Crab Park Chowdery

You might be surprised to learn that Crab Park Chowdery's signature clam chowder is an old family recipe. And in fact, nobody was more surprised to find that out than owner Ashton Phillips.

“I threw a little family shindig a few weeks ago – aunts, uncles and everybody,” he chuckles. “And my aunt came up to me and said, 'You've got to stop giving [Chef Pat Hennessy, Ashton's cousin] so much credit for the clam chowder.' And I was like: 'Why? He's killing it.' And she looks at me and says: 'It's your Grandmother's recipe.'”

And it's that recipe – along with a rotating offering of three others – that has been a hit with patrons of the cozy Gastown café. The 30-seat venue serves soups, lobster salad sandwiches, chowders and sourdough bread bowls inspired by Ashton's formative years in the Bay Area.

“San Francisco is near and dear to my heart,” he explains. “And Vancouver's a lot like San Francisco in a ton of different ways. And in San Francisco, there are clam chowder and sourdough bread places on every corner. I always thought it was weird that nobody was doing it up here.”