San Francisco Food Stop: Boudin

A trip to SanFrancisco would not be complete without visiting the Fisherman’s Wharf. Best dishes to try? Clam chowder and sour dough. And it was just perfect as our faces were turning into some stone figures due to the cold fall wind. (Note: FALL, it was not even winter then.)

 

Hello, Fisherman’s Wharf! I’ve heard a lot of stories about you!

 

It was past 12 then when we arrived and since we were part of a tour (meaning, there’s a schedule to follow), we decided to ride the ferry first that will go under the famous Golden Gate Bridge (which happens to be red and not gold… anyway) and Alcatraz. We got a great view of the skyline of San Francisco and got quite close (too close at times) with some seagulls.

Since we opted not to take the afternoon tour, we had the whole afternoon to walk around on our own pace. So before going all “Princess Diaries” and brave the hills (which apparently ARE CRAZY STEEP), we stopped by Boudin, a popular restaurant that serves clam chowder and sour dough.

 

Why hello there, Boudin!

We were surprised that most of the staff in the restaurant are… you guessed it right, Filipinos! I was mesmerized with how big the place was and there were a lot of cute finds as well such as a foodie trivia game! (I didn’t buy it though as it was a bit expensive for me.)

 

They have what they call “Best of Boudin” where you could choose two dishes for a price of $8.99. Not bad right? However, we were quite famished so we decided to order a separate bowl of clam chowder ($7.59) and tender roastbeef sandwich ($9.29).

 

Boudin’s system is similar to a fast food chain—self-service. While waiting for our number to be called, I drooled (in my mind) over some adorable items all looking like bread.

After a few minutes, our food was served and now for the moment of truth…

 

The clam chowder was not warm. It made us wonder if it was that windy that in a few minutes (when we were looking for a vacant table) the warmth went *kapoof* on us. So much for warming up the body. Nonetheless, the clam chowder was really thick and flavorful. The bowl (made of sour dough) was overflowing and the sour dough was pretty good as well.

 

The tender roast beef sandwich was filling and the meat was indeed tender. Having it in a sour dough further brought out the flavor of the meat. If only it was warmer, it would have been superb!

It was also rather scary eating outside as there were a lot of birds! Bread and birds. Not really a good combination. However, we had a great time determining if the one-legged bird we saw was being all “I don’t want to put my other foot down as it is diiirty” or was injured.

Note to self: Dining inside might help keep the food warm. Less birds too.

Boudin is located at 160 Jefferson St. (between Mason and Taylor Sts.), San Francisco, CA 94133