Groceries / Markets, San Francisco

Right down the street from our Glen Park rental, this was a good place to buy organic coffee, snacks, fruits and drinks for our small kitchen. Good prices and friendly folk......1 lb of Coast Roast Organic coffee was $13.99 and delicious!

What to buy: groceries

What to pay: average

I was excited about and really looking forward to attending the Farmer's Market at the Ferry Building. I'm a foodie and the thought of looking through fresh, ripe California produce that we normally get shipped green or flavorless to Canada was well, as exciting as finding a silk skirt at Banana Republic for $25.00 marked down from $125.00, but that's a different story.

The Farmer's Market runs from May to October, and is Tuesdays 10 - 2 pm and Thursdays, 4-8 pm; and Saturdays and Sundays. The Thursday Night Market is really fun as the vendors are inside the Ferry Building, and there is music and there's a festive atmosphere.

What to buy: What we liked:

GL Alifieri Farms -- They sell farmer grown fruit and nuts; the best thing to buy are the almonds and almond butter. The almond butter is so fresh that it has not separated ( apparently almond butter or other natural nut butters that have separated are quite old) Make sure to buy the honey-roasted almonds, they taste so buttery and good.

Frog Hollow Farms -- The taste of tree-ripened organic peaches, so wonderful you'll think of the other word that starts with "org". They also have a shop in the Ferry Building open daily

We also bought Black Mission Figs, so ripe and sweet they were cracking, tomatoes that were as sweet as plums, and slices of sun-dried tangerines -- you eat them skin and all!

The vendors are very generous with samples, so if you want, you'll have lunch or dinner covered.

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Off Course I'm of Asian Ancestry , particularly Filipino that's why I will promote these markets!

The Manila Oriental Market showcases Filipino and Pan Asian fresh and frozen food selections and assorted mechandise imported around asia like spring rolls from vietnam or philippines or singapore or thailand. Sweet chili sauce from vietnam or thailand, lee kum kee oyster sauce from singapore, Frozen Milk Fish (Bangus) from the philippines and a lot more and they also sell my favorite San Miguel Beer Pale Pilsen!

What to buy: if you feel on having an asian fix, you can get frozen, pre-mixed asian food ready to cook or try finding comfort food from your native asian country like dried carabao mangoes from the philippines or just buying ingredients for your asian cooking, this is the place to be since prices are cheap, however it is a 20 minute drive from downtown via I-280 South.

What to pay: $ 2.50 per bottle of San Miguel beer, $ 6 for a 200 gram pack of Dried Mangoes, Dungeness Crabs at $ 8 a pound, Frozen Milkfish (Bangus) at $ 8 a pack and a lot more.

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Costco is the Largest Membership Shopping Club in North America and is Bigger than the Walmart affiliate Sam's Club. It was founded by enterpreneurs James Sinegal and Jeffrey Brotman in the Coffee City of Seattle! eventuallyis expanded nationwide and like they say, the rest is history! Costco focuses on selling products at low prices, often at very high volume. These goods are usually bulk-packaged and marketed primarily to large families and businesses. Furthermore, Costco does not carry multiple brands or varieties where the item is essentially the same except when it has a house brand to sell, typically under the Kirkland Signature label. This results in high volume of sales from single vendor, allowing further reduction in price, and reducing marketing costs. Costco also saves money by not stocking extra bags or packing materials; to carry out their goods, customers must bring their own bags or use the merchandise shipping boxes from the company's outside vendors.

The value of the items in Costco is very reasonable, especially the branded items. They have a huge selection of everything - electrical items, garden equipment, shrubs, clothes, books, CDs, DVDs, bakery, fish, bulk pet food, snacks, frozen foods, refrigerated foods, cereals ... the list goes on.

What to buy: you can buy dungeness crabs here! (cheaper than touristy Fisherman's Wharf) at $ 10 a pound, Alaskan King Crab Legs at $ 12.99 a pound, my favorite jumbo oven roasted chicken that weighs 3 pounds at $ 9. 5pound of Hillshire Farms Kielbasa at $ 10 and a way lot more!

What to pay: Regular Hours:
M-F 11:00am - 8:30pm
Sat. 9:30am - 6:00pm
Sun. 10:00am - 6:00pm


Exclusive Business Member Hours:

minimal pay since this is a membership club.
M-F 10:00am - 11:00am

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Hungry for some fresh, organic (mostly), California grown produce?

The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market has been serving SF residents since 1993.

It is opened twice a week:
- Tuesdays from 10am to 2pm;
- Saturdays from 8am to 2pm.

All farmers who sell at the market are certified as producers by the counties where they grow. The County Agricultural Inspector visits the farm during production to confirm that the farmer is growing what they claim to be.
All products that are not produced on a farm (or sold by a farmer) are sold in a non-certified, adjunct portion of each market.

NOTE: The Market does not sell decorative crafts, apparel and jewelry, books and such. Food ONLY.

TO GET THERE: By bus on MUNI ''F'' line; by bike; BART or MUNI subway.

Parking spots nearby.

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Even though the Boudin Bakery is in the touristiest part of town and many would call it a tourist trap, it’s hard not to at least stop in and check out the various odd sourdough breads on display. The bread itself is quite good and you can watch the bakers shaping them.

What to buy: They not only sell various breads but also a nice selection of local cheeses and salamis. It’s not cheap but it is primo quality stuff and not really much more expensive than at the super market. If you’re at the Wharf and see the bridge is in full view, grab some supplies and head over there either on foot or bus, and have a nice picnic.

In an attempt to save money, hubby and I booked a room with a little kitchenette, and planned to get groceries and make our own breakfasts and lunches while in SF.

This tactic totally backfired. Maybe we just weren't in the know about where to shop, but we found the groceries in SF pretty expensive (especially when the Cdn:US exchange rate wasn't very good at the time). Often restuarant food was actually cheaper.

If I had to do it over again, I'd just eat out all of the time. I also learned on that trip that for me eating out and trying new foods is one of the things I enjoy most about travelling.

It’s finally here! April 26, 2003 marked the opening of the permanent home for the Embarcadero Farmers Market at the new plaza of the historic Ferry Building!!

In addition to the Farmers Market, a collection of elite, artisanal food shops and restaurants have begun to fill the spaces inside transforming the Ferry Building into a great public market in the tradition of Seattle’s Pike Place Market, Vancouver’s Granville Island and New York’s Grand Central Terminal.

What to buy: bread, fruits and vegetables, cheese, seafood, wine, meat, tea, olive oil, chocolates, kitchen supplies, etc.

What to pay: How much you spend will be up to you!

"Family owned since 1981"---groceries, fish, meat and deli---the pulled pork sandwich is recommended....open daily 7am to 9pm
great signage outside!
photo op!

What to pay: average

All over the city are great produce markets. I found them cheap and the fruit was awesome.

What to buy: fruits and veggies

What to pay: cheap