New England Clam Chowder

Is it weird that I first fell in love with New England clam chowder in Florida?

Let me explain: Back in the ’80s, we spent many vacations with our grandparents in the Orlando area, which of course meant many trips to 🌟DISNEY🌟.

And even back then, we didn’t just do the Magic Kingdom. We also spent many hours at Lake Buena Vista.

You young ones may not know that before it was Disney Springs, before it was Downtown Disney, before Pleasure Island, it was called Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village.

(The LEGO stuff has always been there as far back as I can remember, which is probably 1983 or so? That year was also my first trip to EPCOT, but I digress.)

And at Lake Buena Vista, there used to be a restaurant that extended on a pier into the lagoon called Cap’n Jack’s Oyster Bar.

Weirdly enough, even more so than looking at all the LEGO stuff, I absolutely loved going to Cap’n Jack’s for two reasons.

One: they served frozen strawberry margaritas and (again, back in the day) the bartenders would make a virgin version for my sister and me.

The margaritas came with lime wheels that got all icy and frosty in the strawberry slush, and it just felt so fancy and special—like so much at Disney.

Those margs were legit delicious, too. I finally got to have a few non-virgin ones with Dan (when I took him to experience his first EPCOT visit!) and it was a childhood experience elevated.

Not only that, but Cap’n Jack’s, which opened in 1975, was the first spot on the East Coast to serve strawberry margaritas! WHAT! No wonder our parents went crazy for them.

Second: at every table, there were heaping bowls of free oyster cracker packets to be eaten with the restaurant’s New England clam chowder.

At first, the clam chowder was merely an excuse for me to hoover down as many oyster cracker packets as humanly possible while the grown-ups enjoyed their margs.

But it became something to look forward to in its own right. In fact, this clam chowder may have been the spark that lit the flame of my love for clams overall.

Cap’n Jack’s was closed by 2014 when we made our most recent trip to the Disney World complex, so I never got to give it a proper goodbye.

And though a smaller dockside margarita bar tries to keep the flame alive, it’s not the same.

But now that I’ve clocked a lot of time in New England, and taste-tested a lot of authentic New England clam chowder in a lot of authentic shore-side and lakeside restaurants, I can say my Cap’n Jack’s experience was pretty on-point!

I honestly have no idea what was in their clam chowder, but mine does not try to be fancier than it needs to be.

I love a creamy chowder of any sort, so New England clam chowder fits the bill. If it had been Manhattan clam chowder in its tangy tomato broth, I likely wouldn’t have had the same slow-burning love.

And even more than that, I love a thick clam chowder—when you dip your spoon it it, you shouldn’t see the soup drizzling off. I want it to fall in big drips and drabs.

So mine is thickened with a basic dairy roux to get that rib-sticking texture.

It also doesn’t fool around with too many vegetables in the mix. Instead, I hit hard at the outset with a ton of aromatics, letting those flavors highlight the three tentpoles: clams, potatoes, and bacon.

With both chopped clams and clam juice, you’ll always get a hint of salty brine.

Speaking of salt—even though this clam chowder starts with bacon and has the brininess of clams in it, you’ll still need to salt liberally to your taste.

Don’t be shy, and taste as you go to make sure it’s not too bland.

Oh, and just in case I wasn’t clear, you better serve this with a lot of oyster crackers. Whether you decide to pair it with a strawberry margarita is your call.