Go Green!

Looking for the familiar is a typical American past time.

In our world at the Ferry Building, for the most part, there is a balance between the exotic and the local. We have a variety of folks that both live and work in San Francisco mixed with tourists literally from all over the nation and the world. In general, I’ve found that most of the American tourists have a very unusual, but predictable approach to food when they visit our restaurant and the Ferry Building. For example, while the average American tourist will not blink an eye at an exotic pairing of chocolate with bacon, salt, and caramel, God forbid they should try fish that is anything other than blackened, broiled, grilled or fried. It’s sort of like, they can’t wrap their brain around a restaurant that doesn’t have Bud or Coors, and yet they will pay extra for some kind of exotic beef they haven’t tried before.

This is on my mind lately, because so many people order a simple ½ a sandwich and a cup of soup. I feel like they are missing out on so many amazing, healthy dishes we offer. Maybe it’s because when it comes to ordering a whole meal, the fear that something may arrive at the table that is too exotic and therefore unrecognizable and of course therefore uneatable, is too much for them to handle. On the other hand there are customers that thrill me when they say, “What do you recommend?” Followed by, “why don’t you just put a few things together for us to try?” If people knew how much joy they bring me when they say those magic words, they would be really surprised. I can honestly say that over the years at our restaurant, I didn’t have one customer not care for a single dish I asked them to try that’s outside their comfort zone.

The next time you go out with friends or your family and your Uncle says, “They don’t have Bud.” You should say, “yes, but let’s see what they have that’s similar it’ll be fun to try something you haven’t had before.” Your Aunt says, “What do you mean they don’t serve Fish and Chips?” You should say, “yes, but I've heard they are know for their quality of freshness. You know what, have you ever had sautéed fresh calamari, you rarely see it on the menu. Why don’t you try that?” It’s all a matter of perception really. “Going Green” is such a buzz phrase right now, it’s so over used, but I am going to challenge folks as they get about town this next year, get your family to “Go Green.” Think of eating out as an adventure not as a meal you don’t have to cook tonight. Find something new and give it a try. How can we understand that buying a hybrid car or changing our building materials is exactly the same thing as trying new food, cooked in a simple way, with local fresh ingredients? It’s actually even easier and less expensive.