Cowgirl Creamery Sidekick & Milk Bar

Their grilled cheese of the day is a must! Regardless of what it is, you’ll most likely fall in love.
The special when I went was raclette and Mt. Tam (which they make in house). The bread was this cheesy crispy bread loaded with oooey goodness. It definitely hit the spot!
On weekends, they have a stand with raclette where they melt the cheese right there and scoop it off on top of bread. If you’re a cheese lover then you will seriously DIE.
Worth checking out in the ferry building!

What a great lunch stop! The grilled cheese and tomato soup were fantastic! This was such a fun building to walk through! Glad we stopped.

Best Cheese Ever! That’s right, I said it, Best Cheese.
Try Wagon Wheel cheese melted over toast with pepper while visiting. This tasty delight is prepared just outside the location in the ferry terminal building. Then go into the store and try other cheese’s.
Take some cheese home to enjoy with wine. I highly recommend visiting this location.

Bottom Line: Best. Grilled Cheese. Ever.
As if the historic Ferry Building isn’t charming enough, the little walk up counter next to the Cowgirl Creamery casts its delightful spell on many visitors every day. Not only is the name «Sidekick Café & Milk Bar» super cute but some decadent and delicious treats are served here. As you can imagine, the food here is cheese-​centric and comforting. The mac and cheese and tomato soup are rumored to be delicious but for me, its the grilled cheese that inspires me. For about $ 8 you can get one of the best grilled cheeses ever. Eight dollars might seem like a lot for a vegetarian sandwich, but I found inspiration in this sandwich and later found myself back at home making a late night grilled cheese bar where I paired different types of cheese with ingredients like apples, fig jams, etc.
Anyway, the Sidekick Café & Milk Bar is literally a counter that you walk up to and place your order so the tricky part might be finding a spot to enjoy it. There are some tables within the Ferry Building Marketplace as well as some benches out back. If you see an open spot, swoop in, after all, that grilled cheese won’t be as good cold.

The food here is awesome-​bring back the apple chutney flatbread!
However the service has consistently been unfriendly. Everyone’s entitled to a bad day but I’m always met with the most unfriendly faces that just sours the experience.
Hope it gets better because service really does make a difference.

I had heard really great things about Cowgirl Creamery from a few people (even my parents were on the tip before I got the chance to say I went there first) so I was excited to see that their «Sidekick» was still open for dinner when my husband and I visited the Ferry Building Marketplace this past Friday night.
I wasn’t super hungry at the time but figured I should eat something before heading off to a SketchFest show, so my husband and I decided to split the grilled cheese sandwich of the day. For reasons that are beyond the trouble of explaining here, I get really weird about the way food is prepared and appreciate that there are kitchens around — like the Cowgirl Creamery Sidekick kitchen — that allow you to spy on your food. The downside to this, of course, is that you can also see your grilled cheese being prepared by an employee who is not wearing gloves. I realize this is probably totally innocuous to some, but to me, it was kind of a turn off due to my apparently deep-​seeded issues with bare knuckle food production.
My husband ended up eating the majority of the sandwich after I couldn’t refuse a bite, and I can now be a bigger person than I was then and admit it was delicious. He hasn’t perished yet, so I probably should have just ponied up (no pun intended) and ate a full half. I guess I can compare it to getting a shot — when the needle comes at your arm and you see it all happen, it’s more discomforting than… say, a blindfold and some Xanax in advance — because what you don’t know can’t hurt you. I missed out, but I won’t next time.

5 Stars definitely worth it. I like to think of a good grilled cheese as really nice when it’s hearty and filling, with a good amount of quality cheese in the sandwich. At the same time, it can’t be too greasy or unoriginal with flavors. And for $ 8, my order of a grilled cheese with house made arugula pesto and pickles was superb (the pickles really worked too!).
Another must try is the tomato soup, no joke one of the best I’ve ever had. With homemade crême fraiche and croutons, this soup really complemented the sandwich well. I’d happily recommend this to anyone looking for a meal in the Embarcadero area.

So are you saying Robin to my Batman? Or Chipmunks to my Alvin? Or the human to my Lassie? Or K.I.T.T to my Michael Knight?
What kind of sidekicks are we talking about here?
Oh, cheese you say? Cheese and soup? I see… Nothing superhero about this place. Just a very good grilled cheese sandwich to energize your sidekick. Whoever he or it may be.
They have a different grilled cheese sandwich special every day, and all are great and fresh and toasty.
I’ve had everything from their mild cheese to their sharp chesse, and all have been good. And for all you meat lovers you can add ham and stuff for an extra charge.
You can also add the soup. Though their tomato soup is on the spicy side, and not your typical Campbell’s tomato soup. So be warned if spicy isn’t your thing.
But, do come for the cheese sandwiches. Because, after all, who doesn’t like cheese?

