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SAN FRANCISCO — It’s a chilly December day and I’ve got a cup of Dandelion’s spicy Mission Hot Chocolate steaming in one hand, a sample of Cowgirl Creamery’s Mt. Tam cheese softening in the other, and a big shopping bag full of dried shiitakes from Far West Fungi, seaweed soaps from The Gardener and orange-blossom honey from the Beekind stand weighing down my arm, while I’m looking at a gingerbread house created by Brown Sugar Kitchen — with walls shaped like chicken legs. And I’ve only been in the Ferry Building for about five minutes.
I’m gonna need a bigger bag.
This historic transit hub and world-class foodie haven is like a giant larder in your grandmother’s kitchen — if your grandmother is a gourmet chef, who only uses the finest organic, locally grown products and has a 75,000-square-foot pantry, that is.
Delicious scents float on the air, wafting from the sourdough at Acme Bread, fresh pies at Mariposa Baking Company and beyond. Nibble a little here, slurp a little there. Or dine at a top-ranked, sit-down restaurant like The Slanted Door or Bouli Bar.
For the holiday season, there are a dozen gingerbread houses — including an intricate 5-foot-long replica of the Ferry Building itself — sprinkled throughout the main concourse. There’s the hum of harmonious conversation from tourists and locals, shopping together. Clusters of commuters debark the boats — it’s called the Ferry Building for a reason, you know. And a bounty of the Bay Area’s best produce fills stands at the farmers market outside — open year-round, even in the rain.
Put it all together and it’s a San Francisco treasure. People come here just to come here.
“We fly up here once a year, every December — we’ve been doing it for 13 years now — just to come to the Ferry Building. We love it so much,” says Ann Millar of Huntington Beach, also weighed down with armloads of bags from various merchants. “It’s such a special place. We love the food, the empanadas at El Porteño. Oh, and the avocado toast at Frog Hollow. It’s absolutely awesome.”
To be sure, everyone has their favorites and you’ll surely find your own. But here are a few tips for getting the most out of a visit:
The history
Knowing a little about the history of this graceful building at the foot of Market Street will help you appreciate it even more: The elegant two-story structure with its interior arches and skylights first opened in 1898, its iconic clock tower modeled after Spain’s 12th-century Giralda bell tower in Seville.
There were no bridges spanning the bay at the time, so ferry boats were the main method of transport to and from the East and North bays. Until the 1930s, the Ferry Building was the second busiest transit terminal in the world.
The building has survived earthquakes – in fact, it appears in a famous grainy film clip, thought to be shot just days before the infamous 1906 temblor. In the 1950s, the building was largely used as office space. After extensive restoration, the marketplace and food hall opened in 2003. (The exterior is currently undergoing another restoration, so you may see portions clad in white plastic while it’s being repainted.) Be sure to check out the historic photos in the main entryway on the Embarcadero side.
Want to know more? San Francisco City Guides offers free walking tours of the Ferry Building on Saturdays and Tuesdays. Find the schedule at www.sfcityguides.org.
The holidays
The Ferry Building’s inaugural “Merry Building” festivities run through New Year’s Eve with gingerbread galore — not only gingerbread houses created by merchants, but also large, faux gingerbread cut-outs where guests can pose for selfies. Choral groups will serenade shoppers starting at 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 14. And merchants have special holiday offerings, including Mariposa’s seasonal, gluten-free pies and a winter collection at Heath Ceramics.
Getting here
The ideal way to get here is, well, by ferry. Not only is it a low-stress, beautiful journey over the waves from Oakland, Larkspur, Alameda, Sausalito and Richmond, but it puts you right at the Ferry Building’s back door — or front door, depending on your perspective. Find schedules at www.sanfranciscobayferry.com and www.goldengateferry.org.
If you’re in the city, stick with the historic theme and hop on one of the vintage trolleys on the F Market line. Of course you can bike, scooter, BART or bus. Driving? Try the ProPark lot at Embarcadero and Washington Street, where it’s $4 an hour with validation from a Ferry Building merchant.
When to go and what to bring
Weekdays generally see more tourists than locals – except at the lunch rush, when people flock from nearby businesses to grab a bite. Weekends are definitely crowded with tourists, plus locals in running gear with baby strollers and dogs getting espressos – the people, not the dogs. Bring bags if you’re planning to shop — and an empty stomach, for all the delicious things that await.
Where to begin
There are entry points on both sides of the building. I like to start at the northern end so I can check out the day’s off-beat ice-cream flavors at the Humphry Slocombe shop (on this day it’s Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee and Duck Yeah Sundae). I eyeball the sweet, pastel confections at Miette Patisserie.
If the crowds allow it, it can be great fun to chat with the vendors, too. The folks at Recchiuti Confections are happy to curate their work-of-art Parisian-inspired confections for you beneath video panels showing flowing molten chocolate. And get to know your cheesemonger, says cheesemonger Caitlin O’Neill, head of retail and food services at Cowgirl Creamery.
“If you’re local, make friends with your cheesemonger, give them your name, so we can cater best to your seasonal cheese needs,” she says, handing me a nibble of the Devil’s Gulch cheese, featuring both sweet and hot peppers.
O’Neill is one of those people who came here just to come here. “I moved here recently from New York specifically to work in the Ferry Building,” she says. “What I love is it’s a collection of all the most exciting, passionate food producers in the Bay Area. And the concept of centering a culinary experience around a transit experience is really forward-thinking.” She gives me a “cheesemonger handshake” – an elbow bump. “Since my hands are always covered in cheese,” she says.
Side trips
While it’s easy to think the main hall is the main attraction, don’t forget to explore the side hallways. (For one thing, that’s where you’ll find the restrooms.) There are pop-up stands like Biscuit Bender with its sweet or savory buttermilk puffs of joy, and wonderful restaurants like Brown Sugar Kitchen and its classic Southern comfort food. There’s the Frog Hollow Farm-to-Table Cafe and Hog Island Oyster Co. eatery. There’s even a book store — Book Passage — that often holds author readings.
Finish off at the southern end of the main hall with a visit to Sur la Table, so you can buy everything you need to cook everything you just bought.
Upper level
Venture up the grand staircase, just to the side of the building’s main Embarcadero-side entrance, for a bird’s eye view of the building’s soaring interior. You’ll find a beautiful mosaic of the Great Seal of California embedded in the floor. And there are restrooms up here too, which are often less crowded.
Venture up here on a wintry Sunday — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. beginning Jan. 5 — and you’ll catch Fog City Flea, a makers market that features Bay Area artisans and their handcrafted jewelry, modern crafts, accessories, apothecary, decor and more.
Farmers market
The famed Ferry Plaza Farmers Market has been called one of the top farmers markets in the country. It’s open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The big day to go, though, is Saturday, when booths wrap around the building from the Embarcadero to the plaza overlooking the bay. Stock up, taste samples and gaze at that view. Operated by CUESA — the nonprofit Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture, www.cuesa.org — the market is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.
More details
The San Francisco Ferry Building is located at One Ferry Building – on the Embarcadero at the foot of Market Street. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. Hours for individual shops and restaurants may vary. www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com