A Prouder Chowder

Think of it as Clam-a-Rama—the 1st Annual (ambitious, aren’t they?) Santa Barbara Chowder Fest, to be held Sunday, October 24, from 1-6 p.m. at the Montecito Country Club (santabarbarachowderfest.com). This benefit for the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara, which provides legal aid to senior citizens and those with low-incomes, is a tasty way to help out as you’ll get to witness, and by that I mean sink your spoons deep into, numerous chowders as local restaurants vie for the title of head chowderhead. Spots like Brophy Brothers, Enterprise Fish Co., the Harbor Restaurant, Opal, and the Wine Cask will be serving up food, and those well-prepared bivalves will get washed down with local wines and beers, from Brander, Margerum, Whitcraft, Telegraph, etc. Like any of these fundraisers, there will be raffles and auctions, but unlike most, there will be judging, and leading that group will be Scott Leibfried, known for both Hell’s Kitchen on TV and a more heavenly kitchen at the recently opened Arch Rock Fish.