|
|
The Market:
Santa Monica Farmers Market
Arizona Ave. between 1st and 4th St.
Wed. and Sat., 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m
(310) 458-8712
Market-Goer: Mark
Thompson
|
|
 |
I've been a
regular at this market for 15 or 20 years, but I've been
away for months. These days, I'm traveling a lot. Since
I was last here, I've been to markets in at least a
dozen other towns and cities, from Amherst,
Mass., New York City,
and New Orleans to Fortuna,
Chico, Goleta
and Vista, Calif.
This market leaves most others in the dust. On my visit
today, I am, as usual, overwhelmed with the dazzling
diversity of produce to choose from. |
| Produce companies have caught on to what
this market has to offer, according to a recent report
by Russ Parsons in the Los Angeles Times. They
buy fruit and vegetables by the truckload at this market
and ship it to high-end restaurants and gourmet grocery
stores all over the country. As Parsons reported in his
article, “A Food Fight Over the Cream of the Crop,”
that has generated controversy
among market regulars, particularly local chefs, who
have long been key patrons of the market but now feel
like they are being muscled aside by wholesalers. The
market's manager, Laura Avery, told Parsons she is
working on a way to keep everyone happy. “We want to
be sure to keep stuff on the tables for regular
customers and smaller restaurants who come every
week,” she said. “Certainly, we're victims of too
much good stuff, of too many happy customers. But I
think we can make it work.” |
|
|
|
|
|
What I Bought:
|
|
blood
oranges and hydroponic tomatoes I
almost never buy tomatoes before June or July.
They're usually not worth it, even in sunny
California, until the hot days of summer arrive.
The hydroponic tomatoes from Wong Family Farm,
out in the desert near the Salton Sea, are an
exception. They are tastier than any winter
greenhouse tomato that I've had. The best
bargain in Wong tomatoes are the seconds, the
overripe and damaged tomatoes kept in a box at
the end of the table and sold for $1 a pound,
one-third the price of the unblemished
specimens.
Recipes: Eight blood orange recipes
Price: $4/3-lb. bag of
blood oranges
$1/lb. of sauce tomatoes
|
|
|
|
|
|
purple
and orange cauliflower flanking romanesca broccoli
Price: $5.50/lb.
|
|
|
|
beets
and a rutabaga
Price: $1.50/lb.
|
|
rappini,
fennel, Shanghai bok choy
Price: $1/each
red
romaine and oakleaf lettuce
Price: $5 for three
|
|
|
|
