I know you are going to call me crazy but I am not a big seafood guy. Okay, fine, throw your crab legs at me for making such a shallow statement but it is the truth. I simply don’t care for the tastes and textures of the cuisine that comes from the sea.

However, I do have two exceptions…

Serve me fish and chips any day. It might be the deep fried batter that converts me, but I really do enjoy fluffy white cod or halibut served with a side of fries.

My other exception is clam chowder. I love soup and clam chowder is actually on my shortlist. But there is a specific reason for why an anti-seafood diner like myself actually enjoys such a delicacy…

Sidney and my sister at the St. Mary Knights of Columbus fish fry on March 3, 2023. They are enjoying the two seafood items I will eat…fish & chips and clam chowder.

I grew up eating clam chowder at my grandpa’s restaurant. As a solid Catholic eatery, the Pastime Café would serve the soup every Friday as an option for those abstaining from meat. When my family would visit our grandparents in Walla Walla we would normally arrive at the start of the weekend (aka Friday) and head straight to the Pastime upon entering town.

As a young boy who would always opt for soup over salad at that point in my life, I would settle for the clam chowder. But I don’t know if “settling” is the right word because I actually really liked it.

And I still do to this day. I find clam chowder delicious and I always look forward to a cup of the soup when we attend the Lenten fish fry dinners put on by my St. Mary Knights of Columbus council.

Friday is quickly approaching and you will have plenty of options to duck into pretty much any restaurant (or join me at the St. Mary fish fry) and order clam chowder. Or perhaps you should just enjoy some tonight. After all, it is National Clam Chowder Day. Don’t Blink.