My favorite activity in San Francisco has quickly turned into a trip down Market Street to its dead end at the Ferry Building, eating lunch out on the back plaza next to the water on a sunny day, and watching the gulls fly over Treasure Island. I love sharing this activity with others, so when Peter (an old friend from college) came to visit, I took him with me for an Out the Door lunch.
Out the Door is the take-out fast food version of the fancy Vietnamese fusion restaurant, Slanted Door. Vietnamese food constantly excites me… the idea of it, eating it, talking about it, cooking it. The thought of eating Out the Door’s Vietnamese food on the Ferry Building patio sounds a little like paradise. Out the Door’s chicken rice porridge made it to number fifty-six on the list.
Sitting in the sunshine on a bench with my plastic one-quart vat of porridge, the first bite was delightful. It had a mildly sweet and gingery zing, much like the tofu pudding my Vietnamese host mom used to buy me for breakfast from the Tofu Lady in Can Tho. The fried shallots and fresh spring onion added a variety of crisp textures. After several bites in, when the fried shallots were gone, the porridge lost its zing and I started craving protein, or at least something besides soupy rice. That’s when I discovered stringy pieces of overcooked white meat chicken sitting at the bottom of my porridge.
Eating half of the porridge that Out the Door served was too much. I didn’t even bother taking my leftovers home, which for a cheapskate as myself is something of a revelation. The pork steamed buns are what should’ve made the list: Hot, salty and sweet juicy pork inside a cloud-light bun. Perhaps it was a mistake to take a bite of this wildly tasty bun in the midst of eating my very mildly flavored chicken goop.
Either way, one goopy experience was not enough to deter me from Out the Door. I will just stay away from Asian porridge dishes from now on.
