Freezing Cold Tourists

pier39.com

I have a new job. I do. And it’s at the corner of pasty Wisconsinite and tourist Hell, aka Pier 39. Pier 39 of the bad chain restaurants, Duck Boat tours, $4.95 corn dogs, Hooters and very few San Franciscans. As I look out my office window at large tourists in pedi-cabs on their way to eat at Bubba Gumps (and shivering in the cold June fog) I have to wonder why. There are so many amazing places to eat in this city… why that? How did this bastion of overpriced tourism come to represent “San Francisco”? Where did it come from to begin with?

Pier 39 was not an organic creation.

It was built specifically as a tourist attraction to accompany the goings on at Fisherman’s Wharf. Restaurants weren’t always the main “attraction” at the wharf, apparently “In the early days of the fishing fleet, the homes of the Italian fishermen boasted the area’s finest cuisine. But, even before there were any sidewalks or restaurants at Fisherman’s Wharf, some of the fishermen set up cauldrons of boiling water for cooking the freshly caught crabs, dispensing them in paper cups as a crab cocktail to be enjoyed by visitors.”

                                                                                      www.letseat.at/cioppinos  

Those fisherman also got together and created "cioppino." The origin of the name is little fuzzy but the fact that this is a distinctly San Franciscan dish created by immigrants (supposedly “chipping in” ingredients) is such a San Franciscan way to do things.

These  days a lot of that fish stew comes with a hunk of Boudin sourdough. A bakery that started in 1849. As in the Gold Rush 1849, as in the namesake of our beloved 49ers. There is a museum on the wharf dedicated to the bread and to it's motherdough. A starter that is older than most other institutions in this city.

While doing this research, I didn't come to love Pier 39 but I did come to understand how the wharf itself drew visitors. Food. Always food. Hot steaming crab, swarthy fisherman cooking with garlic, tangy sourdough and an ocean view. What's not to love?

 

EB

Comments

[Sam]

There is always in and out burger...