Yelp's Chowderfest

This was such a cool event. It was great that I could purchase tickets for a good cause: Big Brother Big Sister takes clothing donations for kids in need. I dragged my wife and five friends to the event so that my Yelp community and homies could finally meet!

I did not try Vincent's chowder, but E.B. Elliott's (congrats for the tie with Vincent's!) was unforgettable. Super thick with a sprinkle of corn. So good! Anchor Down had many veggies and was too thin for a chowder for my taste.

The Naughty Girl IPA was quite good (pardon if I misnamed it). Got some Yelp gloves for my guests and they bought some sweet pepper sauce and jewelry from the venue!

Thank you again Drew for organizing this fun event for a great cause!

Mention a "fest" and I'll totally try to be there. Tell me Yelp is running it and you don't have to finish that sentence, I'm in! So you know I had to spend my Sunday at Yelp's inaugural Chowderfest. Was is it a winna? Did I fill myself with chowda? You bet your bivalve I did!

For starters, Great South Bay hosted the event and that just meant a strong connection to beer (which, if anybody knows me, is more than perfect). That ticket price gave you one free brew, some Yelp swag, and enough chowder to fill ya til ya pop! Even better? All the proceeds went to Big Brothers Big Sisters of LI so you can eat, sip, and know you're doin' some good during the holiday season.

With a couple of close friends (and plenty of Yelp fam all around), we began by grabbing a beer. GSB is a classic in the LI brewery scene so they've got some great brews to choose from. I went with the Hog Cabin Maple Bacon Porter. It's as good as it sounds, believe me.

From there, it was nonstop chowda! A handful of Long Island restaurants took some of their soupy samples and dolled them out for us to taste. And when I say taste I don't mean a little Dixie cup. Oh no no no. We got nice little bowls of creamy chowders that warmed our centers and made us Yelpers (and the like) quite content.

And once you tried them all? Well, with your ticket you got a little gold chip to vote on your favorite of the afternoon. I was torn between Vincent's Clam Bar and EB Elliot's as the best. VCB had some tender clams in theres and a tasty broth while EBE was the creamiest and nicely flavored as well. I voted for EBE, but in the end, it didn't matter between those two because it was a tie! 64 votes apiece! Shout out to Whaler's, (my third fav of the day).

Overall, Yelp did it again in creating a spectacular event. Well, maybe I should give plenty of props to our community manager, Drew. He knows how to run the show and gives anyone unfamiliar with Yelp a glimpse into what this food-tacular world is all about. A special thanks to Great South Bay for hosting (do it again next year!), and most importantly, to all my fellow Yelpers and friends, have a happy (chowder-filled) holiday season!

Totally had a blast here today at the chowder fest!
The great South Bay Brewery was an awesome location for it and the fact that the brewery had the Sunday holiday market happening was a cool bonus.
For me, the best chowder hands down was EB Elliot's. Soooo gooooood!

The only thing that really annoyed the shit out of me was that the "21 and over" policy was not enforced. Children do not belong at bars or breweries. Having people walk around with double seated strollers and having kids take up seats and running around into my legs is not my idea of a fun time when I'm trying to relax a kick a few back.
Yelp- please enforce this at events where you are literally giving us a beer with our entry!

Chowderfest a 'Sea'ccess! #YELPLI
A truly well attended Yelp event at the Great South Bay Brewery.

Yelpers like myself snatched tickets fast and flocked in droves to warm our tummies with Long Island's yummy chowder.
It can't get any fresher...at least locally as the majority of vendors that showed up, served up fresh assorted chowders from classic New England, Manhattan and even Corn chowder.

Started at Vincent's with their New England which was full of clams, veg/potato finely chopped. It wasn't too thick or thin, so knew it would be hard to beat.
As for their Manhattan it was pretty good, but being that they use their famous mild tomato marinara in it, I almost wanted to dunk a mozzarella stick right in! They could also opt to add some noodle and call it Clam Minestrone Soup!
At the restaurant, I'd opt for their New England at this point, with no disappointment at all - 5 star!

Then from NY Soup Exchange I tried their Corn chowder, think they are the only ones to come with all 3 selections. With expection to one vendor who served up the combo for a Long Island chowder. I will have to say NY Soup Exchange served up the best corn chowder I've tried. Usually I stay away from it as it comes out too thick or way too much corn. Theirs seems to be just right. Equal parts of ingredients and not too thick or corny.

Made my way around to E.B. Elliot's next...and glad i had room, as finally let the competition begin! Finally a chowder to give Vincent's a run for their money in the sense of Yelp title of Best 2017!
New executive Chef Casey Kennedy was vigorously whisking their New England up, keeping it fresh and just right. After tasting it I can see why he was working hard. Their chowder had that welcome home to a creamy New England Clam Chowder on a cold day, taste and feel. He could probably jar it and sell plenty on the Nautical Mile. It had plenty of fresh clam chunks and clam flavor without being over the top. I even stated to fellow Yelpers that it would be great to even re-purpose as a sauce dressing over a grilled chicken breast or crusted Cod Filet. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a thick gravy or chowder by any means. It was just yummy enough to have on its own or accompany a protein.

Nevertheless, at that point it was a race to the end of the line to see if anyone else was in the game to try and beat my two contenders. Finished all the way through to Whalers vendor and had to make final decision. Talk about a true flip of a coin chance for either: Vincent's Clam Bar or E.B. Elliot's as they had the top 2 tastes of the day - Battle New England Clam Chowder!

