Mendocino Whale Festival

It was the Mendocino Whale Festival this past weekend. Last year, it was sunny and beautiful. This year, it was rainy and the sea was so rough, it was difficult to see whales.

The Clam Chowder festival was held at Crown Hall on Ukiah Street. Purchase a ticket online for $10 (plus a convenience fee of $1.34). The event starts at 11 am and lasts until the chowder run out.

There were 7 entrants this year:

Albion River Inn
Cafe Beaujolais
Trillium Cafe
MacCallum House Inn
Little River Inn
Harvest Market
North Coast Brewing Company

Albion River Inn had more of seafood stew. It was loaded with bay shrimp and bay scallops. MacCallum House also had a seafood stew and they had mussels in theirs. I liked the Albion River Inn's entry better.

The rest had a classic white chowder. This was North Coast Brewing Company's entry. It was my favorite. It had classic bacon flavor, the chowder was not too thick and it was chock full of clams. My husband thought the potatoes had been overcooked but I overlooked that little error.

I was disappointed by Cafe Beaujolais' entry. It's my favorite Mendocino restaurant but their chowder was too thick. My husband liked Trillium's entry. He thought it had the most spices but I like my chowder pure. Little River Inn and Harvest Market had good chowders but not as good as North Coast.

2016 03 05