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Categories: Grocery, Specialty Food, Farmers Market, Bakeries, Desserts
Neighborhood: Bernal HeightsSat. 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
"I live on 16th Ave, which is not exactly a "happening" location, if you know what I mean. Having said that, thank heavens for House of…" read more »
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This weekend, I allowed myself to be woken up at the ass crack of dawn by my BFF (he was ringing my doorbell by 8:30 a.m. I answered the door in my boxers & instructed him to 'play on the computer' while I sleepily got ready.) My point is that I don't wake up for many people, places or things, but that the Alemany Farmer's Market (and my best friend, of course) is definitely worth sacrificing some beauty sleep for.
This particular Farmer's Market will always have a special place in my heart because:
a) it's where I learned how to drive back in the day
b) where my family & I used to get produce back in the day.
A few vendors sell the same things at different prices, so be sure to shop around before making your final purchase. We saw three different farms selling persimmons, with prices ranging from 65 cents a pound to $1.25 a pound. My favorite vendor is this guy sells mix n' match berries for $10, but you can get just about anything you need here: eggs, honey, bok choy, pears, hummus from The Hummus Guy, etc.
The prepared food alone is worth getting up for. We had crepes (made from chick peas, i believe) filled with spinach, tomatoes, & cheeses & it was so warm & soft & a pleasure to eat. The BFF got a chai tea, which he raved about & for dessert, I had 2 alfajors (2 for $3.50 for Mexican shortbread cookies with a thick caramel center.) These alfajors blow all other alfajors out of the water; they are bigger & have more filling than any others I've tried. I'll be dreaming about those for days...
Fantastic selection of in season fruits & veggies (some organic) & very cheap prices...must be why the parking lot is bumper to bumper coming in & going out.
A large collection of small, local farmers selling whatever happens to be in season. A lot of the produce is organic. The prices are cheap relative to similar produce in a grocery store. Plus, if you feel so inclined, you can spend a while chatting with the folks that helped grow your food. Basically, this is the warm fuzzy way to get your produce. (Remember: they sell what is in season. If you want imported produce, then you're better off at a grocery store.)
There's also a bit of prepared food -- crepes, huevos rancheros, pastries, etc. Look for these stalls on a short row beside the main thoroughfare.
Parking is a bit chaotic. If you happen to drive here, please do be patient and courteous to those around you.
A one end of the main thoroughfare is an excellent place to pick up some flowers to put in that vase you keep hidden away, and brighten up your apartment for a week.
Website: http://www.sfgov.org/s...
Organizer: SF City & County
Season: since 1947, open all year
Schedule: Saturdays 8am-3pm
(the Sunday's flea market has a separate review link)
This is the grand daddy of all the bay area farmers' markets, managed and owned by the city since 1947. I give it 5 stars, as good as it gets, because it's what regular farmers markets around the world look like. Even with all the dirt, it's cleaner than many of the markets I've seen elsewhere in other countries. NO fancy stuff, and NO overpriced items.
When you arrive just follow the line of cars, there's a large free parking lot inside. DON'T bring an expensive car here, I've seen cars get dinged by bad drivers coming out of a parking space. You've been warned.
There are 2 long rows of concrete shelters or awnings, and within it, a divider wall or column separates each assigned stall. The vendors park their trucks on the outer side of their stall to unload their merchandise, while customers walk along the inner side to make purchases.
The tents and trucks of prepared food vendors form an informal "3rd row" parallel to the concrete shelters. These include: pizza, crepes, Malaysian curry, hummus and pita, breads, All Star Tamales, flat bread with dips, samosas, huaraches, tacos, kettle popped corn, etc.
Please note that there are plastic tables and chairs to sit down, at both ends of the "3rd row", to be shared by ALL customers.
You'll find a huge assortment of fruit and produce here, with some of the lowest prices than any other SF farmers market. Often half (or more) of the price you'd pay at Safeway. The trade-off is that the place is grungy, and most of the produce is fresh off the ground, so some have a little dirt on it. You need to be more selective when choosing the items, look for imperfections, mold, insect bites, etc. Also do the math in your head to confirm that you got the right price, because mistakes do happen.
