Best Street Food

The blithe, no-frills pleasure of scarfing a snack from a street-corner restaurateur is undeniable, but compared to what's available in Rome, Saigon, or Manhattan, our local opportunities for sidewalk noshing are severely limited. Fortunately, the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market has been hosting a wide array of top-quality nibbling options for years. We especially appreciate the Aidells sausage stand, which raises the hot dog -- classic street food -- to new levels. The chicken-apple version, for instance, combines chunks of both sweet and tart apple and four kinds of fruit juice (apple, pineapple, peach, and pear) with fresh herbs and chicken. Smoked, then grilled and slipped piping hot inside a soft bun, it's sweet, spicy, and thoroughly satisfying, with a crackly skin and a juicy interior. Along with fellow locals like Cowgirl Creamery, Acme, Scharffen Berger, and Hog Island Oyster Co., the San Leandro- based Aidells joins the Farmers' Market in its new digs in the gloriously reborn Ferry Building, where San Francisco's strolling-and-snacking possibilities will expand to new widths.