Mandarins 

They're here! The first picking of seedless mandarins of the season showed up in the Santa Monica market today, courtesy of Regier Farm.  They arrived at exactly the same time last year but this year they're better testing for a first crop.  Usually they're rather tasteless this early in the season but this year, though they're quite tart as usual in early November, they're very flavorful.  Overheard from another shopper: "I've been waiting for these all year!"  I agree.  They're one type of fruit that I can put in my teenaged daughters' school lunch, assured that they'll get eaten.  

Price:  $2 a pound ($5.30 worth of fruit in the photograph)..

Heirloom Tomatoes

Thye're still here!  Munak Ranch, from San Luis Obispo County, on the central California coast, has had a dozen or so varieties of heirloom tomatoes in the market since July and if their luck holds, as it did last year, they'll have them through Thanksgiving.  I picked the smallest ones since I wanted to buy several of as many as possible without breaking my budget.  The varieties in the photo above include pineapple, persimmon, oxheart, sausage, brandywine, green grape, persimmon, blanco aires and white wonder.

Price: $2.50 a pound.

'Maui-type' Sweet Onions

These onions were labeled "Maui types," a controversial choice in nomenclature. Some farmers who grow perfectly sweet onions in places other than the Hawaiian island of Maui think that calling them "Maui types" gives Maui too much credit. Whatever they're called, they're good (though they're not always quite so sweet that they can be enjoyably  munched like an apple). 

Price: $1.50 a bunch.