My wife’s Super Bowl tradition is to research the type of food that the city of each team is known for. When cities in the Midwest are competing, this is often difficult. However, with San Francisco and Baltimore in the Super Bowl, this was somewhat easy.
She also considers the city that hosts the Super Bowl as well. This year, the city of New Orleans played host and so you probably surmised that it would not be that difficult to decide on a dish or two.
She chose clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl to represent San Francisco. To represent Baltimore, she decided on crab cakes. New Orleans was represented twice: creole cole slaw and cajun chicken wings. While the menu came together quickly, the work ahead was rather daunting.
The clam chowder was a bit different, but it was very tasty. Her version was unique because she added small bacon strips from Neuske. This added an applewood smoky flavor to the clam chowder. Combined with the Littleneck clams and diced potatoes, it made for tasty and unique experience. Unfortunately, much of the soup soaked into the bread.
I’m partial to traditional cole slaw like the Pantry and wasn’t sure whether I would enjoy a creole version. Seeing tomatoes in it initially turned me off, but I tried it anyway. The diced celery, celery seed, dijon mustard took the mayonnaise to a different level. I liked it so much, I ended up with seconds.
Crab cakes are a New England favorite and Baltimoreans pride themselves on “lump meat” crab. Wanting to be authentic, my wife picked up lump meat crab. The crab cakes were moist inside and as you would expect filled with chunks of crab. It made me realize how much I miss seafood dishes from the east coast.
Baltimore has an Italian section which offers outstanding Italian cuisine. They also have a couple of world-class bakeries, including Vacarro’s. Trying to relive that experience, I picked up some cannolis from Eagle Rock Bakery and Deli in Eagle Rock. I was really impressed by the variety of in their deli: Italian sausage, fresh pizza dough, store-made pizza sauce, olives and more! The cannolis had a crisp shell and were filled with a ricotta cheese mixture.
Our next culinary event at home will be on Fat Tuesday. I’m hoping for etouffee.
San Francisco is such an international city that I have a hard time thinking of many truly SF-native foods. Sourdough, sure, but after that I associate the city with great Japanese, Vietnamese, Mexican and Indian food. I think if I had to pick favorite bay area foods, I’d probably come up with Banh Mi and Cal-Mex, not clam chowder.
Of course you could always throw in some Napa Valley wines for true SF authenticity.
Crab is great in Baltimore if you get it from a reputable source. I was there about 10 years ago at a conference in a bayfront hotel, and decided to go walkies on the bayfront boardwalk one afternoon to look for some good crab. Man, I did not find it. That place was about as authentic as the Springfield Squidport. The crab cakes at the hotel, on the other hand, were astonishingly succulent.
Rick,
Thank you for your feedback. 🙂
I totally agree with you that San Francisco is an international city. However, the average tourist goes to Fishermans Wharf and has a cup of clam chowder. Boudin Bakery is located in San Francisco and they make world famous sour dough bread in the round format that we used.
I thought about including Rosemount Winery located in San Francisco, but most people drink beer during the Super Bowl; hence we highlighted beers that represent San Francisco and Baltimore.
Thanks for reading and taking the time to provide feedback. We appreciate it!
Bryan