Here we are, just after 8 in the morning, down the street from Fisherman’s Warf in San Francisco at The Ferry Building Open AIr Market. I was excited. I wanted coffee. (I never got it, as I couldn’t take the time to go get it!) People were already everywhere sitting where ever there was a spot in the warm early morning sun eating a variety of delectable hearty breakfasts cooked to order at the booths across from the water. I didn’t have an appetite for anything but coffee, but was very interested in the Mexican and Spanish influenced cuisine that was being served to the freshly scrubbed faces waiting in line.
This gal is pouring coffee into individual papers above. Can you see that?
Massive pots of heavily seasoned beans and lentils with and without meat was ladled onto plates. What is it?
And below is the menu for this booth. The authenticity of the ethnic food seemed apparent, but who am I to know? What I did knkow is that I wanted to taste every single thing I saw. That was impossible, but the desire is still there as I write about this experience. YUM.
I did taste each of the Ades below as a gal was ranting about how incredible they were. Each was very nice, refreshing and certainly healthy. I loved the idea, the jug, the service, and the entire scene. But, didn’t buy one, and wouldn’t be lining up for one next week. They were pleasant.
This is all a part of the same booth as you can tell by the table cloth. What was intriguing to me was that as I stood and watched, a fellow came up and called the man preparing packages and food at the back of the area. He spoke in Spanish and then the man in the booth retried some bags from a cooler that looked like dough. I asked the man buying what he had purchased. He said it was the fresh tortilla dough so that he could make his own at home. I believe he paid three dollars and got several bags of the dough. He said enough for fifteen large tortillas and that the dough at this place was the best. I believe him. It was a very busy booth.
See the happy breakfast crowd?
And this must be darn good chicken. The line was veeeeerrrrryyyyyy long! (and remember, it is just after 8 am)
Tomatoes will always catch my eye. I adore them. I roast them and toast them and slice them and dice them and I cannot get enough of all kinds of them. To me they are a perfect gift from God. One of many, but certainly a huge favourite of mine.
Loved this sign (below). The essence of it was apparent throughout the entire market. The people were hospitable and warmly embraced their public, we tourists, and one another.
This was one of the few booths that had three of each specialty. Of the three specialty salts, I did buy the smoked chipotle one. It is really special. I cannot wait to dress something up in it for company!
Peppers are beautiful everywhere, and I had certainly never seen a zepher squash! Not in my neck of the woods! I would buy them. Maybe I can get Mary Ellen and Andreas at Greens Eggs and Ham interested in these! Maybe I can get them interested in growing squash blossoms. I would buy a lot of those!
Dirty Girl Produce was another clear customer favourite, and one of mine, too! Their vegetables and herbs were so reasonably priced and absolutely stunningly beautiful. I stayed and gawked and fondled almost everything at least twice before I felt like I was being looked at suspiciously and that maybe I should leave. I did buy a bouquet of basil here for Lauren. But, i wanted every single item they sold. I could make such an amazingly luscious feast!
Martha Stewart will probably start using these white radishes in her summer wedding bouquets if she lays her eyes on this lot. And then, look at the basil below. Honestly, it was really hard for me to leave this booth. Eventhough I bought the basil and burried my nose deeply into it throughout the rest of my browsing, it was an electric sensory experience to be there.
Now for my favourite herbist: Four Sister’s Farm. I don;t know which of the Four Sisters I met, but she was personalble, enthusiastic, informative, patient, and encouraging. I introduced Lauren to her and showed Lauren her produce. She was interested, but didn’t really “get it” yet. She also didn’t need anything from her, but she will remember her, and there is always next time!
Purslane! That’s what we had served to us at Chez Panisse in our salad! Yes, it was! So, what is it? And, here it is again! People eat this here. It is pretty and has an interesting crunch and mouth feel with a very mild flavour for a cultivated weed! But, that is essentially what many of the leaves we eat were.
Did you notice how perfect and healthy and hardy all of the leaves are? Are you salivating like me? Clearly, these farmers love what they do and take pride in their work. I really appreciated the information about each product on the cards above. I learned a great deal. I would like to support them from here, but that is not possible. So, hopefully, someone there will read this and hop on over and buy up a bunch of these delectable greens. I had never seen wild arugula until this market. It is everywhere here, and gorgeous. The varietals of spinach are also plentiful here.
Doesn’t that sound like it would hit the spot about now? Organic Corn Crust pizza? YUM!
Teas were another thing that I noticed were very big in San Francisco. There are many independent makers of tea and many large importers of Asian teas.
I caught the photo as I was running by to remind me of this clever combination. I have purchased hibiscus flowers in syrup for drinks and the flavour is similar to choke cherry syrup, so this drink would be deadly.
Oh my gosh! Here is one booth that reminds me of our Alberta Markets!
Too many to taste. Too many. But, look at these cheeses from Andante Dairy. Aren’t they stellar?
This did remind me of my time in the Balkans in July. Can you see the similarities? And below, a very popular bakery that I neglected to record the name of. You can see from the crumbs in the basket how great his work must me!
You may have notice in other photos that this is a back-your-car-up-and-unload-in-front-of-your-table market. Here is a small sampling of the Cowgirl Creamery produce that has a large store inside of The Ferry Building, and another booth that I talk about on my way out.
I don’t take you into the building on this little tour because this is about the open air market. The inside of the Ferry Building is as interesting as any gathering of artisan grocers except that there are a few kind of commercial distractions in the midst. It is definitely worth popping into. There is a coffee store inside that was lined up around the corner, the cheese store above and a specialty grocery store as well as some specialty bakers and a couple of interesting restaurants.
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