I personally love the bread bowl. Locals may not eat them, but the Boudin Bakery at the Fisherman's Wharf has the best sourdough bread I've ever had in my life and their bread bowl with clam chowder is something that everyone should try at least once!
Boudin's bread is decent, but not great, the soup is mediocre. There are lots of Boudin cafes around, most of them are much more conveniently located than Fisherman's Wharf. They even have them in Southern California, including Disneyland which is 400 miles from San Francisco.
As for bread, my favorite is Acme Bread. They have a retail location at the Ferry Building. If you are going to the Ferry Building you might as well go on Saturday for the big farmer's market, which is the most touristy of the farmer's markets in SF, but the stuff there is still really good.
I had a cousin visit me from England, and he had to get a bread bowl, he thought that's what we ate here. The reality is the burritos are much more San Francisco than bread bowls. The Mission style burrito was popularized here, and has come to be what a lot of people around the world think of as burritos. And people all over Northern California eat them on a regular basis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_burrito
If someone wants a bread bowl they should certainly get one. I just think it's sad that people visiting San Francisco feel their experience won't be complete without a bread bowl. There is so much great food in San Francisco, so many things that make this city special, bread bowls are just not one of them.
Comments
I personally love the bread bowl. Locals may not eat them, but the Boudin Bakery at the Fisherman's Wharf has the best sourdough bread I've ever had in my life and their bread bowl with clam chowder is something that everyone should try at least once!
Boudin's bread is decent, but not great, the soup is mediocre. There are lots of Boudin cafes around, most of them are much more conveniently located than Fisherman's Wharf. They even have them in Southern California, including Disneyland which is 400 miles from San Francisco.
As for bread, my favorite is Acme Bread. They have a retail location at the Ferry Building. If you are going to the Ferry Building you might as well go on Saturday for the big farmer's market, which is the most touristy of the farmer's markets in SF, but the stuff there is still really good.
I had a cousin visit me from England, and he had to get a bread bowl, he thought that's what we ate here. The reality is the burritos are much more San Francisco than bread bowls. The Mission style burrito was popularized here, and has come to be what a lot of people around the world think of as burritos. And people all over Northern California eat them on a regular basis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_burrito
If someone wants a bread bowl they should certainly get one. I just think it's sad that people visiting San Francisco feel their experience won't be complete without a bread bowl. There is so much great food in San Francisco, so many things that make this city special, bread bowls are just not one of them.