Spice girls: gather gorgeous ingredients—and inspiration—at Boulettes Larder

You've spent the morning shopping at San Francisco's Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Now you find yourself with bags full of fava beans, nettles, and cardoons--and not a clue about what to do with any of it. Next time, stop at Boulettes Larder, where chef and co-owner Amaryll Schwertner will answer any cooking question you have, as well as supply you with all the essential ready-made components you'll need for a restaurant-quality meal on a hurried weeknight, from homemade stocks to hand-blended spices to soaked beans for your soup.

"We're trying to take the farmers' market concept one step further," says Schwertner, who opened the store with partner Lori Regis last November after having worked in restaurants for 24 years, most recently at Stars. "It's for cooks who have an appreciation of ingredients. We help them further understand those ingredients at home."

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To that end, Schwertner and Regis have tried to make their shop a forum for food lovers, with an open kitchen and a farm-style communal table where brunch is served on Sundays. (Peek under the table to see Boulette, the dreadlocked Puli dog.) If you disregard the precious prices, Boulettes does feel more like a working kitchen than a store, with regulars fresh off the ferry stopping in to find out what spices to use in tonight's Moroccan lamb. (Spices are Schwertner's particular passion--she hand-blends and roasts them all herself.)

But not everyone asks questions. "A lot of people just stand in front of the spice rack and talk about how beautiful the spices are and treat it like a museum," Schwertner says. "I want people to take them away and use them!" So she put up a sign that reads: NOT FOR CONCEPTUAL USE ONLY--the meaning of which isn't totally obvious, until you start asking questions. Which is exactly the point.--A.W.

INFO

Boulettes Larder ($$; daily menu at www.bouletteslarder.com; on the Embarcadero, San Francisco; 415/399-1155)

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