The San Francisco Ferry Building is home to a variety of food and craft vendors. Located in the heart of the city, you would expect this place to be listed as a must-see on all the tourist maps…But it’s not. Luckily, I’m here to tell you about it.
While planning a visit to San Fran over Thanksgiving break, my family and I were trying to decide on things to do (a very grueling task, I know). I came across a video posted by INSIDER advertising Cowgirl Creamery and their molten raclette cheese wheel. I HAD to go.
While I went to the Ferry Building Marketplace simply in search of some hot cheese, I discovered so much more. I’ve listed the items I tried from a variety of vendors (but keep in mind, there’s much more to be explored).
1. Meat Cone from Boccalone Salumeria
This cone of meat is comprised of salumi, sopressata, and prosciutto, all hand carved following our order. The meats were tender and flavorful as well as easy to carry around the marketplace. A great find!
#SpoonTip: Boccalone Salumeria also ships their meats.
2. Bao from Imperial Tea Court
It’s hard to find red bean products that don’t make you want to cringe at the amount of sugar added to them, but not this one! Not only did this red bean bun hit the spot, but the filling consisted of some red bean puree as well as whole beans for texture.
The Imperial Tea Court has an online store, but if you want any of their food products, you’ll have to check out their storefront at the Ferry Building.
3. Bao and Bubble Tea from Out the Door
Out the Door is the to-go storefront for The Slanted Door (a highly recommended modern Vietnamese restaurant overlooking the San Francisco waterfront). For those of us lacking the time (and the money) for an upscale restaurant, Out the Door is a perfect way to get a bite of Vietnamese style heaven.
I ordered their chicken bao and taro bubble tea. The bao was delectable and gone within minutes, and the taro tea was unlike anything I’ve ever had (in a good way). Taro root is blended in with condensed milk and plain milk to create a thicker drink.
I was pleasantly surprised that again, neither of these items were overly sweet. This place a hidden gem!
4. Molten Raclette Cheese from Cowgirl Creamery
The cheese was spread over toast, sprinkled with pepper, and garnished with pickles. The wait for one plate of this delicacy was upwards of 30 minutes, but it was well worth the wait. Cowgirl Creamery has a variety of other cheesy items on their menu from fresh cheeses to grilled items. This cheese is to die for.
5. Ice Cream from Humphry Slocombe
With so many different and cool flavors on their menu, I had a really hard time choosing what to get. I ended up with the horchata rose ice cream drizzled with bourbon butterscotch. Humphry Slocombe ice cream can be found at certain Whole Foods in Northern California, but I think it tastes best freshly scooped at their location in the Ferry Building. I work at a local ice cream shop, and even I was impressed!
It’s not joke that there are A LOT of great places to eat in San Francisco. But if you know what you’re doing, you’ll make it a priority to visit the San Francisco Ferry Building Marketplace for the greatest variety of foods in one place. You won’t regret it.