This past Saturday I found myself in Oakland at 7:30am. The streets were dead. No cars, no people, no nothing. All that was missing was a tumbleweed rolling through the streets like the old western movies. Since I had time to kill I crossed the bay in hopes of life. And boy did I find it. First stop was North Beach. I parked in front of the big white cathedral off Columbus. I sipped on a cappuccino in one of the many coffee shops(third of the morning) as if I were in the streets of Rome. People practiced Tai-Chi in the park to my right and a line had already formed in a small cafe called, Mama’s, waiting for the fresh baked goods the restaurant is known for.
I then headed over to the Ferry Building off Embarcadero. People everywhere! A huge organic food market was taking place and had booths lined up as long as the Golden Gate. Anything from organic fruits and vegetables to different honeys and beans. It was all there. Families shopped for their weekly goods and I even pinpointed an old Top Chef contestant from the hit Bravo television series picking out his produce for the days menu. On the backside of the market were hot food booths. Coffee roasters, a truck with a built in rotisserie, breakfast booths, fresh juices fed the long lines of people. But my biggest find came at the end of my track. On the back corner, right next to the dock was a small Mexican restaurant called Primavera. All there products were organic- from the corn masa to the meats as well as their aguas frescas. I feasted on a chicken tamal with a beautifully flavored mole that took me right back to the food markets of Oaxaca. I downed it all with an agua fresca of three different citruses.
I never even made it into the Ferry Building. Time did not permit. Instead of killing time, I ran out of it. Once again S.F. amazed me. It is a city’s city. A place where food is life and life….. is goo
d
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