An energetic reporter, Mr. Allman makes a full circuit of contemporary Miami: its rich ethnic chowder, its byzantine politics, its feverish real-estate boom, its mounting role in international communications.

It begins with a chowder rich with corn, potatoes and spice.

The lunch menu features colorful salads and daily specials like a spicy Jamaican squash-and-sweet-potato soup, and a rich chowder with chunks of haddock and smoked salmon.

Creamy vegetable purees, thick bean-based concoctions and rich smoky chowders are some of the many soups that warm body and soul when the weather turns raw.

Using milk would make a richer chowder, but the flavour would not be as clean and fresh.

The rich white chowder was thick with tender clams and potato cubes, but needed some salt to realize its full potential.

Since 1992, when he was a chef at Mondrian, he has made a rich chowder of corn and chanterelles, while sometimes substituting fresh portobellos or shiitakes.

Seasonal Northwest ingredients are used in dishes including oyster stew, a rich, velvety chowder made with local Dabob Bay oysters simmered in cream with pancetta, fennel, leeks and parsley.

Start with the locally renowned fish soup, a rich chowder with flat-leaf parsley that will allay any immediate pangs of hunger.