You'll also find flowers, nuts, fresh eggs, honey and a few other farm products. Not everyone there is a farmer, some are resellers that buy leftover produce (at a discount) from farms after the harvest. They often have the imperfect produce, but when the harvest is bountiful, their stuff will look just as good as anybody else's.
If you're not comfortable in this type of open and rustic market shopping, then you might be happier going to a clean supermarket instead. :)
Please remember to bring CASH.
*************************
This review is mostly for reference, I tried to provide tips not addressed by other reviews.
Recently this year, there was a short lived uproar when the responsibility of managing the operations of the market shifted to the city's Real Estate Division, who saw an opportunity to generate more revenue by "kicking out" long time vendors. Customers protested and most everything is now back to normal with only a few minor space allocation changes. http://www.sfgov.org/s...
Obviously this place rocks- just reference the previous 174 reviews, mostly all 5 stars. Can't beat the location for us- an easy walk, bike ride or bus ride. If you can avoid driving there, all the better, but at the very least try parking a few blocks away- we pedestrians are merciless and I've seen cars waiting forever to make the slightest move.
I like the diversity in food, vendors and shoppers alike. Prices are cheaper than Ferry building for the most part with the added bonus of no tourists. I've had great experiences with everything I've gotten from here and the vendors don't mind taking the time to explain things to you and don't make you feel stupid for never having eaten A or cooked with B. It can be hard to find unpretentious places in SF, this place is fabulous.
I discovered this farmers market last Saturday, where I picked up the best tomatoes, beets, lettuce, freshest grapes, sweetest peaches, my week worth of produce under $40!
Absolutely in love!
Sunday - flea market. Definitely fun experience.
This is a great Farmers Market, its my fave out of all of them.
I try to get there at real early in the morning.
I usually park up the hill and walk down a lil pathway.
no way would I park in the parking lot with all the crazy drivers.
My favorite is the honey and the flowers.
I love love love this place. Superconvenient from the Excelsior, Bernal, Glen Park, Ingleside, etc. So for all those who call it inaccessible, it all depends on your perspective. Location, location, location, as they say. My hubby loves the dates - the vendor is super reasonable and friendly and the dates melt in your mouth.
The tacos and pupusas are delicioso, especially eating one or two while you stroll past the sights and smells of their raw ingredients. It makes me laugh that so many reviewers diss the parking here. I've never thought to try and park in the limited parking within the market area - because it just looked like a place to get trapped by all the pedestrians. I left my Texas parking lot expectations behind 18 years ago and always expect to park several blocks away from any destination anywhere in San Francisco, so what's different about southern Bernal? Nothing.
Try some apple bread, heirloom tomatoes, fresh coffee, basil in abundance (make a vat of pesto!), and enjoy the sights of true SF diversity in its full richness all around you. Priceless.
BEST FARMER'S MARKET IN THE BAY AREA. PERIOD.
I have been to many farmers' markets, including the Ferry Building, and only few come close to this one.
You can just tell this farmer's market is legit. The Mexican grandma, sitting in the back of a truck, attempting to explain the hot peppers, the sweet potatoes still with chunks of soil on them, the Indian man with a turban hustling chutney and homemade samosas, the beautiful flowers, three bushels of garlic for a dollar, fresh inexpensive grapes, it's all there baby. There are some fresh crepe stands too.
Oh ya, and check out the Malaysian curry samosa chick - those thangs were dey-lish!
Only thing this place didn't have was fresh fish or meats. Oh ya, and go with cash, cuz there are no ATMs nearby! We had to drive all the way to the Mission cuz we forgot cash (I know, dumb.)
Plenty of parking.
It closes at 3pm, but people start packing up at 2pm.
CHECK IT OUT!
This is easily the best farmers' market in San Francisco.
