Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, San Francisco
An unexpected bonus of a travelling north in winter is
catching a second taste of summer. Just as the fruit and veg at home starts
getting dreary, along comes another hit of sun blushed abundance.
Late spring in San Francisco dished up all-you-can-eat
cherries, asparagus and artichokes. We also gorged on fresh dates and beautiful
beetroots. The Rainier cherries in particular were a burst of sunshine in each
mouthful. At $7 a pound for organic, they were also way cheaper than
at home during our short cherry season.
I only made it to the smaller midweek market at the FerryPlaza, the Saturday
one is much larger but was suitably wowed by the variety and quality of the
produce.
Blue Bottle Coffee (they also have a permanent stall inside) sufficiently caffeinated me to Melbourne levels. Toby had given me a heads up to look out for them in the US and their cafes are liberally sprinkled throughout San Francisco and New York.
There were liberal opportunities to taste the market goodies;
I just wished I’d left room for the hot tamales. Once we’d had our fill
outside, there were the wonders of the ferry building itself to explore. You
can read omni blogs about the infamous Cowgirl Creamery and the shop
specialising in ‘tasty salted pig parts’ but it was Far West Fungi that had me
drooling. Their array of wild and cultivated mushrooms had me crying out for a
kitchen but I almost howled at having to forgo experimenting with fiddlehead
ferns.
I got over my woe with cleansing ale at MarketBar, one of a
number on upmarket restaurants in the building, then jumped on the Sausalito
ferry (it is a commuter terminal after all) to escape the madness of downtown
San Francisco. Like all great cities, a little distance never hurts to help you enjoy it, just a little bit more.
Labels: blue bottle coffee, cherries, Far West Fungi, ferry plaza farmers market, fiddlehead ferns, markets, mushrooms, photos, San Francisco, travel, US