San Francisco

With a laid-back Californian vibe and a commitment to showcasing local produce, this American city offers the ideal getaway for foodies

- Christine Hayes

Ferry Building Marketplace is the beating heart of San Francisco’s food scene. Once a thriving ferry terminal, it became obsolete when the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges offered an alternative to braving the Bay.

Restored in 2003, it is now a spectacular showcase for regional producers and independent food businesses, where locals come to shop, meet the people who make their food – and eat. Run by CUESA (Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture), it promotes food as an integral part of the local community.

It’s a happy place, too. Thursday nights are all about sharing pizza and tacos with friends. On Saturday, families gather, buying treats to eat, picnic-style, under the iconic Ferry Building clock tower. Smiling chefs greet regular stall holders as they fill up their carts with fresh Bay Area produce, taking pride in an abundance of organic fruit and veg from heritage carrots, calcots, kale, to cherries and apples, as well as artisan goat’s cheese, honey, bread, kombucha and jams.

Inside the terminal there are takeway and eat-in options from casual to slick. The management cherry-picks the best in the business so there’s true foodie royalty here, for example, the stylish Boulette’s Larder (bouletteslarder.com) where the great and the good from the worlds of politics and business can be found breakfasting (try the warm, sugar-dusted beignets). TV chef Tanya Holland’s Brown Sugar Kitchen (brownsugarkitchen.com) serves buttermillk fried chicken and cornmeal waffles. Far West Fungi ( farwestfungi.com) has every variety of mushroom from button to morel; Acme Bread (