Monday, August 5, 2013

Frisco Day 3!

It was a busy and wondrous two days in SF. See Day 1 HERE and Day 2 HERE.

I was most excited for Saturday morning at the Ferry Building Farmer's Market and then the Giants game later that evening. Boy, what a surreal day. I'm most in love with the Ferry Building Farmer's Market. I guess you could say I'm in love with Farmer's Markets in general as you've seen HERE previously. It's the fresh-cut flowers that are so vivid in color, the luscious fruit (and its deliciously-sweet samples), the fresh juice and jam, and the amazingly-unique food that these "artists" create. I am always awestruck.

I remember going to the Ferry Building years ago, and haven't been back since. Boy, was I in for a treat! There were five times more vendors than previous years- an enormous amount of food vendors, cheese stands, mushroom stands, flower stands, fresh fruit and veggie stands, fresh juice stands, and even fresh meat to take home. Anything you want, I guarantee you could find here. There were even fruits and veggies I haven't ever heard of up for sale! It was my perfect, little happy place.

If you're ever in the city on a Saturday, this is a must, folks. Hours are 8am-2pm. Take a cab, muni, or there is street parking all around the area- you may just have to walk a bit. Also, take a bag to carry all of your goodies! In SF, they charge 10 cents per bag, so it's good to have your own carry-all.

Click HERE for the CUESA (Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture) website for more info about the Ferry Building Farmer's Market.













Fresh Blackberries and Nopales for Sow's juices

Matador- carrot, sungold tomato, celery, nopales, pepper, lemon, cilantro- has a little kick!



Zephyr- carrot, lemon cucumber, strawberry, lemon, mint



Green and Purple Basil

Fresh meats and BACON!


Lavender Lemonade- Pomegranate lemonade infused with lavender and hibiscus and a bit of honey. Talk about lavender! I felt like I was drinking the lavender! A bit weird for my liking...

So many colorful juices to pick from!


What started out as a typical cold and gloomy SF day turned out to be pretty sunny and hot!


$6/pint to make your own Bloody Mary mix!


Varieties of Mushrooms




Where Lemon Verbena comes from!
Huge Kadota figs!



Wheat Grass shots ready to be made


Cowgirl Creamery- Burrata










After the Farmer's Market, we still hadn't eaten much- just some samples here and there. I was craving Clam Chowder and a whole Crab down at Fisherman's Wharf, but parking on a Saturday was nearly impossible. Craving seafood, we drove by Swan Oyster Depot on Polk Street, but the line was hours long! Practically starving by now, we decided to go to Nopa because they are open all day! We walked in, and were told they were only serving drinks at this time, kitchen was closed til later. AHHH! It was getting late and I needed to be back in time to head out to the Giants game, so I walked next door to the Bi-Rite to get some gelato. It was on my list of places to go in SF, so it seemed like good timing. I asked to try 4 different gelatos, and settled on Brown Sugar with Ginger Caramel Swirl (which was my absolute favorite!!), Salted Caramel, and Honey Lavender. Honey Lavender was my second fave, with Salted Caramel being nothing too impressive. I still adore Talenti's Sea Salt Caramel gelato from the store! All in all, I love Bi-Rite! They have amazing gelato, fresh fruits, a selection of alcohol, a deli with hundreds of different cheese- reminded me of a Whole Foods.........but with a huge gelato section!!! I'm craving that Brown Sugar and Honey Lavender gelato just writing about it!

PS- I have to admit after eating my late afternoon ice cream treat, I was baffled by how people in the city can eat it......I was freezing after! The brisk SF breeze and gelato?.......how do people do it?!

Bi-Rite window


Salted Caramel, Brown Sugar with Ginger Caramel Swirl, and Honey Lavender on the bottom

Cheese........

...Cheese, and more cheese!



By this time, Ian and I had figured we weren't going to eat too much since it was close to dinner time, so we settled on our Bi-Rite ice cream snack and some coffee. Coffee time called for Philz! I've heard so many things about Philz' Mint Mojito Iced Coffee that I just had to have one.

And yes, this little iced coffee lived up to its hype. Creamy, cold, sweet, and a little minty- not overpowering. I loved it! I would definitely recommend this iced coffee to anybody who likes sweeter coffee drinks and mojitos!

Philz on Polk Street in Castro


The Mint Mojito Iced Coffee





MLB time! My friend was nice enough to get me Club Level seats, which I was clearly not prepared for. My goodness, Club Level is equipped with just about anything you need! Head up the Virgin Airlines Club Level escalator, and walk into Club Level. You will be in awe just as I was. Clean bathrooms, gourmet food stations galore, any alcoholic drink you prefer (Hot Chocolate with Bailey's!), inside seating, Giants memorabilia everywhere, and much, much more. My mouth was permanently dropped for the first hour.

After picking up my mouth from the ground, I finally came to my senses that I was in MLB heaven, and sat down in our seats. Another mouth-dropping moment. Amazing seats. Personal waitress to take our order of food or drink. And the view. I don't think it could get any better than that!

Oh wait, it could. Clam Chowder, Garlic Fries, Chicken Sticks, Mozzarella Balls, fresh Hummus, and Beer during a Giants game? Ahhhhhh, MLB heaven I tell ya!! It was one of the best parts of my trip. Thank you so much, RK!









What a surreal moment!

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