The Asian vendors have particularly good deals here, but as many have fewer language and marketing skills than the others, you have to pay a little more attention. Some of these farmers are Hmong families who were resettled in the Central Valley after the Vietnam War. They're hard-working and can use your dollar for a bag of greens.
Far West Fungi isn't cheap, but it's a must-stop for me every week. I like the apple vendor toward the west end.
Beware the vendor of Italian fruits near the restrooms, they mislabel their produce and are unapologetic when caught.
This is my ol' hood (damn, I miss living here). Bernal Heights, home to Cortland and one of the best damn farmers market around. This is OG folks. Where your mama and your mama's mama be shopping. Yeah, it's loud, it's crowded, and it's not pretty.
Know your produce. You got every Tom, Lee, and Jesus claiming they are organic and the best. If you are aware, you will recognize the real farmers from the shadesters and walk away with some good stuff. Other than the typical produce, they have a vast array of ethnic products which is why I adore this market so. Where else can you get balut (duck egg for you non-Filipino's....holla), live chickens (we don't support this place due to the selling of Bugs...as in bunny), rambutan (my favorite fruit...evaaaaaar), fresh fish (yay for salmon belly), naan, hummus, pupusas (made right in front of you), and the abuela selling fresh tamales out of a garbage bag? Yes, I simply adore this place. And yes, parking is atrocious but how is that different from any other place in the city?!
I haven't been to this farmer's market for a month and things have changed! The food stands have now moved from the back parking lot to the other side of the market, closer by the freeway. And I was excited to find some new additions:
*Gourmet Wood Fired Pizza - there is a custom made food burning oven stationed there. It cooks the pizzas at 750 degrees and they're done in 90 seconds! The pizzas are thin crust, made with wheat dough.
*Il Pastaio - fresh pastas, raviolis, gnocchi and sauces.
*Malaysian Lacy Crepes - curry with crepes, dessert crepes, chai banana fritters.
*Ritual Coffee - French press coffee.
*Fava - a variety of fava bean goods.
*Delicious Crepes - sweet and savory crepes.
There was also a new Taco truck and a BBQ place.
Parking is crazier than ever but the food is so worth it. Do go early as some stands tend to run out during the later part of the market.
I've recently re-discovered Alemany Farmer's Market. After not going for several years, I'm now… Read more »
When I moved back to America last year, I asked my parents to take me to the market straight from the airport. I love this place that much.
Yesterday I bought organic peaches, nectarines, plums and apples for $1/lb. I also bought a big bag of onions for $1. I always treat myself to a huge almond croissant at the panorama bread stand ($2.25ish). I'm intrigued with the Kumamoto oysters. I lived in Kumamoto for three years and have no idea what a Kumamoto oyster is. That area of Japan is known for raw horse meat and fried lotus... can anyone educate me?
Parking is a nightmare and the market is not muni friendly. I recommend getting there before 9am or after 12 (you'll miss out on the good stuff though).
After breakfast with my Mom on Saturday, she wanted to go to the farmer's market in her quest for some roasted peanuts.
We headed on over and I was surprised to find ample parking, luckily, we didn't have to bust out my mom's handicap placard.
So we started at one end, and there was an abundance of fruit and vegetables. The standouts to me were the HUGE white peaches, which were nice, sweet n juicy.
Alot of orchids and plants also, some for only $10!
Alot of the stands were mainly selling fruits & veggies...
We headed down to the food stalls, there was hummus, pita bread, naan, tamales, kettle corn, salvadorean food...etc. The only thing we bought was kettle corn - me and my mom could never pass that up :)
It was nice to just stroll around with my mom...sadly - they didn't carry her roasted peanuts, we headed over to ssf to la tapatia and found her roasted peanuts there - so she was a happy camper after that!
If you are getting turned off by the posing, cruising, lulu lemon wearing yuppie monoculture of the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market...well, this is your place.
You will probably save a few bucks too.
Tip: Parking is pretty hairy.
Things to do at the Alemany Farmers' Market:
1. Ride your bike there (parking is a pain in the bootay).
2. Try the dates - they're delectable.
3. (never done this one myself) Buy a live chicken or rabbit and cook it on an open fire for dinner.
