Farmer's Market

It took me a month and a half of living in our new apartment to finally go to the local farmer's market. I now intend to go weekly. Dan and I have pretty high standards for fresh produce. Every weekend, we bike the 4.5 miles to Berkeley Bowl, a grocery store dedicated to quality, inexpensive produce. Seasonal fruit tends to sell for $1-$2 per pound, with daily specials often at half price.

To contrast, the Berkeley farmer's markets are mostly arts and crafts fairs--people selling handmade soaps, wicker baskets, and trinkets. The occasional farmer will sell bruised peaches for $4/lb. I was definitely not sold on the pros of farmer's markets.

This farmer's market is a different story. Situated near Chinatown, it definitely has an Asian flair, with over half the markets selling sugar cane, ginger and assorted broccoli and spinach relatives. But other vendors also sell more standard winter fare--broccoli, carrots, potatoes and winter squash, as well as apples, kiwis and lots of citrus.

It's huge, crowded and cheap. Some examples of our bounty from this week:
- kiwis for $1.35/lb
- apples for $1/lb
- bruised apples for applesauce for $0.50/lb
- napa cabbage for $0.60/lb
- a dozen fresh eggs for $2.25/lb
- flowers for $3/bunch
..... and much more!

They also have prepared food vendors, including breads, meats and roasted nuts. At one end, there's also a woman selling live catfish!

Not everything is less expensive than the Berkeley Bowl, but the quality is great and it's incredibly convenient--we're only a few blocks away. We still go to the Berkeley Bowl every week, but our load is a little bit lighter biking back.

We're looking forward to the June and July, when this market is exploding with nectarines, green beans and all sorts of summer produce!

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me at piquantprose [at] gmail [dot] com.

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