Annie hearts Hayes St Grill po'boys

By Mollie Chen

The genial woman behind the Avis counter paused and looked at me. "You know," she said, "you can get a Prius for the same price." Sold. As I smugly approached our zippy little hybrid, I felt like I was beginning my eating tour on the right foot. Over the course of the next week, my family and I took our eco-friendly car all around the San Francisco Bay area, from San Francisco up through Napa to Calistoga, then back down through Sonoma, Marin County, and Point Reyes, with dining excursions to Berkeley and Brentwood. Part of the reason we were on this journey was research for an upcoming feature on farm dining - which we took to mean that we would stop at every farm stand, sustainable market, and seasonal restaurant we spied. We ate, bought, and ate some more. To rehash the entire trip would only serve to highlight how utterly spoiled I am; instead, I present a few reasons to consider moving west.

Fresh tomatoes at Knoll Farms

1. Californians have loved their farmers since before it was fashionable. At this past Sunday's Knoll Farms Ark of Taste Harvest Dinner, thrown by Slow Food Delta Diablo, it was readily apparent that the guests were not there in a smugly urbanite exercise in rural outreach but instead, were genuinely excited to celebrate the farm, the farmers, and their products. Dinner was low-key and unpretentious; there were way too many courses (13) and they ranged from okay to great (including some truly transcendent grits from Canvas Underground's Peter Jackson). Ultimately, the food was good but that mattered less than the fact that you were eating where it had been grown, at a long table underneath fig trees strewn with twinkling lights. In that setting, with not a skyscraper in sight, it's hard not to feel a bit squishy and warm inside.

2. Despite being praised to high heaven, with Alice Waters achieving deity-like status in some circles, Chez Panisse has not suffered from the hype. Here, the dishes are deceptively simple and the flavors pure and clear; I greedily tore through my spaghetti with shell beans and heirloom tomatoes, while my father, usually hyper-critical, quietly tucked into his braised Soul Food Farm chicken. A salad of Cannard Farm rocket caused my mother to proclaim no less than three times, "I am going to grow this."

Ferry Plaza Farmers Market

3. The Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, part one. I'm sure that San Francisco-ites are sick to death of hearing about how great their twice-weekly market is but the fact remains is that it is heaven. Period. Don't believe me? Try the pluots from famed Frog Hollow Farm. Or the Hayes Street Grill oyster po'boy (right next to the Hog Island Oyster Company stand, naturally) served on grilled Noe Valley toast with ample tartar sauce and a ruby red tomato. Or just look around and enjoy the food porn on display - all the producers that high-end restaurants love to name drop on their menus are here, from Dirty Girl to Tierra Vegetables. Then stop looking and start sampling and buying.

4. Ferry Market, continued. You have to love the fact that people are willing - happy, even - to stand patiently in line at the Blue Bottle Coffee Company's tented stand as the baristas hand-stir every cup of coffee. Plus they serve unbelievably good New Orleans-style iced coffee (with the added bonus of no wait time!).

5. Acme Bread as far as the eye can see: as the vehicle for poached eggs at Berkeley's Cafe Fanny; slathered with chevre and honey at the Knoll Farms dinner; stuffed in my carry-on for the plane ride home.

To be continued...

Reasons to Love California, Including the Requisite Paean to Alice Waters and Gushing Account of the Ferry Plaza Market

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