Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Paleo Eats @ San Francisco's Ferry Building

The Ferry Building Marketplace on the San Francisco waterfront is one of the city's premiere gourmet destinations, crammed with restaurants and shops catering to food tourists, business lunchers, urban hipsters and culinary aesthetes. It's like New York's Chelsea Market, but on steroids. And on Tuesdays, Thursdays and especially Saturdays, the place explodes with even more activity, when the Ferry Building hosts a bustling farmer's market.

Pre-Paleo, I'd frequently head over to the Ferry Building for a lunchtime meal of burger and fries at Taylor's (now Gott's), a meatball bánh mì at Out the Door, a porchetta sandwich at Roli Roti, or a big ass bowl of white rice topped with Kobe beef, ginger, and shredded egg at Delica.

But these days, finding Paleo-friendly options at the Ferry Building takes a bit of extra work. Thankfully, with such an overabundance of tasty grub in one spot, there's plenty for a modern caveman/woman to enjoy.

Some examples:

Farmhouse Burger @ Prather Ranch Grill -- a burger topped with ham and a fried egg. (I get it with extra greens and without the bun.)



Buffalo Burger @ Prather Ranch Grill -- hold the bun. (Diane Sanfilippo at Balanced Bites favors the bunless Slaw Burger, but I haven't tried it yet.)


Jerky @ The Golden Gate Meat Company -- no sugar! (Except the sweet & spicy variety.)


Spicy Italian Sausage-on-a-Stick @ The Golden Gate Meat Company -- Two bucks. Get it with mustard. I couldn't even wait to take a picture before wolfing down half the damned thing.


Mixed Salumi Cone @ Boccalone -- it's meat in a cone. Enough said.


Pork Stew & Greens @ Il Cane Rosso -- This was supposed to be served over a big creamy bowl of polenta, but I wasn't going there. But Il Cane Rosso graciously offered to serve the stew alongside a simple salad. It totally hit the spot.


Cobb Salad @ Gott's -- I love Cobb salads, and Gott's version has gotten better over the years. And before you scream at me about the cheese, kindly step off. I'm lacto-Paleo.


Seasonal Vegetable Salad @ Cowgirl Creamery Sidekick -- way too expensive for a tiny little salad, but delicious nonetheless.


The next time you're in town and decide to head over to the Ferry Building, don't get put off by the all the high-end chocolatiers, gelaterias and bread-bakers. You can stay Paleo and still have some awesome food.