Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
122
Ferry Building Marketplace—Gourmet to Go
In this one building y ou'll find mor e top-quality lunch options than in man y
entire cities. In keeping with its r ole as the epic enter of San F rancisco's food
scene (p. 161), the Ferry Building entails more than a biweekly farmers' market
and esoteric gourmet shops selling the finest- grade olive oil, rare breed pork,
or exotic fungi. Many of the cit y's best r estaurants have lunch c ounters here,
with scrumptious “to go” versions of their sit-down fare, and other shops prof-
fer unusual, irresistible take-out goodies.
As you walk int o the F erry Building's main doors , just t o the lef t you'll see
Lulu Petite
(Marketplace Shop #19;
&
415/362-7019
), a deli store offshoot of
Restaurant Lulu (p. 112), with seasonal soups, hot quiches, and sandwiches like
its superlativ e crisp y chicken special , which sells f or $9. Also near the main
doors is
DELICArf-1
(Shop #45,
&
415/834-0344
) a Japanese deli wher e you
can grab an organic bento boxed lunch and side dishes like sea weed salad or
wasabi potato salad.
Down the main hall to the left is
Out the Door
(next to Slanted Door, Shop
#5;
&
415/321-3740
), with a delectable Vietnamese take-away menu inspired
by its famed sister restaurant Slanted Door (see below). Kids will love the spring
rolls, $8 for an order, and the chicken steamed buns at $3 apiece. Near Out the
Door is
Mistral Rotisserie P rovencal
(Shop #41;
&
415/399-9751
), offering
melt-in-your-mouth r oasted meats , hot soups , and sandwiches with hear ty
plated meals at $6 t o $13. The Ferry Building is also full of eat eries with table
seating. I described the most k id-friendly of these,
Taylor's Refresher
(p. 125)
and
Mijita
(p. 125), separately below.
For desser t, it 's har d t o pass up the divine pastries at
Miette
(Shop #10;
&
415/837-0330
). E ven har der t o r esist ar e the luscious fr ozen tr eats nex t
door at
Ciao Bella Gelato
(Shop #8;
&
415/834-9330
), with inspir ed flavors
like cinnamon oatmeal cookie or key lime with graham cracker swirl.
5
parsley. For finicky eaters, the kitchen can fix up a plate of butter ed or zo pasta. The
traditional spinach and cheese pastr y
spanakopita
is a hit with my kids—and it 's a great
way to get them to eat their spinach.
200 Jackson St. (at F ront St.).
&
415/981-0983.
www.kokkari.com. Highchairs, boosters. Reservations
recommended. M ain c ourses $14.50-$29 lunch, $18.50-$39 dinner . AE, DC, DISC, MC, V. M on-Fri
11:30am-2:30pm; Mon-Thurs 5:30-10pm; Fri 5:30-11pm; Sat 5-11pm. Muni: No . 10-Townsend to Jack-
son St., and then walk 2 blocks east.
Slanted Door
VIETNAMESE This may well be the most popular r estaurant
in San Francisco. No matter that it has twice r elocated to bigger spaces, mo ving from its
original site in the M ission to a larger space in the E mbarcadero to its curr ent location in
an enormous corner of the F erry B uilding. The huge space, o verlooking the water and
framed by walls of glass, is still nearly impossible to get into without reservations. Even the
expansive bar ar ea has an hour-long wait on w eekend evenings. But fame has not made
Charles Phan, the owner behind this success stor y, rest on his laur els. The restaurant con-
tinues to pr oduce mouth-watering delicacies based on traditional Vietnamese dishes such
