Speaking of airport food

Following up on my comments on David Lebovitz's proposals for better food at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, this gets me very, very excited for what travellers can look forward to at the new Terminal 2 of San Francisco airport:

SFO Terminal 2 to include sustainable food

Though I'm a sustainable food advocate, it's not just food for hippies (though, befitting for one's aviation gateway to the land of Haight and Ashbury, no?). Famous household names like Tyler Florence and Cat Cora will have their own culinary outposts, and The Burger Joint and Pinkberry will also have a presence.

Being the foodie that I am, though, I'm most excited about Napa Farms Market, a "5,000-square-foot gourmet food emporium designed by BCV, the firm responsible for the Ferry Building Marketplace." The Ferry Building (and even more impressive, the farmer's market that is held there on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays), is one of the quintessential San Francisco destinations, along with the Golden Gate Bridge and cable car lines.

Coming to an airport near you?

In fact, to be honest, though the Ferry Building is beautiful and full of unique foodie finds, it's got a bit of a hoity-toity air on non-farmer's market days. But when the outside area around the Ferry Building gets packed in front and in back with stalls selling amazing veggies, fruits, honey, mushrooms, grilled-to-order grass-fed burgers and sausages, and with everyone handing out generous samples of their goodies... well, words just fail me. You have to see it to believe it.

I'm guessing that even the best attempts at improving airport food will still fall short of that magic, though it sure sounds like they're going to try:

"Napa Farms will be studded with familiar names - Acme Bread, Cowgirl Creamery [both of which also have locations at the Ferry Building], Three Twins Ice Cream - as well as a bounty of seasonal produce from local farms. There will also be "picnic boxes" available for takeout, and Vino Volo will open a Bay Area-focused wine bar."

As a San Francisco native, I am thrilled about the image of the city such food options at the airport will project. That said, I know that this kind of food comes at a cost, and the downside is that the prices will turn people off from "San Francisco" food, and reinforce the idea that good, sustainable food is just a project of the elite. Then again, airport food has always suffered from dubious price-gouging -- at least this time it can come with some local flavor and flair?