. There was also a great corn chowder with shrimp & crab. Very sweet & deliciously different. All of the seafood bisques were good so I couldn’t choose. Glad I wasn’t judging.
It’s a good time & I would come back again. They do ask for a donation which everyone happily obliged for the Nature Conservancy. So come down next year!

Quick run down by category:
5 stars to the Snapper Inn for again hosting this charitable event.
5 stars to The Nature Conservancy for helping out the area.
5 stars to both the staff of the Snapper Inn and The Nature Conservancy for their politeness.
4 – 5 stars for the Manhattan Clam Chowders.
1 – 2 stars for the New England Clam Chowders.
0 stars for the lack of a line system inside — and due to this my last time attending. 80% of the people got it, and respected the line process; it’s the 20% that didn’t. There should have been someone set-​up to herd these people like you would your basic sheep. People who think they are better than everyone, or more likely, too stupid and inconsiderate to understand the fairness of the line process. Either way, there was nothing set up to stop the fatties from skipping the line — there should have been.

The Long Island Chowder Festival was a good time. The Snapper Inn could have been slightly more open to the event guests with seating from more than 10 people but the chowder and friends made up for it.

This was a really fun event that is hosted by the Snapper Inn as a fundraiser for the Nature Conservancy’s Great South Bay Program. I’m biased because I always love Snapper Inn’s New England Clam Chowder the best, thanks to awesome Chef Maureen This year there was tough competition and no one went away hungry! The owners and staff at the Snapper Inn couldn’t be nicer people and it’s a fun crowd. WBLI’s Wise Man keeps people cracking up and guessing trivia, and a lot of money is raised to help make the Great South Bay great again! What a great cause! If you’re looking for a really nice meal, give the business to your local seafood place and enjoy some chowder! It’ll warm you right up this winter!