Clam Chowder at Hog Island, $14
If there’s one soup that comes the furthest from the grocery aisle, it’s Hog Island’s Clam Chowder. The made-to-order bowl is loaded with chunky potatoes, broth consisting of celery, carrots, and leeks, and of course, topped with a mountain of steaming manila clams fished out of Tomales Bay. The buttery broth practically begs to be dunked into with the accompanying claw-shaped piece of sourdough bread. The earlier you order this very hands-on bowl, the better, as it’s prone to selling out —which translates to 150 pounds of clams a day for Hog Island!
Hog Island, 1 Ferry Building, #11 (on The Embarcadero); 415-391-7117.

Photographed by Maria del Rio