Ferry Building

My daughter and I, to get a little mother-daughter time in, sneak out early almost every Saturday morning and head over to the Ferry Building in San Francisco for the farmers market. We have developed a loose routine around or favorite places in the market, depending on the day, we'll have a cappacino at Blue Bottle Coffee, we always stop by Boulettes Larder, where we pick up at least 2 of their chocolate brownie cookies, my daughter's must have at the market. Cowgirl Creamery is another of our hot spots; known for their wonderful selection of cheeses, they have a fantastic cottage cheese my husband loves. We usualy finnish with a walk through the market for veggies, meats and eggs and often grab a quick breakfast, either at Aidells (we love the delicious German beer sausage) or a mexican breakfast at PimaVera (also very good).

We have such a wonderful selection of markets here in the East Bay, that the Ferry Building for us is mostly people watching and bay viewing, and seeing where we are in the season. The farmers markets are one of the best places to go here in California to connect to the seasons. Getting to see the different varietys of fruits and vegetables that change throughout the seasons. Recently, speaking to one of the farmers I learned that even chickens and eggs have seasons. Items I would never have thought to be seasonal.


Today, by chance, we got to partake in the Fungus Festival, a celebration of mushrooms. Various vendors were giving samples of their wears with a mushroom addition. For example, Recciuti Chocolate gave out samples of their hot chocolate made with candy cap mushrooms. I thouhgt it gave it a nice carmely taste, but my daughter, who is not a big mushroom fan, didn't.
Passing The Gardener (a beautiful and expensive home decor store), we noticed a book signing going on. Alice Waters, a favorite of mine, was there signing her new book, The Art of Simple Food. I was eyeing the book and purchased it on the spot and had it signed for my daughter.