Farm Fresh Produce of Santa Clara
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
12 reviews
San Jose, CA
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21 Reviews for Farm Fresh Produce of Santa Clara
This place has been around for so long. I remember coming here with my parents to pick up fruits and veggies when I was younger. Not usually busy on weekdays.
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Finally somewhere that deserves 5 stars!!!
I didn't even know their name before I found their Yelp profile. All I know is that this little veggie market is a blessing from above.
If you live nearby, you are missing out if you do not take advantage of their great selection of produce, good prices, good hours and friendly service.
It is so much nicer to run to the veggie market as opposed to maneuvering through hellish grocery stores.
I love my apartment that much more because of this little market.
You can catch me there in slippers, mismatched socks, head scarves and other odd clothing items that are generally inappropriate for the public but perfect for buying 3 items at Farm Fresh! Perfect for those moments when you're missing 1 item from a recipe....
Check out the baguettes/bolillos next to the cash registers. The little bolillos (mini baguettes) are perfect for sandwiches, garlic bread, etc. and they're 3/$1 and they are fresh daily and taste great. I'm crazy for bread (and butter).
They also have unique desserts, candies, and ethnic foods and cheeses and olives.
Makes ya love produce.
Heard so much about this place and I'm so glad that I finally checked it out.
Loved how orderly and clean everything was - especially for a fruit and veggie stand! Prices seem very reasonable and it seem like a great place to find certain grocery items that you would not be able to find in Safeway or Luckys.
The staff is great - one of the employees cut open a cantaloupe for us to try. It was so wonderfully sweet! I bought two of them - YUM!
Milk Pail still takes first place with their awesome selection of cheeses, but this is a great place to find good quality veggies and fruits when you can't make it to the farmer's market.
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A good selection of fruits and veggies, though not as good as MilkPail.
At least when went it was nowhere near as busy as MP, that often has 5-6 registers going at once to clear the lines.
There are a variety of ethnic foods, spices, other ingredients inside.
Not as good of a selection of cheeses and bread as MP. As most of the fruits are outside, these can get ripe pretty fast when it's hot out!
So you may have to eat and they may not last as long.
Better than the big grocery stores, the prices are better and it seems to taste better. Nice family that runs it.
Helpful service, but a bit slow to open up a second register.
Parking in the lot or the street. Good one to keep on your list.
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i love everything about this fruit stand!
* its close to my house, my fat ass can ride a bike over and carry back a bag of goodies for less than 10.00!
* cheap.. and i mean cheap produce.. fruits, veggies and dairy products.. case in point: white cherries for 0.89/lb..
* crazy selection of foods, they have foods from mexico, middle east, eastern europe and asia.. where else can you buy raw beans, persian coffee, kinder chocolate and fish sauce?
* nice cashiers - i go here so often that the cashier remembers me. but you don't have to be a regular to get good service.
just be sure to look out for bruised rotten fruit and watch out for the parking lot. it gets a little cramp during rush hours..
Lot's of fruits and vegetables here, convenient location. The prices are relatively cheap (er) here. They have pretty good selections for both fruits and vegetables, organic fruits also available. They also carry some dried goods, cans, beans, rice, bread, pita, candies, nuts, spices. Staffs are pretty friendly here, will cut open any fruit for you to try.
Some of the floss - watch out for the molded stuff, or check the expiration dates if available. Some of the "on sale" fruits can be scary - bruise, rotten. Pita or bread selections on the shelf can be molded (gross!!! All covered with molds). Parking is bad during the after work hours as most people stop by to grab something before heading home. Word of advice - watch, pick and really exam the products/produces you get, otherwise, you might regret when you get home.
I still shop here time to time for my fruits and vegetables, but really watch out for what you are purchasing. I usually avoid getting stuff from here during the hot summer days; the qualities of the fruits are not really good, as they just sit outside during the days (this place gets the afternoon suns too!) and I think the carts of fruits just sit outside during the nights.
I noticed this place since I moved to the area. I thought I had found a new fresh farmer's stand that sell cheap produce at first but I did not like what I bought. I got salsa ingredients and more fruits. They appeared to be of low quality even though the prices were also low. I enjoy going to The Milk Pail in MV a lot more but of course I don't get to go all the time since it's far.
I have a crazy boss. You see, he just got back from a month in Italy and was lamenting how America just doesn't understand food. Quality ingredients. In particular, there's no social aspect to obtaining our fruit, vegetables, meat, etc. In Europe, you have a conversation with the proprietor and he recommends his best. Here? No.
Well, I tell him, head over to this quaint little fruit stand over on Scott and Somethingerother. And you know what, today a guy behind the cash register lopped off a piece of an organic Cameo apple and offered me a piece. It tasted like candy. Perfect texture, delightfully sweet, and it had taste! It was an APPLE. And less than a dollar a pound! He may not have been the farmer, but you can't get much closer on a daily basis than this.
The selection here varies, but you've usually got a lot more to choose from than your average Safeway produce isle. The produce is fresher, the bundles of herbs are larger. And every now and then there's even a speck or two of dirt on the produce. Imagine that! They still grow stuff in dirt.
I appreciate that the fruits and vegetables here taste like they are supposed to. Many are organic or locally grown (the honey too). And none are break-the-bank.
Sure, the quality and offering varies seasonally, but the selection here is generally wider and more predictable than some of the other non-chain / Indian grocery stores in the area. Definitely worth a visit.
All you gotta know is that they have cheap fresh produce. And some other household must haves likes milk and sour cream but they don't have cream cheese.
Forget the Whole foods, and don't even think about Safeway. If you live close to or work nearby this fresh produce place.... ohhh aren't you a lucky one!?
