Airport Eats

Mary reminded me after I posted the entry on the restaurants we sampled in San Francisco that we also managed to find something in the airport that was not too shabby. We're always on the lookout for eateries that do not offer the usual mildly inedible cardboard sandwiches and gluey soups. I'm looking at you T.G.I. Friday, and you too, Subway.

We arrived early at the airport, which I kind of insist on when it's not an airport we fly from regularly and because I am just really, really kind of twitchy about missing flights. So we had some time to scare up a bite to eat, as our flight was on a commuter jet that was somewhat lacking in the amenities. Like food. Or leg room.

Where was I? Oh, yes arrived early at the airport and it was lunch time and we'd only had a coffee and a pastry for breakfast so we were kind of noshy. Among the offerings in Terminal 3 was Yankee Pier. Part of a small chain of sea food restaurants in the Bay area, it offered the promise of something different - something not necessarily battered, breaded and deep fried and doused with buffalo wing sauce and ranch dressing. With a sprig of parsley on the side so you don't feel that guilty.

The offerings pretty much ran the gamut of New England seafood, though with West Coast touches, like Clam Rolls and Crab Cake sandwiches but with some spice. I had the Crab Louie with Dungeness crab and a spicy Thousand Island sauce. I actually ordered the entrée for nostalgia sake, remembering eating this dish when I was growing up on the East Coast and we used to rent a cottage on the shore during the summer. I was pleasantly surprised to find the dressing wasn't the usual gloppy stuff of memory but a thinner and spicier version which undoubtedly was around 1/10 the calories of the old fashioned stuff.

Mary had an Albacore Tuna Melt that she pronounced quite tasty though her admiration for the dish might have been affected by her affection for the homemade potato chips supplied with the sandwich. I agreed that they were quite tasty and would have enjoyed them even more if I hadn't ended up with a fork stuck in the back of my hand when I reached for a second chip. Mary insisted it was an accident.

I accompanied my meal with an Anchor Steam beer. I know I can get them in Colorado but it just isn't the same. Seafood, even in an airport, just goes better with an Anchor Steam in San Francisco.

So if you're in San Francisco airport and have a little time for a sit down meal I think you could enjoy something a little out of the ordinary. In the future we'll try and post about some other finds in various airports around the country.