Not an easy decision as my fellow Yelpers encouraged me to drop that coin before it was too late. I had to go with my gut and go for the one I knew i could definitely make room for seconds, after long day of tastes. Moments later they were tallying up each vendor to see whom was victorious.

It's announced a TIE - Holy Chowder!!!
Was it my final coin between my two favorites?? It was indeed!!
I dropped my coin in E.B. Elliot's jar at the end and said "For the Win!"
Totally unbelievable...Epic decision leads to my top two to be #1.

Will totally go to both locations and gladly chow down on a cup of chowder.
Oh and let's not forget...be sure to wash it down with a cold Great South Bay Brew...today Blood Orange beer fit the bill!

This was a very nice relaxing Sunday event! Love the vibe and space of the brewery. They offer a delicious and wide-range of beers and they are very fresh and clean tasting.

The event room was very cool with our own private bar, awesome musician and a variety of restaurants serving chowder. After an hour of eating this delicious, rich food, I was looking for something else to cleanse the palate In short, I became a bit chowdered out! I realize this event is called "chowder fest," but it would have been nice for there to be one restaurant offering something else, for a bit of a break.

Other than that, I had a fun time and would definitely attend again!

Great event on many levels this year at Great South Bay Brewery. First proceeds went to charity, second it's a brewery, third it's a chowderfest and last there was a small group of local vendors selling their products. Just about something for everyone. It was fun meeting the guide dogs in training, all so well behaved and cute. Their foster parents were amazing people taking in these animals and training them for 18 months before they go to a home in need of their services.
Great South Bay has a great selection of brews. My favorite was the stout that was not on the menu but the staff member was kind enough to go in the back and get me some stout. Very generous pours and excellent beers. I tried 3 including the stout and also enjoyed the Massive IPA.
A smaller group of restaurants showed up for the chowder tasting but there was plenty of chowder to go around. All were very good but my favorite was Crop and Kettle and the View was very good with chunks of whole fresh clams in the soup. DJ's had an excellent traditional chowder and I believe they won the contest.
Nice seeing familiar faces and thanks to Drew and Nadia for organizing this event.

What a great event! It was my first time and I had a blast, especially because I could bring my pup. The chowders were plentiful and delicious! My pick didn't win (Crop & Kettle) but that's ok. Check in was easy breezy and the set up was nice. I also enjoyed the shopping bazaar. Great products and a nice option for non-drinkers like me...a yummy Root Beer. The singer sounded great. The acoustics in the brewery were much better for him than the Nassau County Art Museum. I will definitely attend next year. Another great event!

Beers and chowda on a cold day? Sure, why not? Another great event held at the Great South Bay brewery in their event room to try various different chowders offered by the restaurant competitors. There were many varieties of chowder from corn, the classic New England and Manhattan clam chowders.
After checking in we were given a ticket for a pint of beer and a token to vote the best chowder for who would be potentially be the winner. There were really some chowders that excelled more than others. There were clear differences of seasonings, texture, thickness of the soup and taste. There was one, which I will not name that I really did not like. There was a problem texturally and flavor wise. The chowder was way too thick and salty and reminded me of a start of a rue for a gravy rather than a true chowder.
My favorites were the tied winners of the event: Vincent's and E.B. Elliott's. Vincent's offered both New England Clam chowder and the Manhattan Clam chowder. Their Manhattan Clam Chowder features their mild marinara sauce as part of the broth. It's flavors had a comparison to a minestrone soup. Their New England clam chowder hit all the right notes, was light and full of clam flavor. E.B. Elliot's also served a very good New England clam chowder that was thicker and had a more comfort food feel with every bite.
Overall it was a nifty event and I would go again if it is held next year.

Chowda! Chowda! Chowda!

What a great event! Spend your Sunday afternoon in an excellent brewery and enjoy sampling a half dozen or so chowders. Doesn't get any better.

Our great experience started at the taps when our bartender, Kimbo, helped us sample a few of the beers trying to come up with my perfect Great Souh Bay beer. Kimbo nailed that I'd love the Nasty Girl. So good that it was my beer of the day AND I took home a four pack!

Next up, the chowders! About half of the entrants had both New England and Manhattan. The others only had NE. One ever had Long Island - a mix of the two. I'm partial to New England, so that's what I stuck with. We started with Vincent's Clam Bar's two chowders - NE and Manhattan. It was excellent.

Then onto the others. At the end of the day, our favorite was Vincent's Clam Bar. Whalers served a Latin influenced NE chowder that had a nice smokey flavor due to the addition of chorizo. That was our clear second choice.

Everyone involved today was super nice. All of the chowders were good and worth at least one bowl. Hats off to Drew for another great event that helped out a good cause - Big Brothers/Big Sisters and hats off to Great South Bay Brewery for being such an excellent host.

This was a very chill way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday. I arrived and waited on a line for a couple of minutes to check in. This is actually the second time I have been the Great South Bay Brewery. A couple of years back I came here to get some information about having a wedding there. They were having a beer sampling fest on that day a couple of years back which was cool.


I got my tickets for beer and to vote on my favorite chowder and I was ready to chow down. Without going into details about each taste I must say that I was very happy trying out the different samplings. After making my way around the room sampling the different chowders I had an idea who I wanted to vote for. I tried a beer and I must say that these are some of the freshest and tastiest beers that I have ever had and enjoyed the extremely talented musician that was preforming for us. This was a treat.

Altogether I think that the Chowderfest was a great event. When you get to try some new beer that is fresh and tasty and you pair it up with chowder and get to support a good cause at the same time that is really very special. Big thanks to Drew, Nadia, and the everyone else who took part in organizing such a chill event. I'm looking forward to next year already.