Best farmer's market I've ever been to.
This is the best farmer's market I've been to in San Francisco for three reasons:
1. fantastic selection of produce
2. many certified organic (expensive) and non-certified (cheap) options
3. no entitled assholes with their baby strollers clogging up the isles
I bought a HUGE assortment of veggies for about $3. I pickled a bunch of the cucumbers and greens, and still had enough to last me throughout the week.
If you want to get turned on to new varieties of melons, all kinds of fantastic mushrooms, amazing stone fruit, super fresh corn, perfect blueberries -- this is the place to be on Saturday mornings. All local, and there's a decent amount of organic. It's just like the farmers market at the ferry building. Only cheaper. And much better. And while you're there, check out the woman making great banana fritters for $3.
my favorite farmer's market yet! this place is so awesome. it's huge, it's cheap, and the prepared food is bomb too. be prepared to spend a long time and not much money here. and get a huarache with egg and mole or a pupusa -- they're great! i also hear the almond croissants from panorama are delicious.
I didn't like it here at first because it was quite 'dumpy' and not the chichi type of farmer's market that I was use to going (ie. ferry building).
Come here with an open mind and you'll be surprised what you find. Spend your $20 wisely because once you start giving away $1/bunch of vegetables or $1/fruits, you'll forget how much you actually did spend.
Come early, park on the street. Don't park inside the kiosk farmers area. You are just doomed for trouble because there are many pedestrians walking about in the area.
I love the Asian farmers --- they sell a lot of variety of choi (gai choi, daikon with the stems, on choy, bak choy, small baby cucumbers, and etc).
They also sell tamales, a lot of bread companies (panorama is our favorite).
They also sell "fresh flocking hen!"
Prices are reasonable.
I got a huge bag of plump, delicious dates here for $2 this past weekend..
Everyone is right- this place is pretty great. I usually hit up The Hummus Guy, one of the eight Orange vendors, and sometimes the mexican food stand. I hate to admit it, but its worth getting up early on a Saturday.
I wish I could say this was the only Farmer's Market in San Francisco I go to. It should be, but I just live too damn close to the wretched Ferry Building.
But this one is the best, far and away.
Yes, it's inaccessible as hell, and yes the parking sucks ass and while I'm tempted to deduct a star for that I can't do it. It's just too good.
And no they don't allow dogs...I'll live.
Now, I mainly stick to vegetables...just not much of a fruit eater...when i buy fruit I generally end up throwing it away uneaten. On a typical Saturday AM I can load up, and I mean LOAD up, for 20 bucks or so. Try doing that at the Ferry Building or Noe.
I also cook quite a bit of Thai, and used to go to the little Thai groceries in the loin for my authentic ingredients, but not after I discovered this place. Theres a stall that has close to a dozen different varieties of basil. How much? $1 a bunch.
Nice selection of reasonably priced flowers as well, and with the amount I drink and my smart ass nature I generally have a need to buy some.
I used to go when I rolled out of bed on Saturdays, but since I broke up with the girl who showed me this place I started heading down there early (like 7:30AM early) and I'd advise that you do the same. No longer trying to dodge the ex, but it just gets somewhat picked over by 10 or 11AM...if I've got Whole Foods produce in my house it means I had a rough Friday night.
I can't believe I lived, ate and cooked in SF for nearly 10 years before discovering this place. Aside from my prescription for Lexapro, the Alemany Farmer's Market and Berkeley Bowl (she schooled me on that place too) are possibly the only worthwhile things I took out of that 2 year relationship.
The only real farmer's market in the city (we know Noe and the ferry building are phony, but i was shocked at how dreadful the Civic Center one was). Going here every week changed my life. We know all the vendors by name, not all are great, but there are enough organic farms to eat incredibly well for $60 a week. We love Twin Girls, Rodriguez, Far West Fungi, Ferrari, Jan Snyder Honey, Saucy Joe's, Two Dogs, the list goes on!