Baked Egg Sandwich. So good. With sauteed mushrooms, Gruyère & herbs. I shared this sandwich with the hubby, and we were left wanting more. There was so much cheese and mushrooms, it was filled with so much flavor. I love cheese, so this sandwich was PERFECT. I couldn’t really taste the egg. in fact I forgot it was an egg sandwich until I wrote this review. In my mind it was a cheese and mushroom sandwich.

The sandwich of the day was garlic & green onion. I had it with tomato soup, of course. It was FANTASTIC. Quick service and delicious food, but until they can figure out some better seating options they only get 4 stars from me. Doesn’t matter – I’ll be back a lot.

Phenomenal grilled cheese once again. The bread, the cheese, the add-​ins. The food is excellent and not to mention very fast. You get your orders right away.
The only thing is that they messed up my order once but it was minor

I have dreams about those cheese toasties. The Cabot cheddar, the maple mustard, the caramelized onions, and the pickles on the side. I am kind of surprised by the slew of average reviews, but I can only speak for the toasties because they’re so good, I won’t stray away from that choice each time I go back. Open-​faced sandwiches aren’t usually my thing, but if you’re a fan of tasty cheese, artisan bread, and savory flavors galore, you won’t be disappointed, even for $ 8 a pop.

I grabbed lunch here while I was exploring the Ferry Building Marketplace. I got the Burrata salad, which has a huge chunk of mozzarella bedded by fresh greens, peppers, olives, and tomatoes and accessorized with three large «croutons…» More like large slices of dried bread. It was waaaay more than I could eat, and I’m guessing the mozzarella was pretty filling. It was super fresh tasting and buttery, but I honestly kind of wish I had tried the flatbread melt instead because I kind of tired of the mozzarella quickly. If you like a high quality mozz this is a great pick, but for most people it might be too much, which is a shame because the thing costs about $ 11.
I’d definitely consider coming back here to try the other menu items… it looked like the tomato soup was pretty good. The flavors of milk looked really good as well!

I’ve lived in the Bay Area for years but had never been to the Ferry Building until about a month ago & I discovered the most amazingness ever at a little cart in front of this sandwich shop. I love cheese but the «Weekend Raclette»
(which is only served sat & sun 11 – 3) is wagon wheel cheese melted on toast with bread & butter pickles and it’s the best $ 5.95 you can spend at the Ferry Building. Hands down.
Would have been 5 stars but the limited hours are annoying. This amazingness should be available until at least 5pm, if not always.

Seriously amazing.
I had the flatbread cheese melt which has pesto flavoring. Insanely finger-​licking delish. Even the pickles on the side are awesome, sweeter than normal pickles.
My friend had the open-​faced cheese toasties which were also quite good.
I would recommend this place to anyone.

Not what it used to be… Yesterday, I ordered a grilled cheese with high hopes of reliving the glory day when I had a grilled cheese from Sidekick. The special was a triple threat of cheese from Cowgirl Creamery with strawberry apricot jam. I added pancetta for a bit of protein. This time, the star of the show was the Acme bread. Sadly, there was maybe only two bites of pancetta within that sandwich. The cheese were nice and all melted together but the fruit jam seemed missing. Can’t beat a grilled cheese anywhere, but didn’t live up my expectation for a repeat 4 star snack. Almost $ 11 for a very average grilled cheese sando. And please, give us more pickles!!!

4 Stars for a creamy grilled cheese that was worth every penny!
Right in the middle of the Ferry building we came across this spot. A friend said it may be the most expensive grilled cheese sandwich you get but it’ll be the best!
At under $ 8 it actually wasn’t the most expensive I’ve had, but it rivaled any I’ve had previously. The grilled cheese sandwich changes daily (it’s always a special condition). The one we got was on the sweet side and included raspberry preserves and ricotta. We were ordering it as a snack and it was four of us so we asked them to pre-​cut it four ways.
All in all I have to say it was really a delight! The bread was the perfect thickness and though it was toasted I didn’t leave with a mangled upper palate (am I the only one who gets that with overly toasted, thick bread?!). We all agreed that it was a perfect snack before we hit up the wine spot and then of course the ice cream joint.

