Rex914
11-11-2005, 06:07 PM
Today, we went to the Ferry Building in San Francisco. For those of you not in the know, The Ferry Building is SF's newest dining destination, filled with restaurants and gourmet food shops.
http://www.gureporter.com/Photos/clam3.jpg
I want that frenched Rack of Lamb...
Today, we had a chance to eat lunch at the oyster bar that I've been wanting to try for a long time.
We ordered a a dozen raw Oysters (4 different types), a dozen Oysters Rockefeller, and Clam Chowder. Unfortunately, I don't have photos of the Oysters because they all came out bad. However, I do have a photo and a little story to tell about the Clam Chowder because it was fascinating to watch.
Head into a normal seafood restaurant and if you order a standard bowl of chowder, chances are good that you'll pay anywhere between $4-$7 for a nicely sized bowl. At first, we balked when we saw the $12 price tag for the Chowder, described minimally as "Manila clams with bacon, cream, aromatic vegetables and thyme." We took the plunge and ordered one bowl for each of us. We were in for a nice surprise.
First of all, this isn't your normal chowder. Every single chowder is made to order. How is this efficient or possible? What's it made out of? Here's the kick. The restaurant (open kitchen, so I could see them prepare it) uses 36 fresh Manila clams in the shell to prepare your chowder. So essentially, this "chowder" is a full bucket of steamed clams placed into the soup portion.
http://gureporter.com/Photos/clam1.jpg
Chef transfers skillet containing clams and chowder base to the bowl.
(Really sorry about the photo quality...)
The clams are first steamed to order. Then the cook adds Clover cream to the mix along with good quality bacon, vegatables like celery, onion, potato, and carrots and aromatics such as parsley and thyme. Usually, clam broth is added, but since the clams are cooked to order, they release their own natural juices. How much fresher could you want? They finally finish things off simply with a little black pepper and serve.
http://gureporter.com/Photos/clam2.jpg
Awful photo, but this gives you an idea of what it looked like. It's literally 36 clams in chowder. Yummy.
(I'm finished with this camera...)
I apologize for the ghastly photo quality. I decided to share this more for the food portion than the photo portion. This is precisely why I'm getting a DSLR. I'm simply losing way too many photos because my digicam isn't capable of capturing anything satisfactorily in low light, no flash situations. We can say that equipment doesn't matter, but there's a reasonable limit to which this theory pertains, and what I have to work with is restricting the growth of my photographic abilities.
http://www.gureporter.com/Photos/clam3.jpg
I want that frenched Rack of Lamb...
Today, we had a chance to eat lunch at the oyster bar that I've been wanting to try for a long time.
We ordered a a dozen raw Oysters (4 different types), a dozen Oysters Rockefeller, and Clam Chowder. Unfortunately, I don't have photos of the Oysters because they all came out bad. However, I do have a photo and a little story to tell about the Clam Chowder because it was fascinating to watch.
Head into a normal seafood restaurant and if you order a standard bowl of chowder, chances are good that you'll pay anywhere between $4-$7 for a nicely sized bowl. At first, we balked when we saw the $12 price tag for the Chowder, described minimally as "Manila clams with bacon, cream, aromatic vegetables and thyme." We took the plunge and ordered one bowl for each of us. We were in for a nice surprise.
First of all, this isn't your normal chowder. Every single chowder is made to order. How is this efficient or possible? What's it made out of? Here's the kick. The restaurant (open kitchen, so I could see them prepare it) uses 36 fresh Manila clams in the shell to prepare your chowder. So essentially, this "chowder" is a full bucket of steamed clams placed into the soup portion.
http://gureporter.com/Photos/clam1.jpg
Chef transfers skillet containing clams and chowder base to the bowl.
(Really sorry about the photo quality...)
The clams are first steamed to order. Then the cook adds Clover cream to the mix along with good quality bacon, vegatables like celery, onion, potato, and carrots and aromatics such as parsley and thyme. Usually, clam broth is added, but since the clams are cooked to order, they release their own natural juices. How much fresher could you want? They finally finish things off simply with a little black pepper and serve.
http://gureporter.com/Photos/clam2.jpg
Awful photo, but this gives you an idea of what it looked like. It's literally 36 clams in chowder. Yummy.
(I'm finished with this camera...)
I apologize for the ghastly photo quality. I decided to share this more for the food portion than the photo portion. This is precisely why I'm getting a DSLR. I'm simply losing way too many photos because my digicam isn't capable of capturing anything satisfactorily in low light, no flash situations. We can say that equipment doesn't matter, but there's a reasonable limit to which this theory pertains, and what I have to work with is restricting the growth of my photographic abilities.