NB: Avoid Phan's and Capay, their prices are predatory!
Heir Loom Tomatos + Sweet Basil + Mozzarella = :)
best place to go to on a Saturday Morning - great diverse crowd, great produce and amazing deals.
How can anyone not love this place? Get here early if you want to park. I bought a 15 cent onion here last weekend. What can you buy for 15 cents anymore?!
Aaaaand, you're buying local. How can you go wrong?
This place is walking distant from my place. I've never taken advantage of this place until just about 2-3 weeks ago. It's a great place to get produce for cheap, but you must shop around to get the cheapest deal. It's a great destination on a warm sunny day (last week), but it's still great on an overcast day like today. They offer variety of fruits and vegetables, some vendor is certified organic. I'm wouldn't trust the all the organic produce. My dad works in at a vegetable wholesaler and have seen many of them bought vegetables and fruit that are tinier than the majority of the selection, and falsely claim them organic at this Farmers Market.
Just go there without an expectation of organic fruits and vegetables, and you'll have a great time. They also have flowers, nuts, like any other farmers market. They offer a great selection of Tamales, Pupusas and Naan bread. Pricing is very decent to cheap. I deducted one star because parking is a bitch here. Park somewhere where you can exit into the street near the residential, rather than having to be stuck in the farmers market exit, which took me over half an hour to go home when I could of been home if I walked.
Highly recommended. Farmers' Market takes place on a Saturday and Thift Sales happen on Sunday at the same location.
First, in response to the Real Estate Division's decision to disallow many of the food vendors at the market, see C.W. Nevius' column in today's SF Chronicle online at:
http://www.sfgate.com/...
Apparently, there was a wave of protest regarding this decision and John Updike, an assistant director of real estate interviewed by Nevius, indicated (quote from Nevius' article): "Looking back on it, the Real Estate Division now thinks that more vendors can be accommodated. In fact, virtually all of them should get the word this week that they have been reinstated."
Not sure what "virtually all" means so keep your fingers on the keyboards, you keyboard activitists!
Now, about the market -- a treasure. A wide range of fresh fruits and vegetables, some not sprayed, some organic, all affordable. Coupled with flowers, plants, sea food, hummus, nuts, it's a Saturday ritual that brings together the diversity of this city into one parking lot. Sit down at one of the long tables after shopping and eat incredible food from any of the food vendors to cap off the experience.
Definitely worth fighting for.
Awkward parking, awesome veggies. Crowded, but with good folks - not the posers you see at the ferry plaza FM.
I wish there were some meat vendors - there are none that I've seen. I did once buy some live dungeness crab here, but you have to get there pretty early, apparently - I bought mine at 9 a.m. and they were the last 2 crabs she had.
The tamale guy here is a live wire and his tamales are tasty and served with either mild or spicy salsa (not really all that spicy, though).
Plus, the old woman with the dancing cat always puts on a good show.
I finally made it! A Saturday where I'm up before noon, not hungover, with no chores to do and I'm not doing something school related.
There are a lot of stalls, but you will see a lot of the same stuff as you go around. For less than $20 I picked up:
Three oranges
Three organic Fuji apples
Four tomatoes
A bag of spring mix greens
A bag of fingerling potatoes
A carton of organic strawberries
Half gallon of fresh squeezed apple cider, Rainbow Orchards
A loaf of whole wheat sourdough baguette, from PANoRAMA
An everything bagel, from PANoRAMA
There weren't as many organic vendors as I imagined, but there were organic things here and there.
There was no shortage of rambunctious unsupervised munchkins running around and stepping on my feet and stealing all the samples, rude people pushing and blocking the entire bin so no one else can access the produce while they're sifting through to get their first pick, and plenty of idiots parking their GMC Yukon XL gas guzzling earth destroyer SUVs in the parking lot partially blocking the aisles and straddling two parking spots. Next time, I'm going earlier to avoid this mess.
Lots of samples, lots of friendly vendors greeting their usual weekly customers and excellent variety in the prepared foods section including Indian, Afghani, Mexican, seafood, butter/cheeses, honey and several others. Next time, I'm bringing more cash!
