Best Outdoor Market

One of the great pleasures of living in San Francisco is heading down to the Embarcadero on a sunny Saturday morning and shopping, schmoozing, and noshing your way through the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market. It's California's cornucopia in microcosmic form: Delta asparagus and Pescadero chervil in the spring; Brentwood corn and Sonoma blackberries in the summer; Watsonville artichokes and Sebastopol apples in the fall. There's more to the market than incredibly flavorful, just-plucked produce, though. Condiments, sausages, baked goods, artisanal cheeses, organic meats, free-range eggs, and line-caught seafood from the likes of Hoffman Game Birds, Marshall's Honey, and Island Crayfish make shopping here a diverse pleasure. There are seasonal tastings and chef's demonstrations as well, and if all those good ingredients make you hungry, you can snack at one of the food stands set up by Donna's Tamales, the Hayes Street Grill, or Hog Island Oysters.