It’s hard not to be hungry after a back and forth jaunt on the Golden Gate. Add to that having only a meager breakfast of two servings of sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves, and having to avoid the many tourists who also had the same idea we did, my energy was dangerously low after our walk from Marin County side to SF side.
How I managed not to whine and gripe from being hungry could probably have been due to the pain of having badly scrubbed my knee. (Long story, won’t bother with it.) We decided that Fisherman’s Wharf was the closest place to go to for a late lunch; so off we went and found ourselves in Pier 39.
We chose Pier 39 out of convenience and necessity: we were close by, we were hungry, and we wanted free parking. That’s right, Boudin Sourdough Bakery & Cafe, you had us at free parking. Muah.
Boudin served its purpose for us in terms of convenience. Good location and good atmosphere. The food could be better. Those five words are usually the intro to a critical review so before I begin, I just want to say, the sourdough bread bowl used for the chili was great.
I had the “Best of Boudin” which is the diner’s choice of soup and sandwich, and for me were: clam chowder and a turkey-avocado sandwich. The clam chowder lacked creaminess and seasoning, and the clam bits were far too chewy. Why Boudin, why? Also, how long were the clams cooking? Seattle and Greater Seattle is not lacking in excellent seafood bars so clam chowder here is also popular, and now I need to go to a seafood joint to remind me what a good clam chowder is all about. The sandwich was okay and it’d have been better than okay but the croissant was semi-dry.
The Hubby ordered chili in a sourdough bread bowl. The bread was good, no problem there, but the chili was unexpectedly blah. By “blah”, I mean bland. Again with the question… Why Boudin, why?
Here’s my deal breaker: I was already hungry. Because I was hungry, everything should have just gone down easy… but they didn’t. Boudin, I hate to say it but… boo for now.