This farmers market trumps the ferry building's farmers market. Much less expensive and no stuck up yuppies sporting their velour Juicy track suits. Lots of pretty flowers and yummy organic butter and fresh Point Reyes oysters for a seriously good deal.
I think its safe to come out the fox-hole and write this review. Food has turned into a battle field, not quite like a pat benatar song, but it's a war zone nonetheless. The prices are exorbitant and stretch the supply lines very long. You contend with chemical warfare in terms of the growing of vegetables - to say nothing of what they do to four legged vegetables. Stores wax the stuff to make it more appealing, this I like to think of as counter-intelligence. Take your pic, we're at war for our food supply. But one place where i feel like you can get "REAL" food, real as in the Michael Pollan sense of real food is at the Alemany Farmer's Market. You need to do a little walking and if you want the certified organic, instead of taking the farmer's word, you will pay insane amounts of money, as there are certified organic farms present, but the majority of the food is high quality regardless if the farm is certified or not. You just don't see this kind of quality in any store, and the value for your buck can't be beat. I'm especially fond of the honey that comes out of this place and the watermelons when they are in season are to die for.
A great farmers' market with fresh high quality produce and reasonable prices. It's definitely not "pretty" like the Ferry Building farmers' market. There's no presentation and the experience is more "real" (crowded with an occasional shouting, shoving and pushing), but the produce quality is generally excellent.
The naans and chutneys are really good at the Indian/Pakistani stand. There's a huge selection of Chinese produce / vegetables and they are amazingly fresh here. They're also grown a bit differently (i.e. cauliflowers are on long skinny stems rather than a big clump of flowers with one gigantic fat stem) and there are also a lot more varieties offered for the same vegetable (i.e Chinese mustard comes in 3-4 different varieties). Yu Choi ( or You Cai) are also grow with lots of yellow flowers intact (which is sweeter to the taste when cooked). Once in a while you can also find exotic, tropical fruits here - Cherimoya, Guavas, Persimmons, Star Fruit, Lychees, Pipas and rambuttans (unfortunately I've not seen mangosteens yet).
The produce is seasonal, so items change frequently. Arrive early for the best selection.
On a sunny saturday morning this place is glorious. It's not as overwhelming as the ferry bldg, less people and easier to go from stand to stand. And, it has a more authentic farmers market feel, unlike the ferry plaza farmers market. I found everything reasonably priced, and there are organic farms! Parking can be a b%^@%, but you can park a couple of blocks away, and enjoy a nice walk.
This place is HUGE and there is a lot to offer, but is it just me or are the stalls just complete repeats of each other? It seems like every other stall was selling the SAME EXACT thing and none of the items looked particularly better than the next.
I did get some wonderful wild flower honey though. And fresh concord grape juice. YUM!
$40 at the farmer's market gets me:
- one flat of brown eggs
- one week's worth of tasty (and cheap) veggies for 2
- one loaf of panorama bread
- two pupusas
- a dollar tip for the old lady with the dancing cat
- the satisfaction of knowing i'm supporting the local economy
All in all, although parking can be a bit bothersome, and the ratio of people with their baby strollers stopped in the middle of the walkways to the amount of people trying to get around them might not all that amazing, this place is so great on so many levels.
I'm only knocking one star off for parking as you resort to having to mostly park on the neighborhood streets.
Apart from that, I spent just under $15 on my items at the market. I bought gerbera daisies, a fresh loaf of rye bread, 4 tomatoes, 3 roma tomatoes, 3 plums, a bag of pita chips (split with a friend) and 4 apples.
I wanted strawberries and some white nectaries, but felt the strawberries were priced at what you would pay at Safeway or other grocery stores. I couldn't find any nectaries I liked, but I think I did well.
I couldn't have bought what I did at the Ferry Building's farmer's market for the same price. It's the "Regular" folks market. People are a bit pushier here than at the Ferry Building's market, but it's all good. It's worth it for the prices.
