A lot has been written and covered about the new location for the farmer's market in San Francisco. Here's my two-cents worth: Its location is stunning, right on the edge of the bay at the foot of Embarcadero. The San Francisco Bay Bridge serves as a picturesque backdrop. The Ferry Building has been a landmark for so long, and now this new Market Place is a definite tourist and locals destination. On Farmer's Market Days there are outdoor stalls from growers all over northern California. And inside the Ferry Building, more shops, stalls and restaurants to discover, all set in a European style galleria. Very light and open and noisy and fun.

First, take public transportation to the market. The Saturday I went, I drove myself and parked at the 75 Howard Street Garage just about 4 blocks from the Ferry Building. I chose it because the price seemed right. Four bucks for the day (only on Saturday and Sundays). BUT I barely found a parking spot in this large garage. Maybe because the Giants were playing that day at nearby PacBell Park (SBC Park??). The next time I came on BART. The Embarcadero station is four block walk, much easier.

Being there

There is just so much going on at the market, I'm going to be featuring some of the people I talked to on a few upcoming shows. On one of my recent trips, I chatted with a couple of interesting folks.

I think the best way to approach the market is just wander up and down the stalls and see what catches your eye. One of the fist stalls to catch my eye was for Knoll Farms. They had the most beautiful display of artichokes. Purple and green and so many shapes and sizes. And also, this is the time of the year for fresh garlic. This I talked Kristy of Knoll Farms about their varieties of artichokes and about Organic certification.

The other stall that I gravitated towards was Tierra Vegetables. They do a so much with chilies. Dried, powdered, fresh, smoked. They offer a wide variety, and Lee James is a wealth of information on all the different types. Actually, strike up a conversation with any of the farmers, you'll find they are more than willing to explain what they sell.

For lunch, I stopped by Delica-rf1, a Japanese deli in the Market Place, and they had breaded pork cutlets that I just had to try. That gave me the idea for the recipe that I made with the things I found that day at the farmers market.

Links

• Hear the show featuring these guests

Recipes

• Braised Artichokes
• Smokey-Spicy Breaded Pork Cutlet
• Sun-Dried Tomato Balsamic Pesto Sauce

Other Links

• Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market
• The Ferry Building Market Place
• Tierra Vegetables
• Delica-rf1