San Francisco Farmer’s Market

Great selection and quality of produce that is price much less expenmsive than the Safeway across the street

S. F. farmers market touts (on it’s banner) having both asian and latin american groceries. just saw jasmine rice. not much else asian in there. (but didn’t search out, just perused.)
fresh food (pupusa, 1.99) was out of stock as well as other eats
eats: Miguelitos Papitas (potato chip.99)
–thin, greasy chips on the verge of staleness
comes with salsa picante, hotness of which made you forget the staleness.
take outs:
–fresh meat stock neatly stocked
–looks like typican mexican grocery
–old fashioned, no price scanner in use.
–parking not easy in this area.

Parking can get pretty tight in the main section of the market, but there’s more than enough spots in the back. I prefer the center spots though. Most of the items are pretty $$$, but typical of farmer’s markets. I usually like to get fruits when I can. There’s this lady that sells blueberries toward the entrance of the market for cars, and I think her stand is the most ridiculous, her pricing is way way! off! Get there a little after 1pm and you risk not seeing what you want, but you see lots of price cuts!

I’m a fan of shopping local and especially small grocery stores that sell fresh fruit and veggies, Latin food items and fresh breads and cheeses. Not only will you find items your local Safeway (across the street) doesn’t sell, you can save some serious change if you change your shopping habits.
I knew I was making stuffed bell peppers and needed to grab at least 6 – 10. That, coupled with all my salsa making needs and such, tomatoes, cilantro, onion, jalapeño and limes. They have it all and super cheap. The tomatoes were like 2 pounds for $ 1.00 — where else can you find that?
I purchased the Queso Para Freir, which is the Fry-​able Cheese. Absolutely a favorite of Central and South American countries, I crave this cheese like none other and you can purchase chunks of it here for about $ 2.00.
The staff here was super helpful and nice. I purchased about three huge bags of groceries including the cheese, chips, tortillas and some hot sauces (Tapatio!!) for less than $ 25.00. Such a deal!

Today I stumbled across a pretty good grocery shopping set-​up.
If you’ve lived in San Francisco for any length of time, you’ve probably figured out that one of the most economical and delicious ways to buy groceries is to get your produce, meat and seafood at the local «ethnic» markets and buy everything else at the nearest chain supermarket.
Only problem is that this usually requires multiple weekly shopping trips and a certain amount of strategizing.
If you happen to be doing your bulk shopping at the Excelsior Safeway, park in Safeway’s lot and shoot directly across the street to San Francisco Farmer’s Market first. There you will score such bargains as 15 fat, juicy limes for $ 1 or a head of cabbage for 69 cents. In addition to plenty of produce bargains, you will find seasonings, condiments and canned items items from every Asian or «Latin American» country you can imagine. All in a clean, roomy space that is clearly doted upon by the owner.
The store is in the process of adding a meat counter, so in about a month you’ll be able to get your beef, pork, and poultry here too.
Once you’ve crossed off as many things as possible from your list, scoot back across Mission to Safeway and get the rest.