Local foods

[kimberlyanne546]

With respect to food, San Francisco bears some similarities to New York City- there's very good restaurants serving stuff from all over the world.

San Francisco does have Dungeness crabs (seem to be all over the west coast as I've had them in Seattle, Washington).

One of the fisherman Warf places had "Bluepoint Oysters" as a special....I just came in from JFK and I was pretty sure the oysters weren't on that flight so I passed.

In addition to crab, if you go camping at most lakes in California, and you find a stick, some string, and some cheese, you can "catch" crayfish (crawdads?) by hand - ! Takes several dozen to get even one bite to eat but it is a way to pass the time. I was probably more scared of them than they were of me, however I did get to boil them and eat them so I win.

 

[gprellwitz]

In addition to crab, if you go camping at most lakes in California, and you find a stick, some string, and some cheese, you can "catch" crayfish (crawdads?) by hand - ! Takes several dozen to get even one bite to eat but it is a way to pass the time. I was probably more scared of them than they were of me, however I did get to boil them and eat them so I win.

Heck, I've done that canoeing in Wisconsin! Fun trying to catch those little buggers, though!

 

[kimberlyanne546]

Heck, I've done that canoeing in Wisconsin! Fun trying to catch those little buggers, though!

Fun? I screamed and freaked out when I realized OH MY GOD they were all creepy crawly under all those rocks I'd been walking around barefoot on when I got off the wakeboard boat! Seriously freaky, realizing all the spiders and bugs and critters that are all around us but just hiding when we walk by.

However, with lemon and butter they are delicious so I try to remember who eats who and be less scared.

Kimberly

PS - OK fine after a few beers it was "fun" to capture them and try to get them to hold on to the cheese long enough for me to get them into the pot I had next to me. They are SO STUPID.

 

[gprellwitz]

Fun? I screamed and freaked out when I realized OH MY GOD they were all creepy crawly under all those rocks I'd been walking around barefoot on when I got off the wakeboard boat! Seriously freaky, realizing all the spiders and bugs and critters that are all around us but just hiding when we walk by.

However, with lemon and butter they are delicious so I try to remember who eats who and be less scared.

Kimberly

PS - OK fine after a few beers it was "fun" to capture them and try to get them to hold on to the cheese long enough for me to get them into the pot I had next to me. They are SO STUPID.

Well, I was WAY too young at the time to be enjoying beers (as precocious as I was). We didn't do any drawn butter and lemon; just threw them into a boiling pot and ate them! They were delicious, though!

 

[kimberlyanne546]

Well, I was WAY too young at the time to be enjoying beers (as precocious as I was). We didn't do any drawn butter and lemon; just threw them into a boiling pot and ate them! They were delicious, though!

Yeah but you knew how to eat them. I found out the hard way I am not supposed to eat the brown and green and yellow inside stuff. Just the tiny tail and / or claws . . . YUCK.

Nothing like education through experience, right?

 

[Richard]

One of the fisherman Warf places had "Bluepoint Oysters" as a special....I just came in from JFK and I was pretty sure the oysters weren't on that flight so I passed.

For a couple years I worked for a friend who founded a very successful business in the fish hawking bidness.

A Salmon caught in N California would be shipped south to be processed per custom order then shipped right back to where the fish was unloaded from the very boat. (often within yards of the restaurant) Or those Blue Points would be shipped from East Coast to CA to be shipped to NY, PA, or ME. No lie. That's how it works. God forbid the whole process should take more than 3 days. The urgency of a Fed Ex sort has nothing on the sea food biz.

 

[gprellwitz]

Yeah but you knew how to eat them. I found out the hard way I am not supposed to eat the brown and green and yellow inside stuff. Just the tiny tail and / or claws . . . YUCK.

Nothing like education through experience, right?

Do you want your soft shelled crabs with Mustard?

(Hint: This is when you listen to Nancy Reagan and Just Say NO!)

