Yesterday, I woke up in San Francisco, had a great breakfast at the restaurant that adjoins our hotel and after a quick 30 minute workout in the hotel’s large health club, I set out on foot to find a coffee shop to work from.
Well a few blocks of wondering around and I soon realized that I had wandered into the not-so-nice part of town. I was literally stepping over homeless people as I walked down the street. So I turned around, went back to my hotel, and set up shop in the lobby. A few hours passed and I decided to start scouting out my options for lunch.
I tweeted “Does anyone know any good places to eat lunch in San Francisco?” and got tons of responses (my Twitter followers are the best!). After looking at their suggestions and how they related to my hotel’s location on Google Maps, I set out to the Ferry Building near the wharf.
And then, it started to pour. I tried to just walk through it with my umbrella, but soon my jeans were starting to get very damp.
Just when I thought I should take cover before getting completely drenched, I spotted Bourdin which was recommended to me by Michelle.
Bourdin originated in San Francisco and even has a museum here, but now has 13 locations in California.
Bourdins are small cafes that specialize in sourdough bread, but offer many options, like soup, salad, sandwiches, and pastries.
I opted for the California Veggie Sandwich which was a massive sandwich piled high with avocado, tomato, red onion, leafy greens, and a sun-dried tomato spread. This sandwich traditionally comes with balsamic vinaigrette as well, but I asked for no vinaigrette because I thought the spread would moisten the sandwich enough.
The sandwich came on their multigrain bread and with your choice of chips or a green side salad. I opted for the side salad which was lightly dressed in balsamic vinaigrette.
In retrospect, I wish I had ordered the soup and sandwich or soup and salad combo, but that option wasn’t obvious to me when I looked at the menu. It looked like you could only get the soup in a bread bowl, which I didn’t want, so I went with the sandwich instead.
The sandwich was hearty and delicious; however, the second half was a bit soggy from the spread and tomatoes by the time I got around to eating it.
I would definitely go back to Bourdin again, especially since I now know all of my menu choices.
Side Story:
While eating, I leaned my small umbrella against the legs of the table because it was wet. As I sat, waiting for my sandwich, a woman walked in and as she walked past my table, she looked at me, grabbed my umbrella, and placed it into the unused chair at my two-person table. She looked me right in the eye and smiled in a grimacing way like she was scolding me.
I was completely confused.
The guy sitting beside me noticed her strange behavior too and we both started nervously laughing and saying things like “What was that about?”.
When I went to leave, as I was throwing away my trash, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around expecting to be in someone’s way. Instead, it was the guy who had been sitting beside me and in his hand was my umbrella, which I had forgotten.
We both laughed at the irony of the situation and all the trouble that my little umbrella had caused.
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If you’re looking for a lunch spot in San Francisco, check out Bourdin or some of these suggestions from my Twitter followers:
The Plant Cafe via Jenn
Curry Up Now Food Truck via Granola Courtney
The Ferry Building and Greens via Suki
Gabriel and Daniels via Casey Vidmar
Tataki via Kristen
I’ve been there a few times- always good, especially on cold days. They even have one in SFO!