I have two favorite airports that I enjoy flying out of – Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and San Francisco International Airport. They got some of the best people watching opportunities, great bookstores or newsstands to grab something to read on your flight and some of the best quick eats to enjoy before your flight.

Flying to New York City on Virgin American Airlines meant that a 3-hour layover in San Francisco was in order. I didn’t mind it one bit. It meant that I’d be able to get some chowder in a sourdough bread bowl from one of their eateries and possibly some overpriced Ghiradelli chocolate from one of the gift shops.

For some strange reason Virgin AMERICA flies into San Francisco International Airport’s international terminal – Boudin’s Bakery and Cafe is in Terminal 3 where most domestic flights fly into. Flying into the international terminal pretty much meant that dining options would be limited and we’d be lucky if any of them were still open after 8:00 p.m. Well, luck was on our side as the dining options (3 of them, to be exact) happened to still be open.

Our three options were: Il Fornaio Caffe Del Mondo, which offered sandwiches, paninis and salads; Firewood Cafe, which offered pizzas and salads; and Firewood Grill, which offered giant salads, paninis, burgers, pasta dishes, AND… my chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. So guess where we ate…. and no, it wasn’t Il Fornaio, although the paninis looked semi-yummy.

Of course we decided on Firewood Grill for three reasons: 1) they had chowder in a bread bowl, 2) they had an extensive menu to select from and 3) they had chowder in a bread bowl. So being that I already had my heart set on the chowder in a bread bowl ($7.50), that’s what I ordered.. along with some fries on the side ($4.00), add to my order a bottle of water ($4.25) and my total with tax came up to a whopping $17.05! You can’t expect too much from airport terminal food , so I wasn’t expecting to be totally blown away by this meal – and I wasn’t, but it was a pretty decent meal.

Let’s start with my chowder in it’s sourdough bread bowl. It was okay. Just okay. The chowder was served in a pretty decent sized bread bowl. Nothing beats San Francisco sourdough – or maybe that’s what I force my mind to believe. Especially if it’s hot and fresh out of the oven of Boudin Bakery at Fisherman’s Wharf… with its crispy crust and soft insides. Yummm… And this bread bowl, I’m happy to say was just that – crispy on the outside and soft and chewy doughy on the inside. This would have been perfect with butter or soft spreadable cheese and I could have easily made it a meal.

The chowder, on the other hand, was another story. Maybe I got the bottom of the pot. Maybe the cook was having a bad day and his taste buds were on vacation for the day. I don’t know. It was just edible – after I added some salt and pepper. It was missing something – flavor. Sure it had chunks of chopped clam and various vegetables, but there was still a missing element that I couldn’t quite pinpoint. I’ve had canned clam chowder that I can rave more about. For me, when I usually order chowder in a bread bowl, I almost expect the chowder to outshine the bread bowl. This was just not the case. I enjoyed the bread a lot more.

Now, let me tell you about the fries…. they were AMAZING! I loved the fries! Fresh. Shoestring. Crispy on the outside. Perfectly cooked on the inside. Salted. Wonderful…

*****

Firewood Grill

San Francisco International Airport

International Terminal