 

[Everskyward]

Yeah but you knew how to eat them. I found out the hard way I am not supposed to eat the brown and green and yellow inside stuff. Just the tiny tail and / or claws . . . YUCK.

That's funny, Dani said to eat the "juice" when she was teaching us to eat crawfish in NOLA. It wasn't bad... in fact it was pretty good once you got over the idea about what you were eating.

 

[kimberlyanne546]

That's funny, Dani said to eat the "juice" when she was teaching us to eat crawfish in NOLA. It wasn't bad... in fact it was pretty good once you got over the idea about what you were eating.

Maybe I just needed a little salt and pepper. Don't know. All I know is I will eat anything and try pretty much everything just once or twice no matter what. I'm not like those Californians who have to modify every menu item when ordering at a restaurant because of their special lifestyles.

 

[Telemakhos]

Seeing as though I'm currently in Oshkosh, I'd like to add the Friday night fish fry (with lake perch) to the list of Wisconsin local foodstuffs. Also, the walleye we pull out of lake Butte des Morts is fabulous.
Let's not forget the venison sausage we get here, too.
I love being able to eat food that one can't buy in a grocery store.

 

[Everskyward]

All I know is I will eat anything and try pretty much everything just once or twice no matter what. I'm not like those Californians who have to modify every menu item when ordering at a restaurant because of their special lifestyles.

I can tell you are adventurous, foodwise, since you said you enjoy the Chinese restaurants on Clement.

For the people who don't know, the Chinese food there is very good but it's not Americanized...

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Seeing as though I'm currently in Oshkosh, I'd like to add the Friday night fish fry (with lake perch) to the list of Wisconsin local foodstuffs.

Wow... Do they really not have the Friday fish fry at dang near every place you go in other states? I'm not a huge fan of it, but once in a while, what the hey.

Let's not forget the venison sausage we get here, too.

I should have thought of that. Deer hunting is HUGE in Wisconsin, and the deer population is still growing like crazy. I don't hunt, but I know many people who do, and most of them will bring back at least two deer each hunting season and have a LOT of different venison products to put in their freezers and eat over the course of the year.

 

[kimberlyanne546]

I can tell you are adventurous, foodwise, since you said you enjoy the Chinese restaurants on Clement.

For the people who don't know, the Chinese food there is very good but it's not Americanized...

Here is how you have Dim Sum (with me) on Clement:

Step One: do NOT ask for a fork. There will be only chopsticks, soy sauce, spicy things in jars on the table. I suggest you ask for a free side of spicy mustard and mix it with the soy sauce and chilis and put it on everything: the buns, the shu mai, the dumplings, the banana leaf wrapped rice, yum.

Step Two: be OK with the fact they will not speak good English.

Step Three: be OK with the fact that they come around with bamboo steamers on carts, every few minutes, and what they have is what you get. You either shake your head no or say yes and they give you one serving which you share with the table. You do not "choose" what you are going to eat that day! Part of the adventure.

Step Four: be OK with the fact that they then either stamp your "ticket" or write something in Chinese. The prices and food items may or may not be in English. Don't worry, they are cheap and for each item it could be 2 - 5 dollars for like many char shiu bows (Steam pork bun in Chinese).

Do not come with me if you are vegetarian or do not eat pork!

Oh and don't be scared if I order "chicken feet" - this is mostly to show off and remind them I am not a white girl tourist from out of town. They get very excited and ask "you sure? Chicken feet?" and I say "Yes, chicken feet."

I love dim sum.


Chicken feet in steamer with chopsticks (see the chicken's nails):

Some others:

 

[gprellwitz]

Here is how you have Dim Sum (with me) on Clement:

Step One: do NOT ask for a fork. There will be only chopsticks, soy sauce, spicy things in jars on the table. I suggest you ask for a free side of spicy mustard and mix it with the soy sauce and chilis and put it on everything: the buns, the shu mai, the dumplings, the banana leaf wrapped rice, yum.

