What's At Your Local Farmers Market? The Bountiful Fresh Veggies, Fruits, Meats, Nuts and More Grown By Your Local Farmers [Thoughts + Pics]

what’s your spot for mangos? enjoyed some sticky rice, coconut milk and mango and we want to upscale this…

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Hi @chienrouge ,

Good question. I haven’t seen Mangoes offered at local farmers market stands (or we might’ve missed them). Do Mangoes grow in California? I wonder.

My friend has a mango tree in Ktown area. Nice mangos too. Not super prolific. I never see em at farmers market either.

But farmers markets aside some mangos better than others and the great ones are next level. The ones from some of the Thai supermarkets out in Hollywood seem superior.

Somewhat related…Have you been to Sasoun?

@chiel could get soursop there too. I’ve never bought it. They have rambutans and other unusual stuff. Durian.

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@Chowseeker1999

i found this about Wong farms (Coachella)…looks like we are a few months out for farmer’s market mangoes but I’ll keep a lookout, and in the meantime shop in thaitown.

Ripe time for mangoes from Wong Farms - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)

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Hi @chienrouge ,

Ah, Wong Farms! I’ve heard about them from the LA Times in the past. Thanks for the info. I’ll keep an eye out for their Mangoes. :slight_smile:

Update 2:

Some interesting offerings as the seasons change!

Hollywood Farmers Market

It was a relatively quiet, lazy Sunday this past weekend at the Hollywood Farmers Market, but there were some noteworthy changes.

Roots Organic Farms


Roots Organic Farms continues to impress with their Heirloom Lettuces (you can see how much Farmer Jacob Grant has learned from his mentor, Shu-san, from The Garden Of…).

But they also started offering Organic Strawberries this week.

Organic Gaviota Strawberries:

They had an incredible aroma, so floral and delicate, as only in-season Strawberries can provide. :slight_smile: Taste-wise, they are floral, sweet-tart, nowhere near the pure sweetness of Harry’s Berries, but if you enjoy a bit of tart and sweet, these will do just fine.

Roots Organic Farm
(@ Hollywood Farmers Market (Sunday))
1600 Ivar Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90028

Day: Sunday
Hours: 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

https://www.instagram.com/roots_organic_farm/

Arnett Farms (Revisit)

It is definitely stone fruit season, and Arnett Farms are slowly getting in their massive varietals of interesting Peaches, Apricots, Plums and tons of Pluots, but the most important thing to note is:

Black Mission Figs:

Woo hoo! The 1st wave of in-season Black Mission Figs is upon us! :blush: We tried Organic Black Mission Figs from Murray Family Farms (which we adore for Organic Cherries (their 60 different varietals!), and Organic Grapes (later this Summer)), but FYI, Murray’s Figs were just OK. Lightly sweet, soft, ripe, but underwhelming.

Arnett Farms has always been our favorite source for in-season, fresh, super sweet Black Mission Figs, and this season’s 1st wave offering?

Stunning! Absurdly sweet and round (but not saccharine), creamy, luscious texture, hands down the best Black Mission Figs we’ve had so far (and consistently our favorite every year). :heart: :heart: Do not miss out on the 1st wave of Black Mission Figs (usually lasts for 2 - 3 weeks at most). (@ipsedixit @BradFord @paranoidgarliclover @A5KOBE @js76wisco @chienrouge @ElsieDee and all.)

Arnett Farms
(@ Hollywood Farmers Market (Sunday))
1600 Ivar Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90028

Day: Sunday
Hours: 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

(Also at these Farmers Markets):

Tuesday
Culver City
Torrance
Manhattan Beach

Wednesday
Tustin

Thursday
Westwood Village
La Cienega

Saturday
Playa Vista
Calabasas

Saturday
Irvine

Sunday
Hollywood
Brentwood
Pacific Palisades
Studio City
Mar Vista
Larchmont

Tenerelli Orchards

And… Tenerelli Orchards is back! :peach: :peach: :peach: Our favorite Peach farmers are finally back (they said the crop was just a few weeks late this year). :slight_smile:

They only had Apricots this week, but said Peaches should be arriving next week or the week after.

"Golden Sweet" Apricots:

I’m usually more of a Peach fan, but Tenerelli’s first varietal “Golden Sweet” Apricots were excellent! Let them soften up and ripen on your kitchen counter, and enjoy. They were a balanced sweetness, soft flesh, good juiciness. :blush:

Tenerelli Orchards
(@ Hollywood Farmers Market (Sunday))
1600 Ivar Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90028

Day: Sunday
Hours: 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Yasutomi Farms (Revisit)

Since @BradFord was asking about a good Cherry Tomato source, I had to do some research and try various Cherry Tomatoes to help out. :wink: (We also love great Cherry Tomatoes and needed a replacement for The Garden Of… retiring.)

Yasutomi Farms is currently offering 3 varietals of Cherry Tomatoes:

"Fruit Tomatoes" Cherry Tomatoes:

Soft Cherry Tomatoes:

Japanese Cherry Tomatoes:

After chatting with one of Yasutomi’s helpers, she strongly recommended the Japanese Cherry Tomatoes, which is what we bought a basket of. Taking a bite: Stunning aroma. It has that deep umami, sweet-tart, ripe, in-season Tomato flavor. Real Tomato flavor that we’re so fortunate to enjoy where many parts of the country have to live with bland, mass-produced, supermarket Tomatoes.

These were a flavor explosion and the best Cherry Tomatoes we’ve had this year! :heart: :blush: @BradFord @paranoidgarliclover and all.

