It’s been a little while since I’ve hung out at the Thursday Ferry Building Farmer’s Market, the place where Tacolicious was born. I used to be there every Thursday. In fact, it was the brightest spot on my weekly calendar. I knew I’d get a four hour break from the real world restaurant floor to talk to the great food-loving public of our fine city.
These days I’m focused on our pending Valencia Street project which has me running such scintillating errands as filing paper work with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (seriously, it makes me sad to think of the number of trips I’ve made to 77 Stevenson Alley this year) or having things recorded with the County Clerk’s office. While I enjoy the challenge of opening a new business, I have to say, I’ve really missed what I see as the culinary hub of San Francisco, the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market.
I think what I used to like the most about my Thursdays—other, obviously, than the beautiful produce being sold by knowledgeable and caring farmers amongst the most idyllic scenery one could imagine—was that it gave me the opportunity to check in and catch up with industry friends. It’s always nice to see the big fish. Who wouldn’t want to say hello to Hoss Zare or Laurence Jossel or even Charles Phan. Often Lauren Kiino would walk by, her arms full of market produce, on her way to Il Cane Rosso; she’s always so sweet and soft spoken. And then there’s our awesome co-vendors like Ryan from 4505 Meats or the Lee brothers that own and operate Namu or Richie Nakano from Hapa Ramen. It’s a pretty great scene and as a restaurateur, a pretty awesome place to work.
Rene and Ismael, Two of the Slanted Door's Finest
Yesterday I had the pleasure of seeing Ismael and Rene, two members of the AM service crew at the Slanted Door that have been coming to Tacolicious every Thursday, since Tacolicious opened. It means the world to me that these two eat our tacos and that, for some reason, they haven’t grown tired of us (full disclosure, I’m in the middle of battling Tacolicious taco fatigue). I was free for a couple of hours and I had the great pleasure of spending some time with Kory, our sales manager and his amazing crew of Tacolicious market workers. Not only did the food look and taste terrific, but the tent makeover that Kory has recently spearheaded gave me a huge sense of pride as I know that the little details are being looked after by our wonderful team.
It looks like it’s going to rain through next Thursday, but spring is definitely around the corner. It was great to be at the Market yesterday and the upcoming season ensures many great Thursdays ahead. I for one am making a change to my schedule, I hope to see you there too.