OC Annual contributor Jeanine Celeste Pang is a writer based in the Bay Area. In her first dispatch from the West Coast, she takes us on a tour of the Ferry Building Marketplace in SF!
The Ferry Building is one of my favorite places in San Francisco. Some background: it was built in 1892; it’s white, tall, and tells the time (with a 245-foot tall clock tower, to be exact); and it’s used as a terminal for ferries traveling to and from the San Francisco Bay. For what you’d call "a historic landmark," people rarely come to take pictures––unless, of course, it’s of the food, because the building also boasts a capacious artisanal marketplace. Fresh oysters, drip coffee, organic fro-yo, seasonal cupcakes, locally grown pink mushrooms... It's all here, curated yet insouciantly cool.
I recently visited and documented my shopping and eating pursuits. Don't judge me!
Miette
If someone were to ask what I’d like for my last dessert, I would say Miette. The word "addictive" describes their cupcakes, éclairs, and ice cream sandwiches, which come in flavors like "Crème Fraiche Ice Cream on Housemade Graham Cracker." Modeled after the petite pastry shops in Paris, this is a great place to sugar up your girl. My favorites: the popular gingerbread cupcake (it tastes like spiced heaven), the lavender shortbread, the chocolate cake with Italian meringue, and the little jars of chocolate pot de crème and caramel panna cotta, topped with organic whipped cream. miette.com
Blue Bottle Coffee
The San Francisco-based company started the organic/shade-grown bean/fresh roast-trend seen on both coasts, so naturally, they’ve got a knack for making something like a simple drip coffee taste divine. Try the 4 ½-ounce Gibraltar, an off-the-menu coffee drink that tastes like "a baby latte," according to the barista. bluebottlecoffee.com
80 Acres
80 Acres is a line of organic body care developed by the McEvoy Ranch in Northern California. All of their soaps and scrubs and things come enriched with the ranch’s fresh-pressed extra virgin olive oil, which makes me feel less guilty about slathering it on the way I do! I’m partial to the delicious-smelling Blood Orange line, especially the olive oil salt scrub and body balm, inspired by the citrus groves and wild jasmine that grow on the property. mcevoyranch.com
The Gardener
For all your gardening needs––real or imagined––this is the place. They have your standard clippers and rubber gloves, but the standout items are those that you see and think, “Wow. How did I ever live without that!?” I scooped up Blabla’s eco-friendly mustache and eyelash pillows for my niece and nephew, dish towels and linens from Ethiopia and Tunisia for my sister, a signed copy of Edible Selby and stainless steel drinking straws for my chef friend, on-the-vine organic persimmons for my mom, and for dad––a seriously awesome recycled cutting board by the California woodworker Russell James Ooms. Pieced together with various oak, cherry, poplar, and mahogany woods, it reminded me of a cool tie. thegardener.com
Stonehouse California Olive Oil
I love cooking but often have no clue what I’m doing, so a quality olive oil is my saving grace. I love these two by Stonehouse:
The Ferry Building is one of my favorite places in San Francisco. Some background: it was built in 1892; it’s white, tall, and tells the time (with a 245-foot tall clock tower, to be exact); and it’s used as a terminal for ferries traveling to and from the San Francisco Bay. For what you’d call "a historic landmark," people rarely come to take pictures––unless, of course, it’s of the food, because the building also boasts a capacious artisanal marketplace. Fresh oysters, drip coffee, organic fro-yo, seasonal cupcakes, locally grown pink mushrooms... It's all here, curated yet insouciantly cool.
I recently visited and documented my shopping and eating pursuits. Don't judge me!
Miette
If someone were to ask what I’d like for my last dessert, I would say Miette. The word "addictive" describes their cupcakes, éclairs, and ice cream sandwiches, which come in flavors like "Crème Fraiche Ice Cream on Housemade Graham Cracker." Modeled after the petite pastry shops in Paris, this is a great place to sugar up your girl. My favorites: the popular gingerbread cupcake (it tastes like spiced heaven), the lavender shortbread, the chocolate cake with Italian meringue, and the little jars of chocolate pot de crème and caramel panna cotta, topped with organic whipped cream. miette.com
Blue Bottle Coffee
The San Francisco-based company started the organic/shade-grown bean/fresh roast-trend seen on both coasts, so naturally, they’ve got a knack for making something like a simple drip coffee taste divine. Try the 4 ½-ounce Gibraltar, an off-the-menu coffee drink that tastes like "a baby latte," according to the barista. bluebottlecoffee.com
80 Acres
80 Acres is a line of organic body care developed by the McEvoy Ranch in Northern California. All of their soaps and scrubs and things come enriched with the ranch’s fresh-pressed extra virgin olive oil, which makes me feel less guilty about slathering it on the way I do! I’m partial to the delicious-smelling Blood Orange line, especially the olive oil salt scrub and body balm, inspired by the citrus groves and wild jasmine that grow on the property. mcevoyranch.com
The Gardener
For all your gardening needs––real or imagined––this is the place. They have your standard clippers and rubber gloves, but the standout items are those that you see and think, “Wow. How did I ever live without that!?” I scooped up Blabla’s eco-friendly mustache and eyelash pillows for my niece and nephew, dish towels and linens from Ethiopia and Tunisia for my sister, a signed copy of Edible Selby and stainless steel drinking straws for my chef friend, on-the-vine organic persimmons for my mom, and for dad––a seriously awesome recycled cutting board by the California woodworker Russell James Ooms. Pieced together with various oak, cherry, poplar, and mahogany woods, it reminded me of a cool tie. thegardener.com
Stonehouse California Olive Oil
I love cooking but often have no clue what I’m doing, so a quality olive oil is my saving grace. I love these two by Stonehouse: