Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

An awesome farmers market can be found just behind the Ferry Building in San Francisco. It's called the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. It's there for 2 days a week: Tuesday 10am - 2pm and Saturday 8am - 2pm. The thing I love most about any farmers market is that I can graze my way through an assortment of fruits, vegetables, and anything that happens to catch my fancy at the time. The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market is not your typical farmers market. It is perfectly situated at the edge of the pier so that anyone can enjoy a beautiful view of the bay and the ocean breeze while shoving something delicious down their throat. There are just as many stands that offer prepared meals as there are that offer produce. This farmers market is the closely thing I've found in the Bay Area to the night markets that litter all the cities of Asia. There's nothing, I mean NOTHING, that beats eating your way through a night market. That's why this one is special in my book.

Here are some of the highlights of my experience at this farmers market:

Roli Roti's Porchetta Sandwich


I cannot tell you how good this sandwich is - all I can say is I'm a complete drooling idiot when I watch Thomas, the owner (I'm assuming), prepare my sandwich. He'll ask you, "Authentic style?" Just say "Yes", otherwise he'll tell you to go away. He'll rub the Focaccia-like bread in the juices from the roasted pork on the chopping board. He'll cut up several slices of the roast pork and put it on the bread. He'll finish up by adding caramelized onion and some garnish. Voila, the Porchetta sandwich is ready to go.


Capt'n Mike's Lox Sandwich


They have a few varieties of lox. In my opinion all are worth trying. The thing about Capt'n Mike is they keep it simple and to the point. They focus on quality and you can definitely taste it. These Lox sandwich are served as open sandwiches. The bread they use is artisan quality. The lox is accompanied by the organic vegetable of the day (I've had it with tomatoes, grilled bell peppers, and onions) and cream cheese. You can choose from White Lox, Red Lox, and Albacore Tuna Lox. You just can't go wrong having a lox sandwich in an environment like this - the bay, the pier, and the golden gate bridge all right there. Just beautiful.

Hayes Street Grill's Salmon BLT

Ok, I actually haven't had a chance to try their Salmon BLT, because every friggin time I line up for it, they will slap the "Sold Out" sign on it before I actually get to the front of the line to order it. I've seen what this Salmon concoction looks like. I know what it smells like. Based on those two data points I know what I'm missing. The fact that it ran out on me more than once is really really upsetting. There's no doubt in my mind that the next time I'm at this farmers market, the Hayes Street Grill stand is the one I hit first. I also know that when I finally get to sink my mouth into this thing of beauty that I will not be disappointed. I better not be. I've waited too long for this Salmon BLT.

Too Much Stuff To Remember


This farmers market is huge compared to the one in my neighborhood and therefore has a much wider variety of things to eat. Honestly, there just too many things to remember. The Lox Sandwich, the Porchetta sandwich, and the Salmon BLT are things that I remember, but I guaranteed that it's only a small sample of my entire experience. The truth is I tried so many different samples of fruits, vegetables, and everything in between that I can go without lunch because I just start in grazing in the morning until the early afternoon.

If you have never been to the Ferry Building's Farmers Market before I highly recommend you go. If you've been there or you're a regular attendee I'm very interested to hear your recommendations and experience.

Ferry Building Farmers Market Information:
http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/farmers_market.php