But not all East Coast “chowderheads” like dairy mixed with their clams. Manhattan clam chowder has no dairy and adds tomatoes. A Maine state representative once found this so infuriating that he drafted a bill in 1939 to criminalize mixing tomatoes and clams in the same pot. Rhode Island and Connecticut clam chowder bans both tomatoes and dairy from the clear broth soup in those states. This aligns with what some culinary historians maintain is the preferred clam chowder practice of Native peoples, allowing the briny taste of quahogs to shine more intensely.