Come one and all
Best grilled cheese on the planet* THE SCENE A mix of ranchers and college kids, families and hippies, sipping coffee from the local Butterfly Herbs cart and enjoying an old-fashioned sense of community.Hot STUFFSubtropical fruit burst* THE SCENE This open-air market is filled with families doing their weekly shopping from growers who come from all over the state to sell their stuff in the big city.3. GAVIOTA STRAWBERRIES from Harry's Berries at Santa Monica Farmers Market.farmersmarket. smgov.net2. KAFFIR LIME AVOCADO POPSICLES by Fat Face, great on a hot day at the Davis [California] Farmers Market. davisfarmersmarket.org* THE SCENE Sprawled across a Central Valley mall parking lot is a world without $5 peaches and customers driving Porsches. Instead, it's like a refreshing trip overseas, jostling with old ladies who arrived early with pink plastic bags, Asian vendors selling produce unrecognizable to many Western shoppers, and chefs who've road-tripped for inspiration.* THE SCENE James Ranch sets up shop at the farmers' markets in Durango and Telluride, but the family-run farm also has a cute, wood-shingled farmstand of its own. Drive 10 miles north from Durango to the 450 blissful, high-altitude acres of James Ranch in the Animas Valley, where herds of Jersey cows, grass-fed beef cattle, and happy egg-laying hens roam.* THE FIND The market is stocked with ranch-made products like artisanal cheese, whey-fed pork, petit prime rib, tritip, sirloin, you name it. Grassy lawn and picnic tables right outside. .Mon-Sat into fall; jamesranch.netJAMES RANCH MARKET, NEAR DURANGO, COHuckleberry heavenBELLINGHAM FARMERS MARKET, BE.LLINGHAM, WA* THE SCENE As if Hawaii weren't utopian enough, a stroll through the KCC market, at the base of the Diamond Head crater, makes you want to move to Oahu immediately. Arrive early, like 7:30 a.m. early, before the mobs.MISSOULA FARMERS' MARKET, MISSOULA, MT* THE FIND Lotus root, Chinese bitter melon, a zillion types of eggplants, and Southeast Asian herbs you'll have to sniff. for yourself to believe. Thu through Nov 17 and Sun year-round,. Sjcfarmersmarket.com* THE SCENE In the revamped Railyard District, this indoor-outdoor market has become a bona fide tourist attraction within walking distance of the evenmore-touristy historic main Plaza. Yet locals love it for its utter authenticity.* THE FIND Look for a simple white banner in back that says G.B.D. That stands for Golden, Brown, Delicious: Osteria Stellina organic bread oozing with Cowgirl Creamery cheese, a fried egg, and a fat, juicy tomato slice if you so choose. Grab a hay bale and enjoy. Sat through Nov 5; point reyesweekend.com* THE SCENE Besides the drop-dead gorgeous produce-farmed on 47 acres by the Chinos-you'll likely see celebrity chefs and food lovers who've been regulars for decades, like Alice Waters.SANTA FE FARMERS MARKET, SANTA FE* THE FIND Huckleberries in high summer-this is Montana, after all-farmed by Southeast Asian Hmong and sold in unsealed zip-lock bags so these wild, intense, just-sweet-enough beauties can breathe. Sat through Oct 22; missoulafctrrnersm.arket.com* THE SCENE Outside Toby's Feed Barn, it's all about straw hats, local gossip, and live bluegrass. This low-key, all-organic market has only a handful of booths, but in a teeny, never-too-touristy town, it's a prime example of how quality trumps quantity.In fact, neither dessert can be classified as health food. Both treats are, in their best forms, homemade, so their nutrition statistics vary wildly. But a slice of blueberry pie can clock in north of 450 calories, while some versions of Whoopie Pie can be closer to 250. Depending on your recipe, those numbers could easily be reversed, but that's exactly the point.HILLSDALE FARMERS' MARKET, PORTLAND* THE SCENE Born in 2002 and smaller-with fewer crowds and more parking-than the jam-packed Portland Saturday Market, Hillsdale is still a kid in market years. And just as happy-go-lucky, which is why we love it.Cultural adventureMove over, A&W* THE FIND Impossible to choose just one, with so many when-in Hawaii products: Kukui's Portuguese sausage; just-caught, grilled-to order Kona abalone; and swaths of subtropical fruit, including fresh, silky litchi, juicy pineapple guavas, and super-sweet sugar pineapples. Sat year-round; hfbf.orgNeighborhood hangout hangout* THE SCENE What began as a small, grassroots effort has blossomed into one of Washington's biggest, most beloved markets. Crafts are almost as popular here as the raspberries and blueberries, which arrive by the sweet, juicy carton from farms just 6o miles away in Skagit and Whatcom Counties.RELATED ARTICLE: 3 more farm-fresh tastes of summer1. RAINIER CHERRIES-cartons of which you can pull along in a red wagon, yours to borrow at Seattle's Columbia City Farmers Market. seattlefarmersmarkets.org* THE FIND Chiles, nearly 60 varieties from New Mexico---Big Jim, Chimayo--with occasional cooking demos. Satyear-round; santafefarmersmarketcom* THE FIND In addition to the larger orchards that sell at every market in town, Hillsdale features smaller producers like Ayers Creek Farm, whose growers come bearing extra-sweet cane berries. (Ayers's Chester blackberries are used to make local Hot Lips soda.) Pop just one blackberry for proof that all that Northwest rain is good for something. Sun through Nov 20, then 2 Sun/month through Apr is; hillsdalefarmersmarket.comTASTE THE WINDOW* THE FIND See those folks walking around with mason-jar mugs? Follow them to the BuckSnort Root Beer booth, where on tap is a Bellevue, Idaho-brewed tea (yup, root beer in its real, non-high-fructose-syrup form is actually a tea) that blends molasses, cane juice, wintergreen, and natural roots like licorice and a sassafras extract. Imagine, a soda that's actually good for you. Even better with a scoop of local vanilla ice cream. Sat through Dec 77; seeyouatthemarket.comSAN JOAQUIN CERTIFIED FARMERS' MARKET, STOCKTON, CACAPITAL CITY PUBLIC MARKET, BOISE* THE FIND The last Saturday of every month is Kids Vending Day, when the 25 tables are manned by the 18-and-under set. Even 5-year-olds set up booths hawking everything from tomatoes grown in their backyards to just-laid eggs to whoopie pies they made by (don't worry, squeaky-clean) hand. Sat through Dec 17; bellinghamfarmers.org Around the West* THE FIND Veggies unlike any you've ever seen or tasted. Red carrots, candy lime mint, tomatoes of every hue, and white corn that could change your life. Tue-Sun year-round; E-123 Caizada del Bosque; 858/756-3184.THE VEGETABLE SHOP AT THE CHINO FAMILY FARM, RANCHO SANTA FE, CAMaine, thankfully, is looking to celebrate a dessert rather than ban it. But the same kind of irrational preferences--and invocation of the nation's chubby children--are sure to pop up again when the same legislators consider bans and taxes,
3. GAVIOTA STRAWBERRIES from Harry's Berries at Santa Monica Farmers Market.farmersmarket. smgov.net
Author: Rachel Levin
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