Saturday morning brought us to the Ferry Building Farmers Market.  Good times and plenty of tasty treats.

I had a great time walking around and seeing the fresh produce and of course people watching.   Plus, my Aunt mistakenly put a cherry pit in a guy’s bag as she thought it was a bag for garbage.  I died laughing.

I am big bagel and lox fan, so when I saw this beauty for $14, I had to take it.

I really liked the idea here, but not the execution.  The bread was too thick and there was too much cream cheese.   However, I liked the red pepper and fennel combination.  I will replicate this at home.

Boccalone Salumeria
http://www.boccalone.com/

Chris Cosentino’s place in the Ferry Building.   You might recognize him from the Next Iron Chef contestant and has a show called Chefs vs. City.  It was Farmer’s Market morning and I actually saw him there, which was kind of cool.  What was most cool though was that he had a shirt on that said “Fuck It.”

The Salumi Cup was on “Best Thing I Ever Ate – Salty” for SF-NY turncoat Tyler Florence.  $3.50 and you get six pieces of cured pork.   All were good in their own way, but I could not say they would be on my list for best salty thing I ever ate.   For $3.50, it was fun to have a snapshot of what they do, but I just wasn’t in love with it.

Would I Buy It Again?  Probably not, been there done that.

Still in the Ferry Building.  We tried a bite at:

Delica
http://www.delicasf.com/

They had a combo of Chinese Chicken Salad and a Shrimp Cake.  Everything was really fresh and crisp, but there was not a lot happening here.   I think that Delica is a great option for the local lunch crowd, but not a destination for tourists.  However, we did sit right by the sushi chefs and it was fun to watch them do their thing.

For dinner, we went to:

Baker and Banker
http://www.bakerandbanker.com/

I did not take any pictures, but check out the website.  We went for the five course chef’s tasting menu for $55.   Really cheap in SF.   I can’t remember each course, but the high notes were asparagus with lardo and a poached egg, red snapper with pasta in a coconut milk/curry sauce, a New York Strip and a chocolate cookie with a vanilla malt.   From front to back, it was a great meal.  I still can’t believe the price.  Regardless, it was a perfect meal and I would’ve paid $75 easy.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes and every time I go to SF.

Sunday is Indian food, Berkeley and overhyped pizza.  Stay tuned.

-wibia

Two times this week, I was asked by people that have no clue that I write this blog if I have seen “Food, Inc.”  I have, but what was more interesting was their response.

One person said, “I am not eating meat anymore, I am going to be a vegetarian.”  The other said, “It will totally change what you eat.  I have seen bacon being made and it is not pretty.”  Fair enough.  Slaughtering animals is not pretty, regardless of how humane it is.

My question:  How has this film (or other publications like it) changed the way that you

1. Buy food AND
2. How long has that change lasted?

For me:
I read labels more
I buy more organic items
I am going to plant a garden this spring
I visit farmers markets more
I wonder what is really in my food and where it is from

However, I saw a special that featured Farmer’s Markets and one of the benefits they listed was “cheaper.”  Maybe I am going to the wrong farmer’s markets, but I find them to commonly be 2x-5x more expensive.  Case in point, I was at IWFM and I saw free range/no hormones, etc. chickens.  The thighs were around $5 a lb. There were booths that were cheaper, but work with me here.  At Costco, they are 79 cents a lb.  So I can get 6.3 lbs instead of 1 lb.  That is a big difference…a difference that is difficult to rationalize for a lot of people right now.

Counter point:  farmers markets have many handmade and unique items that you can’t find anywhere else.  I also found plenty of items that were 1x costs.  Lettuce for $3.00, spices, root veggies, etc.  And, you really can’t compare homemade sausages vs. Johnsonville, it is not the same product.  You get the point.  Regardless of the price, I am very supportive of farmer’s markets.

My point:  Watch the movie, read the articles…now what?  The curtain has been lifted, you know who the Wizard of Oz is.  The Alice Walters types say, “Hey, wibia…if you can’t afford farmers market chicken, sell your flat screen tv and buy better chicken.”  Fair enough.   However, at times, it is a ton of work to make the effort.  Menus are difficult to navigate, dining choices are limited, my nearest grocery store that has a respectable organic section is 25 minutes away. Plus, sometimes I need diapers, light bulbs, a birthday card and lettuce and I have a 30 minute window before my kid goes ape sh-t.  So I do what I can.  Am I better, yes… am I perfect (whatever that is) no.

So I am interested to see the results.

-wibia

Indy Winter Farmer’s Market
http://indywinterfarmersmarket.blogspot.com/

It’s funny what a personal invite can do at times.  I knew about IWFM, but after a conversation with Erin from Country Mouse/City Mouse, she said that I really need to come check it out.   I have made plenty of excuses not to go, but I told her that she would see me there within the next two weeks.  Last Saturday, my two weeks were up so I packed up Mini WIBIA and we took the twenty minute trek downtown.

There are over fifty tables and there is a good variety of just about everything at the market.   On my short list was to pick up some winter veggies so I can start making my son’s food instead of him eating 100% Gerber.   The bad news was that I only found just a few produce stands.  What was there, was really good though and there were a lot of winter greens to choose from.  However, I found plenty of other goodies as well.

Rene’s Bakery
My first booth was Renee’s Bakery where I had a chocolate chip cookie for breakfast. The cookie was excellent and definitely more about the chocolate than the cookie, which is the way it should be, in my opinion. In hindsight, I should’ve bought more here.  They had a lot of good looking bread as well.
http://www.renesbakery.com/

Country Mouse City Mouse
I picked up a Romesco Sauce and Red Lentil Soup. My Sunday lunch was a bowl of the Red Lentil and a grilled cheese… a dynamite combination. I really enjoyed the Romesco sauce a lot! I found plenty of uses throughout the week, including making a few crustinis with goat cheese and Romesco.  I really like the CMCM offerings as they are consistently good and comfortable food.  Just a reminder, they also do catering.
http://www.countrymousecitymouseindy.com/

Taste of Philly Pretzel - Country Mouse/City Mouse Romesco

Taste of Philly
I first learned about Taste of Philly from local blog Indianapolis Amy.  Amy’s blog is my favorite food/lifestyle blog in Indianapolis.  If you haven’t checked it out, you should!

Taste of Philly had a table of traditional Philly pretzels.   I bought the three link pretzel (can’t remember the technical name) and I really enjoyed this. It has a nice chew to it and was really tasty.  My only recommendation would be to add a little more salt to it, but I can understand the desire to error on the conservative side.  Pic is above…sorry, I ate a link on the way home.
http://www.indypretzel.com/

Nicole & Taylor’s Pasta
I am a big fan of fresh pasta but I don’t like doing all the work, so Nicole & Taylor’s is the place to get it from.  Every time I am at a farmer’s market, they are there, so I buy their pasta and am always pleased.   $1.50 a stack and super tasty.  This time, I picked up the Porcini Mushroom and Parpadelle.
http://nicoletaylorspasta.com/

Nicole and Taylor's Pasta

I really enjoyed my trip to IWFM. It appears to be pretty popular and they are quickly running out of space. FYI, if you have a young one, it is easier to leave the stroller out in the car and strap ‘em to you.

-WIBIA