My friend and I were in the Ferry Building for lunch and decided on Cowgirl Creamery because it smelled pretty amazing. They were also giving out samples of their cheese toasties, which were pretty yummy when I first tried it.
I’m not a huge cheese person in general, but I still love ooey, gooey melted cheese if it’s done well. Cowgirl’s food isn’t bad, but I honestly didn’t find the cheese particularly memorable. My friend and I got the daily grilled cheese, the cheese toasties and a farmer’s market salad to share. The cheese toasties were a little more unique in flavor but the grilled cheese was average at best. Both were very greasy, but that should be expected. As with any food with melted cheese, eat it while it’s still hot! They also have some other sandwiches, salads, mac and cheese and tomato soup.
Overall, probably not one of my top choices in the Ferry Building, but worth a visit if you love cheese.
–GRILLED CHEESE ($ 7.95) — ³⁄₅
[daily selection: chipotle fromage blanc, holey cow, reading raclette]
LOTS of cheese for all you cheese people out there. Unfortunately, it was just an average grilled cheese in my books. The bread was grilled nicely, but the sandwich overall was rather monotone in flavor.
–CHEESE TOASTIES ($ 7.95) — 3.5÷5
[open-​faced grilled cheese, caramelized onions, maple mustard]
If I came back to eat at Cowgirl again, I’d probably be most likely to get the cheese toasties again. It’s not too cheesy and the maple mustard adds a unique sweetness to balance out some of the cheese. Incredibly greasy though. I get the toast part being greasy, but the cheese was glistening with grease as well
–FARMER’S MARKET SALAD ($ 4.75) — ³⁄₅
[green salad, vinaigrette, grilled cheese crisps]
Pretty standard side salad — just greens and some tomatoes. The grilled cheese crisps were unique though.

Their cheese flatbread is delicious. It’s so cheesy and it pairs so well with the warm chewy flatbread. Cheese toastie is just alright. The toast is thick and kind of dry and I didn’t really like how it’s broiled. Their tomato soup is good too. It’s nice and tangy and it complement anything you get here. Mac n cheese is just alright though. It’s good, but I’ve had better. Maybe it’s the idea that it’s pre-​made and then scooped into a container. It wasn’t all that ooey gooey cheesy. If you come during the weekend, the raclette is a must! I mean who doesn’t like freshly melted cheese, from a cheese wheel, scooped onto toasted bread?!
Prices are a bit high for the portions that you get, but you’re kind of paying for quality here.

Cheeeeeese. I can’t remember which sandwich we had, but it was the special that day and was served open-​face.
It leans on the pricey side, and this particular sandwich was greasy, but I wouldn’t hesitate to return to try an alternative. The cheese shop next door is like a cheese lover’s heaven, and the free samples don’t hurt either.
Try the raclette (aka cheese show) if you’re looking for some freshly melted, gooey, hot, bubbling cheese!

So first, the location. Excellent. They have a primo spot in the Ferry Building and the eatery is set up so that you can eat at one of their bar top stool. However, we really wanted wine to go with our meal so prior to ordering I asked the girl taking our order if they sold any and she said, «I wish.» She offered us take-​out and said that the wine and beer bar just a few shops down was more than happy to have us eat our Cowgirl food there. The wine shop down the hallway has tons of seats and a huge selection, but I digress.
I wanted grilled cheese, but be careful when you order it. They only have ONE grilled cheese daily and its the special. So when you say you want a grilled cheese, they just ring up today’s special (posted on a sandwich board in the promenade.) Conceivably, you can make changes, but she rang it up so quickly that I didn’t get to specify. It turned out fine, but I’m thankful there wasn’t any meat in the special. I would think with it being a «creamery» there would be many grilled cheese options to choose from.
We also got the tomato soup which honestly was not great, very bland. The bread that my grilled cheese was one was awesome however. It was a thick sourdough, expertly buttered and grilled. I pulled out a lot of the cheese, but that’s because I don’t like overly cheesy foods, though I’m sure it would be perfect for someone who does.
Not bad. I’d stop back because it was warm and comforting food on a chilly day.

They have a decent selection of sandwiches, salads and food items. Also, if you like macaroni and cheese, you’ll probably like theirs. It’s creamy but not overbearing. I sometimes have lactose issues but I didn’t have any with this mac & cheese. The chai is also quite good — it’s a bit spicier than others.
It gets pretty busy but they handle it fairly well. Prices are pretty reasonable.
It’s inside the Ferry Building so there aren’t too many places to sit. Get it to go and find a spot to sit outside.