The Ferry Building (and More)

Every now and then, whenever the wife and I tooled around San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf and nearby environs, we'd stop over at the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero.

It's easy to get there via the Muni Streetcars that motor along Fisherman's Wharf's two principal streets: Jefferson and Beach.

The Muni is $2.25 a head, but only $1 for kids and seniors (cheaper than gas, and it's funnier than driving, paying for parking, and walking a block).

These days, you have three things to explore if you get there on the right day—the Ferry Building shops, the Ferry Building Farmer's Market, and the Ferry Plaza Booths.

Ferry Plaza Booths

Let's start here, because it's the first place we visited after disembarking from the Muni. It's mostly commercial souvenirs, some handmade on the spot, some great for presents, many you've seen before. It's a good place to stroll and linger for a while.

They weren't there the last time we went to the Plaza Building. But maybe we just didn't see them.

Some pix:

Ferry Building Farmer's Market

The farmer's market sets up on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Local farmer's and wholesalers set up their produce at reasonable prices; all of the fruits and veggies are in great shape during the right season.

Stretching along the sidewalk from one end of the Ferry Building to the other, it does cause a traffic jam with tourists slowing their cars and snapping pictures as they pass by, on their way to Fisherman's Wharf. And that's another good reason why it pays to take the Muni.

Some pix:

Ferry Building Shops

Inside the Ferry Building are a plethora of food-related shops. You can get fruit, vegetables, jarred and canned products, packaged stuff from all over the world. The shops are staffed with people eager to chat you up about what they're trying to sell you.

There also are several restaurants, food service counters and markets that are busy as heck during mealtime. Go there around lunch time and it's practically shoulder-to-shoulder crowded as workers from downtown rush across the Embarcadero for their midday meal.

One of my favorite shops to gawk at is the mushroom shop, Far West Fungi. They used to have a big stump outside the shop with a school of mushrooms growing out of it.

Another is Boccalone, where they sell cured pork products and sausages. We bought some of their tee shirts sporting their slogan: "Tasty Salted Pig Parts."

Some pix:

And that, my friends, covers our latest San Francisco Ferry Building adventure. Hope to see you there one day for lunch.