Friday, December 30, 2011

Ferry Building, The Embarcadero, San Francisco (EOPB)

For foodies, the Ferry Building is a must!  Not only can you dine at a restaurant like the "Slanted Door" or try one of the gourmet delis, you can shop for everything you need for a dinner party and cocktails.  High-end meats, truffles, cheeses, baguettes, olives & olive oils, confections, etc., and tons of specialty gift shops line the entire building, making your holiday chores for entertaining really quite glamorous. The Wine Merchant is stocked with the finest wine and the staff know exactly what to recommend for that "Rombauer" taste, without the "Rambauer" price.  Excellent staff!!!!!!
One last comment on the shops, then on to the restaurants. The house-made mascapone from the cheese shop was too good to even try to describe.  OMG!
 


















Soooooooooooooooo, Rosalie and I decided to take advantage of writing a food blog at Christmas in San Francisco, so we have been devouring all the Ferry Building has to offer. We had to go two Wednesdays in a row to even make a dent in the casual, but fantastic food and festive ambiance!
We first dined at "Il Cane Rosso", which is one of the deli style cafes.  The food was fresh, organic and delish!
I had the parsnip soup and an endive salad with herb roasted chicken and Rosalie had their famous Petaluma Farm's warm egg salad sandwich, served open-faced.














When you dine at one of these little cafes, plan on wearing a jacket,  because the cafe seating is along the huge isles where the doors open out onto the pier.  But............... you're in the Ferry building, so a good hot cup of "Blue Bottle Coffee" is right around the corner.


The second Wednesday, we tried "Boulettes Larder".  This lovely little gourmet deli served a delish special that day that Rosalie and I both decided to order.  (All the little cafes serve local organic fare, so the menus are usually decided on in the morning of the day you enjoy it.)  The dish was an herbed chicken with a brussels sprout puree, butternut squash and a tangy cranberry chutney.  A glass of Prosecco for the staff photographer and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc for me, topped our festive blog- lunch.  Fresh baked bread and European butter was enough to stave off dessert.
It was absolutely exquisite.
Now........., it was the Holidays, so we weren't trying to be so easy on the pocketbook.
Everybody deserves a little splurge at Christmas!!!!!!