San Francisco Ferry Building Farmers Market

I wanted to title this post, "When your eyes are bigger than your stomach". But that's really not that descriptive given my normal eating habits. However, it is very applicable to the Farmers Market, especially the one at the SF Ferry Building on Saturday mornings.

Farmers markets represent a dichotomy for me. On the one hand, I love nothing more than local produce, artisanal honey, and handmade tamales. On the other hand, I do not like screaming children, hoardes of slow walkers, and endless decision making. But the pros usually outweigh the cons, especially when the food is this good.

If you've never been to the San Francisco Ferry Building Farmers Market on Saturday mornings (open from 8am to 2pm), then I'm here to tell you to go. If you have been, go back. There are so many options, and honestly, don't you want to try some of them again?

The first time I went, my boyfriend and I got the chilaquiles at Primavera and a few oysters at Hog Island Oyster Company. Which were both good, but we knew we could do better.

The second time we had scoped the scene, and we had a plan. We beelined for the long line at Roli Roti.

Roli Roti is a very popular stop, and for good reason. They are famous for their roast chicken and porchetta which turns on spits, dripping delicious juice on to the roasted potatoes below. You can get the chicken in quarters, halves, or wholes. The porchetta comes in a sandwich with arugula and balsamic onions on an Acme french  roll.

Sometimes they have special sandwiches as well, such as the above, "The Italiano": chicken tossed with basil pesto, arugula radicchio, pickled red onion, and feta on an Acme french roll. It was everything and more.

Below is the famous Porchetta sandwich.

While waiting in line for Roli Roti, my boyfriend decided to wander around, particularly to go "look" at a stand called Cap'n Mike's Holy Smoke, which had some intriguing fish and lox items. He came back with an open faced lox sandwich for each of us (he said he was "looking", he clearly had an ulterior motive). At this point, less our stomaches explode, we decided to share a porchetta sandwich. We headed to the new Fort Point Beer Co. kiosk in the front of the Ferry Building to eat our meal alongside a beer.

This is the San Francisco Style Red Lox Sandwich: served open faced on Acme Sourdough with homemade cream cheese, lightly pickled red onion, and lemon & capers. It was outstanding. I will be returning to try their other lox sandwiches.

Above is the Fort Point Beer Co. kiosk. It was the perfect spot to eat our Farmers Market pickings while enjoying a craft beer, away from the crowds. The other kiosks include Dandelion Chocolate (which makes a mean chocolate chip cookie that we also later purchased), Marla Bakery, Blue Bottle, and a few others. These kiosks have outdoor seating and heaters, and are a great addition to the Ferry Building.

Summary: Grab some food, grab a beer. Enjoy.