Seafood lovers will love Sam’s Chowder House

Sam’s Chowder House in Half Moon Bay is a destination for seafood lovers who want to see the ocean while they enjoy their favorites.

Perched on a bluff just south of Pillar Point Harbor on Highway One north of Half Moon Bay, Sam’s has built a remarkable following by combining fresh seafood from both coasts with fresh local ingredients grown in the rich soil and mild climate of coastal San Mateo County. It is billed as an East Coast style seafood house and provides quality food in a relaxed, fun atmosphere.

It shows the heritage of experienced restaurateur and co-owner Paul Shenkman and executive chef/partner Lewis Rossman who both grew up on the East Coast and spent memorable summer months on the New Jersey shore.

Offerings range from the East Coast: fresh whole Maine lobster (served steamed or grilled), the famed lobster roll sandwiches (lobster sautéed in butter with a bit of celery served on custom-baked rolls from Half Moon Bay) to West Coast: fresh Petrale sole or rock cod fresh from the nearby harbor.

“Summer in New Jersey is local corn and tomatoes. When building the menu, we planned East Coast chowder, fresh oyster bar, lobster rolls and soft-shelled blue crab,” Rossman said. “

Chatting with team members, what’s amazing is how well the kitchen team delivers quality food while serving a huge volume. A really busy day is 2,000 diners from lunch through dinner (the restaurant is open continuously after it opens for lunch). That invites afternoon snacks on the glassed-in patio that is includes heaters and a fire pit and can seat up to 120 people. Sam’s also offers its menu to go so we stopped by after golfing at the Half Moon Bay links to pick up a lobster roll before heading back to the East Bay.

That was one of 400 lobster rolls served on normal weekend day—Chef de Cuisine Simon Arreola said one of member of the cooking line has two large sauté pans of lobster pieces, butter and celery bits going continuously once the crowd arrives. Incidentally, Simon started 14 years ago as a janitor and has worked his way up to leading the cooking crew.

The lobster roll put Sam’s on the national map when the NBC Today show named it one of the five best sandwiches in America and invited Rossman to prepare it one morning.

It also is reflected in the famous New England-style clam chowder made with bacon, Yukon potatoes and cream, but without the flour that typically is used to thicken chowders. On a busy day, the restaurant might go through three 50-gallon pots or up to 1,000 gallons per week (it also is a popular take-home item). Incidentally, the portion for a cup is huge so a bowl and a salad can easily make a meal.

“The three key guys on our cooking team have been together since 2001 and everyone buys into the program,” Rossman said to explain how Sam’s manages to serve so many customers while maintaining his quality standards.

Rossman is an interesting story—he’s the oldest of five children and his dad was a cardiologist. He wanted to go to college at UCLA, but was persuaded to go to Syracuse where he graduated with an English major, but enough science to pursue medicine. Instead, he came west and attended the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and became a chef.

“It was the greatest decision that I have made–following my passion. It ended up working out great for me,” Rossman said. “I found what I love to do at a relatively young age and I consider it a blessing.”

ACES prefers a tasting menu that allows the kitchen to show off. Julie Shenkman, who owns Sam’s with her husband, Paul, picked out a series of favorites from the expansive menu and we settled on a number with the help of our experienced server, Laurelle Ritner who grew up in Half Moon Bay.

Starting with tastes of both the New England and Manhattan clam chowders, we can say you can’t go wrong with either.

The chowders were followed with a variety of starters—spicy popcorn shrimp, roasted garlic-chili prawns with feta cheese, roasted cherry tomatoes, chili flakes and basil, Grandma Flora’s savory meat balls (the recipe comes from the chef’s grandmother), seafood ceviche with bay scallops, shrimp, mango and fresh lime juice.

Cecilia Chapman joined us to recommend wines. She paired a 2013 Firesteed Pinot Gorgio from Oregon with the starters. It was a perfect match for all of the seafood, the crispness complementing the rich seafood in the ceviche and garlic-chili shrimp.

One of the delightful surprises was the popcorn shrimp, which we were prepared to pass on to save calories. That would have been a big mistake. The bay shrimp are soaked in milk and then dusted in two flours and fried in a light batter. They were delightful—our favorite among a very good selection of starters. We were tempted to grab an order to go the next afternoon, but could not figure out how to eat them en route home without making a total mess.

The meatballs are another surprise. Who would imagine wonderful meatballs in a rich tomato sauce on the menu at a seafood house, but if you are not a seafood person, there are ample offerings with a couple of steaks, a hamburger, a roasted chicken and baby back ribs.

Turning to entrees, my bride sampled three different fresh fish offerings: California king salmon with roasted butternut squash, sautéed baby kale, toasted barley in a pomegranate reduction; California halibut with creamy wild mushrooms and leaks (the favorite side dish) and Corvina Sea Bass with sautéed prawns and manila clams in Romesco broth with basil aioli. Fresh rock cod and grilled swordfish were the other fresh offerings.

I went for the 24-ounce steamed lobster tail with drawn butter—the classic New England beach-side preparation. It was messy, but wonderful—they did provide a bib. The cooking team helps you by cracking both the claws and splitting the tail so it’s easy to get to the sweet meat.

The lobster offers a choice of two sides—among the offerings were the seasonal pumpkin gnocchi that is only offered for a month in the fall. I also tried the sautéed baby spinach with garlic and the local chard sautéed with onions. In season, sides include creamed sweet corn as well as broccolini and Old Bay fries or polenta fries.

Rossman said they change the sides four times a year depending upon the seasonal produce.

As you would expect, from a seafood house, there were many fine chardonnays on the list as well as other whites (pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc). We selected as Nickel and Nickel 2012 Carneros chardonnay and my bride paired a Testarossa Pinot Noir with the salmon. Excellent all the way around. The list also offers plenty of hearty red choices for land-lovers who may want the baby back ribs or steaks.

The desert menu also has many, many choices, but we settled on the Key lime pie (made in-house with fresh limes) and the intriguing organic soft serve ice cream with olive oil and sea salt. Go for the key lime—great; and you can say the same for the unusual soft serve pairing.

Sam’s has a full bar as well as an expansive wine list complemented by a raw oyster bar. It offers a variety of specials as well as live music on Fridays and Saturdays (check the web site for details).

A second Sam’s location opened in Palo Alto in the fall of 2013 with a menu that duplicates Half Moon Bay for about 85 percent, but allows Executive Chef Robert Holt to showcase his own specialties.

Sam’s also was early in the food truck business, introducing the “chowdermobile” in 2009. It now has three food trucks out daily serving a limited menu of the chowders, lobster rolls, fish tacos and shrimp and Andouille sausage po’boys, and fish and chips.

A fourth truck is devoted entirely to catering its famous clam bakes for corporate, fundraising or private events. The classic lobster clambake includes lobster, clams, mussels, red potatoes, corn on the cob and sausage, all layered with seaweed and covered in burlap. They have served hundreds of people at special events.

Sam’s is a place where you will be comfortable in blue jeans and Topsiders or shorts and flip flops (a suit would not fit). It’s a fun casual atmosphere with quality food imaginatively paired with such a consistent kitchen that it can handle the volume of visitors eager to eat.

By Tim Hunt