Step Two: be OK with the fact they will not speak good English.

Step Three: be OK with the fact that they come around with bamboo steamers on carts, every few minutes, and what they have is what you get. You either shake your head no or say yes and they give you one serving which you share with the table. You do not "choose" what you are going to eat that day! Part of the adventure.

Step Four: be OK with the fact that they then either stamp your "ticket" or write something in Chinese. The prices and food items may or may not be in English. Don't worry, they are cheap and for each item it could be 2 - 5 dollars for like many char shiu bows (Steam pork bun in Chinese).

Do not come with me if you are vegetarian or do not eat pork!

Oh and don't be scared if I order "chicken feet" - this is mostly to show off and remind them I am not a white girl tourist from out of town. They get very excited and ask "you sure? Chicken feet?" and I say "Yes, chicken feet."

I love dim sum.


Chicken feet in steamer with chopsticks (see the chicken's nails):

I love dim sum too, but it can get expensive. I think last time I had it in the City was over $100 for the two of us. (I think we went to Yank Sing) And I don't personally like chicken feet. But I agree with all the rest!

 

[kimberlyanne546]

I love dim sum too, but it can get expensive. I think last time I had it in the City was over $100 for the two of us. (I think we went to Yank Sing) And I don't personally like chicken feet. But I agree with all the rest!

Yank Sing is way expensive. You don't understand. Out of towners go there and then think Dim Sum is expensive. Yank Sing is white people dim sum (sorry)! They have fancy food, white table cloths.....

I can take ANYONE to Dim Sum on Clement and keep the bill around 20 or 30 dollars for two people, including a soda / tea / non alcoholic beverage.

Very cheap..... you need an insider!

 

[gprellwitz]

Yank Sing is way expensive. You don't understand. Out of towners go there and then think Dim Sum is expensive. Yank Sing is white people dim sum (sorry)! They have fancy food, white table cloths.....

I can take ANYONE to Dim Sum on Clement and keep the bill around 20 or 30 dollars for two people, including a soda / tea / non alcoholic beverage.

Very cheap..... you need an insider!

Yup! Next time we're there, we're knocking on your door!

 

[kimberlyanne546]

Yup! Next time we're there, we're knocking on your door!

I once showed a guy from Germany around SF in a "full" day - and no, I don't mean Fisherman's Wharf, either. It was a blast. Just so happened the "National Kite Boarding Championships" were across the street from the Palace of Fine Arts and so we went to the beach and took pictures with him (that's the Golden Gate Bridge):

 

[rsleeds]

I forgot to answer the question.

The Rocky Mountain Oysters are on the Appetizer menu, along with some other REALLY distinctive dishes...

http://www.thefort.com/Menu.htm#appetizers

Try the peanut butter stuffed jalapenos at The Fort. I make it to The Fort several times a year when in town and that is one good - albeit odd - appetizer.

 

[wsuffa]

Soft shell crabs (Maryland Blues). Apples - lots of apples (Shenendoah Valley). Hams (Smithfield). Peanuts.

DC is such a melding pot of cultures it's hard to find native foods.

 

[denverpilot]

Seeing as though I'm currently in Oshkosh, I'd like to add the Friday night fish fry (with lake perch) to the list of Wisconsin local foodstuffs. Also, the walleye we pull out of lake Butte des Morts is fabulous.
Let's not forget the venison sausage we get here, too.
I love being able to eat food that one can't buy in a grocery store.

You mean there were Walleye within striking distance of OSH, and I was gawking at AIRPLANES?!

Walleye are really good on the BBQ.

 

[Richard]

Walleye are really good on the BBQ.

There is nothing to compare to fresh ahi on the grill. Actually, fresh ahi that you just brought ovah da rail fo sashimi. Mmmmm, ono one da kine pu pu!

You just can't kick the bucket til you have caught a big tuna on light test. I've done it about 100 tons worth. No lie, it is that good.