The Slanted Door and more in San Francisco!
When I arrived in San Francisco, I headed to the Sir Frances Drake Hotel at Union Square. It’s a wonderful old hotel and is located in the heart of S.F. I quickly checked in and took a cab to the Ferry Market Building at the Embarcadero. I was hoping to get there in time for the Farmer’s Market held there on Saturdays. But I was too late. When I travel to various places, I love to go to the local markets to see what fresh produce and products are offered. It’s part of my interest in slow food movement and… fresh is always best!
As I walked through the doors of the Ferry Market Building, I spotted a wine shop, the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant, and lots of folks drinking wine. Bingo! After a 4-hour flight from Houston to S.F., I was definitely ready for a glass of wine!
The place was very crowed and tables were hard to come by. I happen to see a couple leaving and grabbed the available table.
Another couple was searching for a table as well. I told them that I was solo and if they cared to sit down at my table and have their wine, they were more than welcomed. They took me up on the offer, and I ended up making a couple of new friends. Now, I never meet a stranger anyway, but my sweet Southern accent seems to draw people to me. John and Claudia were from Carmel and were in S.F. for the Fancy Food Show as well. They love wine, cooking, and were foodies too, so naturally we had a lot to talk about. Three glasses of wine later, we exchanged contact information and agreed to stay in touch.
After leaving the wine shop, I strolled through the building to the Cowgirl Creamery. I was in heaven and the cheese munger gave me several tastings of a variety of cheese. Needless to say, I bought several different cheeses to bring back to Texas with me. I just couldn’t resist! Thank goodness for refrigerators in the hotel room! Some of the cheeses that I bought were Humboldt Fog goat cheese, Sottocenere and Comte.
Next, I went to the Slanted Door restaurant that is also located at the Ferry Market Building. I was able to find a chair at the bar and ordered a couple of appetizers and, of course, more wine. This is a hip, very busy restaurant that had fantastic Vietnamese food. I perused the menu and ordered an appetizer roll – crispy imperial rolls with shrimp, pork, glass noodles and peanuts as well as the seared dayboat scallops with spicy red curry, celery root and asian pear slaw. The wine I ordered was a French wine – L’ANCIEN Beaujolais – 2008 – Jean Paul Brun. I really wasn’t trying to pair the wine to what I ordered, but the French red went with the dishes very well.
The crispy rolls weren’t your typical rolls. The dish came out with lettuce leaves, the crispy rolls, a side of glass noodles toped with peanuts, and sprigs of mint. It also had a wonderful spicy sauce to dip the rolls in before wrapping in the lettuce leaves and topping with the noodles. But what gave it a unique, wonderful taste were the mint leaves. I met a couple from Berkley sitting next to me at the bar who also had this appetizer, and we all agreed that the mint “made” the lettuce wrap. Again, I never meet a stranger and they enjoyed my sweet Southern accent!
The next appetizer was the seared boat scallops. They were cooked perfectly and the spicy red curry sauce gave it a distinct flavor. The Asian pear slaw helped to balance the spicy flavors. It’s a fabulous restaurant worth visiting.
If you are a foodie, then you must go to the Ferry Market Building during your visit to San Francisco!
Crispy Imperial Roll
Seared Dayboat Scallops
L’ANCIEN Beaujolais – 2008 – Jean Paul Brun.
