Calling All Foodies--Don't Miss San Francisco's Famed Ferry Building

Off the Embarcadero at the Ferry Building.

I just returned from a culinary conference in San Francisco, where I spent a lot of my free time at the Ferry Building. That's one of the entrances pictured at left, and one of the ferries coming in to the dock, below right.

 I ran into many of my colleagues at the Ferry Building, and most are as enchanted with this popular foodie destination as I am. Both we and the  locals flock to interesting eateries, specialty food shops, and kitchen and garden boutiques.

 Inside, in an area that once stored passengers' luggage, merchants now serve up everything from tea, coffee, olive oil, and bread to mushrooms, high-end chocolate, pastries, wine, herbs, oysters, sausage, and more. Outside, on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday growers and customers jam into that empty plaza shown above for a vibrant city farmers' market.

Incoming ferry at the Ferry Building

If you haven't been to San Francisco in the last decade, you may have missed this historic transit center turned culinary emporium. It's right off the Embarcadero on the waterfront in the Financial District. After decades of neglect, it was given new life when extensive renovations were completed in 2004. 

 The original building opened in 1892 and served as a bustling transportation hub for train passengers from the East, as well as East Bay and Marin commuters until the mid-1930s. Then, gradually, after the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge made commuting by car possible, it became obsolete. But ferry service resumed in the 1970s to alleviate the growing daily snarl of commuter car traffic.

So, now you've got your bearings, here's a quick peek of just some of the goodies you'll find inside the Ferry Building.

Gelatina Encapsulada- Gelatin artwork desserts at La Cucina.

Cowgirl Creamery doing a booming business--as usual.

I grabbed two quick lunches at the San Francisco Fish Co.

Light and crispy fish taco lunch from the Fish Co.

HAD to buy some fine orange peel bark here.

At Sur la Table I found a perfect striped tea towel.

Just looked, but really wanted to buy at Far West Fungi.

Had to try a caramel at Miette--yum!

Heath Ceramics-Local handcrafted pottery maker.

Another foodie destination you may want to know about--Atlanta's Sweet Auburn Market.
Or see some "lemon scenes" plus a limoncello recipe I brought back from Italy.