# Eating pig ears in San Francisco **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 25, 2024, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190 "2024-08-25T09:00:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/1 "2024-08-25T09:00:35Z")
Sometimes, you get surprised… Ya see…I’m just sittin’ here quietly, reading a simple NY Times article about Elon Musk’s decision to relocate his company “X” out of San Francisco. The article gives a description of the old glory days back in 2006, when the new company called Twitter was a successful startup in San Francisco and generated an economic boost for the city And then there’s this paragraph: > [@](#): > > After Twitter moved into the new headquarters at 1355 Market Street, its payroll swelled to a few thousand people. The cavernous ground floor became home to upscale bars and restaurants — where people could eat antelope, elk and pig ears. Pig Ears? Is this the backwoods of Alabama? Now me,…I can imagine that there exist expensive restaurants which serve antelope and elk, (though I have never seen such a place.) I suppose you could make a good steak out of them, just like a cow, and serve it with a sizzle to a table of successful folks who arrived in their BMW’s. But PIG EARS? Gross!!! Ughh!!! And mostly, it just sounds like the exact opposite of what the customers at a classy restaurant in high-tech San Francisco would want to order from the menu. So tell me folks: …Who eats pig ears? And where? Oh…And what type of wine goes best with them? ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/2 "2024-08-25T12:36:19Z")
[https://images.app.goo.gl/ZF9Gy2uqgqE9VTVeA](https://images.app.goo.gl/ZF9Gy2uqgqE9VTVeA) Eta: couldn’t get it to preview. Its a zoidberg scene from futurama ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/3 "2024-08-25T13:03:33Z")
Pig ears are part of a number of cuisines around the world: > **[Pig's ear (food)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig%27s_ear_(food))** > > Pig's ear, as food for human consumption, is the cooked ear of pig. It is found in several cuisines around the world. > In Bulgaria, a pig's ear is used as an appetizer for beer or wine. It is first boiled and then grilled with lemon, soy sauce, salt, and ground pepper. > In Chinese cuisine, pig's ear is often an appetizer or a side dish, called zhū ěr duo (豬耳朵 "pig's ear"), often abbreviated to zhū ěr (豬耳). In some regions, pig's ears are known as ceng ceng cui (层层脆 "layers of crunch"). It can be... It doesn’t appeal to me, but I’m sure it can be made into something tasty. Just about anything can. As for its desirability, IMHO, “elevated peasant cuisine” is _exactly_ what customers at a classy restaurant in high-tech San Francisco would want to order from the menu. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/4 "2024-08-25T13:04:31Z")
Don’t they sell dried pig ears at the pet supplies store for dogs to chew on, since they have the same consistency as rawhide chew toys? But it’s surprising what unlikely things people manage to not only make edible, but turn into prized delicacies. I was having dim sum at a restaurant in Windsor, Ontario once and wanted to try the steamed chicken feet out of curiosity, but they were fresh out. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/5 "2024-08-25T13:06:55Z")
Look at it this way: anyone can cook a steak, but it takes a talented chef to make pig ears taste good. Serving them in a classy restaurant is a flex. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/6 "2024-08-25T13:19:38Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > So tell me folks: …Who eats pig ears? And where? My (Chinese) wife likes them; they’re a popular summer snack, chopped into thin strips and served with kind of a soy sauce dip. I think it’s more about the chewy texture than the actual flavour. They’re not hard to find here in Toronto at any place that sells barbecued pork or duck, say. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/7 "2024-08-25T15:08:08Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I was having dim sum at a restaurant in Windsor, Ontario once and wanted to try the steamed chicken feet out of curiosity, but they were fresh out. I had them once in Hong Kong. Very tasty (nice sauce) but just skin and bones, no meat. I have never been confronted with the possibility of eating a pig’s ears. I do not have FOMO about it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/8 "2024-08-25T15:45:39Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > just skin and bones, no meat. Skin and cartilage, no bones. ---
**Author:** ![De\_La\_Rue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@De\_La\_Rue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/De_La_Rue)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/9 "2024-08-25T15:54:28Z")
Three points: 1. Now wait a minute, [purses aren’t edible–not to mention that it’s supposed to be impossible in the first place](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/make_a_silk_purse_of_a_sow%27s_ear). (This was my first thought on seeing the title.) 2. A pig’s ear is apparently also [a kind of pastry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmier). Though, given its mention in the context of antelope and elk, the article is presumably referring to the literal kind. 3. > [@chappachula](#): > > So tell me folks: …Who eats pig ears? All sorts of people. Check out that [table of contents](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig's_ear_(food)). ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/10 "2024-08-25T15:58:49Z")