I was a little irked though when I bought some apples that the guy handed me my change in a hurry that he dropped my change in the apple bin. When I said he dropped my change (ok 50 cents, it's still money man!!!), he looked peeved about giving me my change again. My ass wasn't going to toss all those apples out to find my change at the bottom of the box!!
Either way, I really want to take my mom here as she'd love it, especially for the prices. You can get all the fresh veggies and fruits here of course. You can buy plants of all sorts, pastries, get your knives sharpened, buy live chickens (eek!), eggs, fresh tamales and Mexican food, hummas from the Hummus Guy (charmer, but good), flowers, fresh bread, handmade soaps and other goodies.
I went at like 9am yesterday and it was packed!! It was crazy trying to find parking and my coworker said that it was unusually busy. Either way, we found a spot and went on our happy way hunting for awesome produce.
It's a nice change from the Ferry Building, as your money goes farther here. That's a big plus considering how much food prices have gone up. So get your ass out of bed and stop here for your weekly groceries!!
I love it here on Sundays! So much good antique jewelery!
This might be the last sweetness in your life. That's what the man selling perfect peaches says.
Today everyone had okra for $2 a pound except the one place, where it is $1. The strategery at Alemany is to do a quick sweep through, traditionally east to west and return, to see who has what for what, then go in for the kill with your selected vendors.
Many of the women look like me, without the fine white patina of privilege the Ferry Building shoppers wear. We are the crunchy elite, who roll out of bed, pull on the fleece, hope that the pretty good dye job compensates for the lack of make up and a face that looks like a road map, mixed in with actual barely living wage earning San Franciscans.
This is not the last sweetness in my life, but I wouldn't mind so much if it was.
P.S. I just realized this is a completely useless "review"...so: Alemany is a lot cheaper than the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Some of the vendors sell organic produce. The people cooking and selling food produce some enticing smells, and there is a "food court" area set up so you can sit down and enjoy your tacos, etc. There is a seafood vendor off to the side who sells everything from winkles to swordfish, and an egg vendor who also sells either live or freshly kilt chickens, feathers 'n all. There is a flower grower from Half Moon Bay who sells incredible, longlasting flowers. It is a lot of fun. YOU SHOULD GO.
So I've finally gotten my act together to get here on Saturday mornings. I really like seeing the progression of the seasons through produce. Strawberries entered the picture this week, and for the past month, we've been eating baby broccoli at a price that's amazing. Other favorites are the olive oil, fresh eggs, citrus (this season), and reasonably-priced flowers. It's a great bargain compared to the Ferry Plaza farmers' market.
I've been a fool all this time! I had no idea that there was a venue at which I could buy a POUND of peaches for $1.50! Take that, WholeFoods! I will never again purchase your mealy, picked-too-soon, partially frozen, shipped-from-Alabama peaches for $3.99 a pound!
We bought 12 pints of strawberries for $12, for goodness sake!
I had been laboring under the false assumption that all farmers' markets are expensive because I had only been to the boutique-tourist, Marin-commuter farmers' markets. The ferry building market left me cold and without fresh veggies for dinner, so I just gave up and went about my old, sinful grocery store produce-buying ways.
Well, halleluiah!
The Alemany Farmers' Market is chock full of delicious fresh produce at fantastic prices. Much of the produce is organic and, from what I understand, all is local. Vendors will hand you whole pieces of fruit to try (I received a plum from a very nice gentleman who worked in a stone fruit stall).
And there are BAKED GOODS from local small business owners! Carbohydrate heaven! You can go early on Saturday morning (open dawn to dusk), stuff your face full of samples and muffins, and leave happy before any other businesses are even open!
Plenty of parking. Not sure about bus routes in that area where 101 and 280 cross. The only downside is that it gets crowded around mid-morning, and if you don't go early, you might miss a lot of the good stuff.
Oh, and P.S. Please send me some recipes that use strawberries.
Live Lobster $8.99/lb
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Places to shop, eat, and be in the City that are…
Wondering what to make for dinner? Or maybe…
