First posted on September 27, 2009

One of the joys of travel – for me, anyway – is visiting local food markets and farmer’s markets. Whether in SouthEast Asia or the south of France, these markets are a reflection of local culture and cuisine.

A street market in Luang Prabang, Laos

A fruit stall in Cannes, on the French Riviera

One of the most impressive farmer’s markets I have seen is held every Tuesday and Saturday in and around the San Francisco Ferry Terminal building at the foot of Market Street. A determined grazer can enter the market hungry and emerge replete, having experienced a savory blend of fruits, preserves, salsas, cheeses and baked goods.

Samples of goat cheeses – free for the asking

A variety of salsas and dips on offer to passers-by

The ripe strawberries were very tempting

A more sophisticated grazer could opt for champagne and caviar

The Bruschetta stand was especially popular around noon. The open-faced Tuscan-style sandwiches were heaped with fresh tomatoes, sliced onions, capers and crumbled cheese.

The Bruschetta stand’s operator was well organized

 

I’ll be offering more video visits to the San Francisco Farmer’s Market in upcoming posts.

 

First posted on September 24, 2009

I’ve been on a “busman’s holiday” for most of this month, chasing down – with the assistance of my intrepid photographer – the answers to some of life’s mysteries.

I thought of beginning my quest by delving into the metaphysics of how Cadbury gets the caramel into its Caramilk bar. But that’s already been done.

Next, I considered investigating how the trademark “m” is placed so consistently in the center of each M&M candy. But someone else beat me to it.

So I decided to focus on that other sweet mystery, namely:

“How do they get the fortune into the fortune cookie?”

The investigation took us westward to an exotic destination.

Sorry – overshot the destination. I think we’re on the right track now.

Ah, yes. Chinatown!

Around the corner and down a back lane, we found the solution to our mystery – the tiny Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, which has been a San Francisco fixture for many decades.

I’ll be reporting on more sweet (and sour) mysteries in future posts.

I’ll be taking a short holiday for the next week. While I’m recharging my batteries, I am following my usual practice of reviving some of my favorite posts. This time, I’ve decided to focus on a series of posts that resulted from a 2009 visit to San Francisco – one of my favorite cities.

Please join me on a food tour of San Francisco, including the Farmers’ Market, held every Saturday at the Ferry Terminal, located at the foot of Market Street.

Regular eFoodAlert posts will resume on August 10, 2012.