I used to have an Indonesian neighbor who was a really good cook. One night, he asked if I wanted to try a soup he made. I did, and it was delicious. But I was puzzled by the thin strips of “meat” in the soup. Turns out, they were pig ears. He seemed pleasantly surprised that I asked for seconds. It was damn good soup. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/11 "2024-08-25T16:02:30Z")
People eat tripe and brains, so why not pig ears? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/12 "2024-08-25T16:03:10Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Skin and cartilage, no bones. Admittedly this was over 40 years ago, but I have a distinct memory of bones, lots of little bones. Maybe what I was eating wasn’t chicken feet, nobody there spoke English so I’m not positive. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/13 "2024-08-25T16:06:41Z")
Bourdain was a big fan. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BG58qxnXNLQ/hqdefault.jpg "Pig ear sandwiches in the Mississippi Delta (Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG58qxnXNLQ) ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/14 "2024-08-25T16:13:12Z")
My memory of the one time I (accidentally) ate chicken feet was also that they were filled with tiny bones. Obviously live chickens have bones in their feet, and doubt if preparing them for cooking involves removing all those little bones. That was probably the least appetizing dim sum item I’ve ever had. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/15 "2024-08-25T16:23:23Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > As for its desirability, IMHO, “elevated peasant cuisine” is _exactly_ what customers at a classy restaurant in high-tech San Francisco would want to order from the menu. I was going to say that there is probably a big market for high-end chefs going to third world countries, seeing how the poorest people eat off the land, and then cooking in that style but “deconstructed” - and then I realized that this is exactly what those chef/travel shows are about. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/16 "2024-08-25T16:35:05Z")
Googling, I think the article in the OP was referring to a now-closed restaurant called Dirty Water, which served something called a pig ear fritto misto, apparently a bar snack costing fifteen bucks. The reviews I read said it was really good. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/17 "2024-08-25T17:29:11Z")
They had a big bin of pig ears at the feed store for dogs. I got one and it gave my dog horrible gas so I never got one again. I never saw it on the menu at any of my many trips to Asia or eating Chinese food in the Bay Area and I’m a very adventurous eater. My colleagues in Asia had me try all sorts of crazy things. I did see chicken feet regularly at dim sum in Asia and the Bay. I only tried it one time. As I recall, you’re meant to bite the fat off of it. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/18 "2024-08-25T17:52:21Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I never saw it on the menu at any of my many trips to Asia or eating Chinese food in the Bay Area and I’m a very adventurous eater. I don’t think I’ve ever seen pig ears on a Chinese restaurant menu, only in places that sell meaty snacks. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/19 "2024-08-25T18:03:44Z")
I think the restaurant in question was the now closed Dirty Water which had a pig ear appetizer and was in the Twitter Building. Also catching our eye was the crispy pig ears appetizer, an item that we consume on the too-rare occasions when we see it on a restaurant menu. Moving our way down to the entrées, we noticed some additional offerings of game – antelope and elk – and wondered how we were supposed to choose. > **[You have to be game to eat at Dirty Water](https://topochinesvino.com/2017/11/25/you-have-to-be-game-to-eat-at-dirty-water/)** > > This is one of the most innovative restaurants in San Francisco. Deer tartare, elk, and antelope are just a few intriguing menu items. ETA: the comments for the article mention other places that serve pig ears. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190/20 "2024-08-25T18:04:31Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > My memory of the one time I (accidentally) ate chicken feet was also that they were filled with tiny bones. I got a chicken foot in a bowl of soup in Guatemala back in the 70s. It was fairly startling to me and I didn’t attempt to eat it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-pig-ears-in-san-francisco/1006190.md?page=2)