Good price and selection of items are amazing. Seasonal veggies and fruits are much cheaper and fresher here. It is like a farmers market here every day.
Grab a basket and walk around back and front of this place. You'll be amazed how many items of produce they sell at this rather small market. Also being able to use credit card for even small charges are a HUGE plus (for me!!) since I don't carry cash most of the time.
I stopped here the other day and of course, I had like a dollar in my wallet. Walked up to the cashier with couple of onions, potatoes and a bunch of green onion. I was ready to purchase more stuff if there were any "minimum" charges, but I was able to use my credit card with no problem even for a little over $6 of purchase!! COOOOOOOL :D
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Great place for fruits..I am amazed at the kinds of fruits and the freshness. Most things that have come out of this shop is clean. However keep an eye out for moths and other things...
I got some mexican bread and am truly enjoying it...The honey jars look really tempting.
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A lot cheaper than whole foods, and safeway. This place is great because it's less tempting to buy junk food (primarily because there isn't any!) Beware of the clearance bins though (clearance=will be rotting by tomorrow unless you cook it NOW). The other produce I found to be fresh and a lot of variety
This place has evolved continuously over 20+ years with different owners, but for as long as I can remember, it has been a fruit and vegetable stand. The produce is pretty darn good, and at competitive, if not even better, prices than your regular grocery stores. The expansion into having a plethora of international foods is great, particularly the middle eastern food. This is one of the only places that I know that sells couscous in bulk like they do here, which is nice ... and for cheap, too! Only $0.99 a pound!
When it gets busy, expect to have to park in the street. In fact, it may be better to park in the street cause it's a bitch to get out of the parking lot sometimes!
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Cute place with a lot of foreign products. The quality is way better than a chain grocery store, but doesn't quite compare to Milk Pail. Milk Pail has better selection and pricing. Still, it's an awesome neighborhood find.
I live down the street and visit this place regularly...I've had very mixed experiences with their produce. Sometimes, much of what they have for sale is barely passable and borderline rotten, sometimes they have some great stuff at good prices. Overall, I've had about as good of luck here as I've had at the local supermarkets, and this place is just as crazy as the market.
Ever since they remodeled, their baklava and other ethnic foods seem to be more neglected (I used to buy baklava here regularly, now it looks like it's been manhandled, old, and nasty. WTF.)
At least they haven't changed hands recently and they are improving their store and their landscaping.
Parking is usually a nightmare. Luckily for me, I'm either walking or on my bike...I'm usually amazed at the number of cars parked and the number of cars waiting for a spot.
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Update, June 10, 2007
I've been increasingly pleased with the produce selection and quality, they're definitely stocking better produce nowadays and improving their storage and handling to ensure more freshness. Recently purchased:
nice yellow onions, for cheap
limes (what happened with the freeze impacting lemon and lime supplies)
organic bananas (an increasing rarity, lately, this was the last place I've seen 'em, now even this place lacks 'em)
spices, particularly middle-eastern spices (e.g. ground sumac in bulk)
flat bread - you MUST try the hamati bread from Aroma's bakery, both the white and wheat are tasty!
This cute little stand is actually a little produce store worth stopping for. Their prices can be cheaper than your big chain stores and it's so much more convenient to pull into their parking lot, step in a few feet, make your purchase, and head out. They also have different nuts, grains, and pita bread.
The name isn't creative but it says it all. I almost cried with joy when I found this little produce market on the corner of Scott and Homestead. They have a wonderful selection, a few other staple groceries, and great prices. If you are in the neighborhood, you will be so glad you stopped by.
Update 06/08:
I have been going here more often. They not only have great produce, they have a lot of imported foods... lots of Mediterranean I noticed. Their selection and freshness seems to be better now than before and the staff is friendly!
The parking lot is tiny and kind of weird to access if you're coming from Homestead's residential area. I usually park on Scott so I don't have to deal with the parking lot. I'm in that area a lot, and I've had many near misses from cars coming out of that parking lot, so be careful driving around there!
Original Review:
If you happened to miss Saturday's farmers' market and are in need of produce, just a mile down on Homestead is this corner market! It's a great place to get produce. The quality is very good, but make sure you look at what you get. I came here last summer for some fruit. You can tell that some of the items have been sitting out for a while because, for example, the grapes were mushy and so was one of the bins of oranges.
They finally got it right at this market . I spend too much time there.
Tooo many varieties of fruits & vegees, nuts & dried fruit, small baggies of spices, fresh bread. Good prices and the bins are always full.
Much like Milk Pail in Mountain View, minus the cheese, finding produce here at this neighborhood market is easy, consistent, cheap and fun. They have a good seasonal selection that rivals the chains and a wide mix of ethnic groceries that is easily a microcosm of the culture around it. They have lots of bulk foods, Mediterranean cheeses, Mexican breads, and canned goods from up and down the Silk Road. If you're waistline is an issue, stay away from the baklava rack.
Just as a case study: I was buying long beans for a Thanksgiving meal at Ranch 99 and when I got home, the beans were fungicized, probably the result of being bagged. Thanksgiving morning, instead of running to Safeway and daring the Turkey day rush, I trusted my instincts and when to FFPSC and lo-and-behold, they had them, crisp and fresh, and I got out in less than 10 minutes. It would have been 5, but I got baklava :).
This produce stand has grown and grown in the last year, expanding to not just fruits and veggies, but ethnic groceries, a coffee station, and breads. The produce selection is expansive and you'll see a good amount of stuff you won't find at a supermarket. Prices are very cheap so you don't have to think twice about trying something new! I would actually give the quality of their produce 4stars because sometimes certain items are old, but overall this place deserves 5 stars - and if more people shop there it will help keep things from getting old.
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