Cap'n Mikes San Francisco Lox Sandwich – The Ferry Building Marketplace, San Francisco, California

If you’re heading to the Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco, make a point of visiting the Saturday morning Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market. That’s where local foodies and many of the best Bay Area chefs gather, talk, and peruse stalls featuring the finest Northern California fruits and vegetables, breads, meats, dairy, flowers, and to-go meals by local restaurants.

There really is a Cap’n Mike. His name’s Mike Hiebert, and he’s been fishing Northern California’s Bodega Bay for 20 years. When he smokes his wild salmon, it takes him three days to do what others do in 12 hours. He believes that hot-smoking, which is smoking for up to 12 hours at temperatures ranging from 120 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit, is easy to do, while cold-smoking at 70 to 90 degrees for up to three days requires finesse. He finds the cold-smoking technique to be "so artsy" that "I can give you the exact recipe and you still couldn’t duplicate it." Hiebert brines the fillet, allows it to dry, then smokes it slowly. He favors alder, which is what he was taught to use by the Indian elders. "French oak is to Chardonnay what alder is to salmon," said Hiebert, who likes the salmon to be the dominant flavor, with just a hint of smoke. He believes hickory would overpower the fish, and although he likes apple wood, he is concerned about pesticides.

The resulting lox forms the basis of sandwiches that have earned the accolade of one of the "Ten Best Breakfasts in America." It consists of a thick slice of crusty sourdough bread, a schmeer of homemade cream cheese, some tender pieces of smoked salmon, slices of heirloom tomato in rainbow colors, shaved sweet red onion, and a pinch of lavender-scented sea salt.