One of our foodie goals for 2010 is to have a better idea of where our food originates. We are about 85% there. In the same breathe, we’d like to make sure that we’re eating as local as possible, plus or minus those guilty pleasures (French wine and cheese, of course). In order to make this goal happen, we’re on the quest to find what we consider to be the perfect farmer’s market for our needs. What will make or break our market choice? That’s simple: variety, price point, and, over all, atmosphere.
Despite the rain we ventured out to one of the many Bay Area farmer’s markets, staying local by visiting the Noe Valley farmer’s market. The Noe Valley market is small and very family oriented, think Stroller Valley.
We were sad to find mostly an abundance of root vegetables, citrus and apples, but excited to see that Happy Boy Farms was there, as they have the best carrots and butternut squash. There was also a honey vendor, Prather Ranch (an organic meat company), and a mushroom vendor.
Despite not being able to fill our baskets with beautiful and varied produce, we still enjoyed the market and had a chance to snap some photos and splash in the puddles. We hope it was just the rain that kept away most of the usual vendors. We’ll be giving the Noe Valley Farmer’s Market another visit, since they’re literally just a couple blocks away.
Our market purchases:
- Carrots & Butternut Squash: Happy Boy Farm
- Lettuce: Happy Boy Farm
- Pomelos: Twin Girls Farm
Eat Boutique was an award-winning shop and story-driven recipe site created by Maggie Battista – an author, business guide and alignment seeker. After hosting retail markets for 25,000+ guests, Maggie now supports entrepreneurs as they create values-based businesses through We Are Magic Studio. Follow Maggie Battista on Instagram.