Yasutomi Farms
(@ Hollywood Farmers Market (Sunday))
1600 Ivar Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90028

Day: Sunday
Hours: 8:00AM - 1:00PM

(Also @ Santa Monica Farmers Market (Wednesday))
155 Arizona Ave.
Santa Monica, CA 90401

Day: Wednesday
Hours: 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

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Excellent, thanks for your update and great intel; I’ll be sure to check them out this Sunday!. Thanks for the tip on the Japanese cherry tomatoes from Yasutomi Farms especially!

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Any idea what the purple topped/yellowish bottomed radish in the “Organic Daikon Radish” picture is (on the left next to the fennel)? I got something like that in my CSA bag this week and I’m trying to figure it out. Thanks!

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Hi @Amandarama ,

Ah! I think that’s a Purple Top Rutabaga?

I haven’t cooked those before, but read that it’s similar to how you’d cook turnips? Good luck!

Oh, yay! I was hoping it was a rutabaga. The ones in the grocery stores around here are a lot rounder. I love them steamed and then mashed with butter and sour cream. I see lunch in my future! Thank you!

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No problem! :slight_smile: Let me know how your mashed Rutabaga turns out (it sounds delicious).

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Never thought cherry tomatos could be so good. When kids love veggies it’s a moment. My 9 year old reminded me that tomatos are fruits. The perfect yellow peaches at tennerelli great too. Sweet but not falling apart. The pit sorta comes right out. We got these and some baby artichokes at Santa Monica farmers market today. Those artichokes are good cuz ez to cook and eat

Cheers and happy :us:

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So glad you and your family enjoyed the Tenerelli Peaches and the Cherry Tomatoes. :slight_smile:

I’ll keep an eye out for the Baby Artichokes, thanks!

Peeled off outer leaf after frying 'em up but tender enough to eat it all just like that.

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Update 3:

Some noteworthy entries to the Summer season from our local farmers. :slight_smile:

Hollywood Farmers Market

Summer has to be the most bountiful and lively time of year for Farmers Markets. It feels like wave after wave of fresh, delicious produce appears week after week. Some interesting finds over the last couple weeks:

Tenerelli Orchards

Peach Season is in full swing at Tenerelli Orchards. :slight_smile: :peach: The past 2 weeks they’ve debuted with:

Snowbrite White Peaches:

These are the first varietal of the season (and lasted only 2 weeks!). Let it sit on the kitchen counter until ripe (1 - 2 days) and it was sweet, juicy with a touch of tart to balance out the sweetness. Delicious. :slight_smile:

(Secret Menu) Mulberries:

One of the best “off menu” items at Tenerelli Orchards is their Mulberries, and it’s in season now (for a short period of time). They are by far the sweetest Mulberries we’ve found among the Hollywood Farmers Market farms. For those that’ve never tasted Mulberries, it’s got a super concentrated flavor, deeper and more complex than Concentrated Grape Juice or Currants. Aromatic and sweet, and there’s nothing quite like it. They were excellent! :heart:

(You have to ask for it because they have to be kept cool, in an ice chest behind their stand.)

Tenerelli Orchards
(@ Hollywood Farmers Market (Sunday))
1600 Ivar Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90028

Day: Sunday
Hours: 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Weiser Family Farms


One of the most noteworthy farms at numerous local Farmers Markets is Weiser Family Farms. Local foodies may have heard the name since a lot of the local Farm-to-Table Restaurants source their root vegetables from Weiser, especially Weiser Farms’ Potatoes (numerous types) and various Heirloom Carrots.

Besides their excellent Potatoes and Carrots, Weiser Family Farms also has an annual highlight during Summer…

Heirloom Melons! :slight_smile:

They have started to appear now (the last few weeks), from Ogen, Canary, Sabayon to Sugar Cubes and Sugar Queens, with white, green, yellow, peach fleshed Melons and beyond.

Sugar Queen Melons:

I think we’ve tried all of Weiser Family Farms’ Heirloom Melons over the past few years, and our favorite remains the Sugar Queen Melon. First, the aroma is stunning. You can smell a beautiful delicate perfumed Melon aroma even before cutting into the Melon. It permeates your car as you take it home. It perfumes your kitchen counter as you let it sit out a day or two to ripen before refrigerating it to chill a few hours before slicing.

It is incredible! :blush: Although the inner flesh looks like a Cantaloupe, it is absolutely nothing like a Cantaloupe. The Sugar Queen Melon is sweet, ultra fragrant, juicy, it has this Musk Melon quality that is like no other Melon we’ve tried. Don’t miss out on these. :heart: (@BradFord @chienrouge @ipsedixit @js76wisco @paranoidgarliclover @ElsieDee and all.)

Weiser Family Farms
(@ Hollywood Farmers Market (Sunday))
1600 Ivar Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90028

Day: Sunday
Hours: 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Roots Organic Farms

The Garden Of… Organic Farm’s replacement (and protege that trained under Farmer Shu Takikawa of Garden Of), Roots Organic Farms is getting more and more impressive as the weeks go by (in their Hollywood Farmers Market debut).

This week, Farmer-Owner Jacob Grant just debuted their Roots Organic Tomatoes. :tomato: The first 3 varietals to debut this week were:

Organic Sungold Yellow Cherry Tomatoes and Sungold Red Cherry Tomatoes:

These were very good! :blush: Farmer Jacob let customers sample each varietal if they wanted to, and the Sungold Yellow Cherry Tomatoes were gorgeously sweet with a nice bit of acid. It had that deep, umami vibrant Tomato flavor. (@BradFord )

Organic Early Girl Tomatoes:

These 1st wave of regular-sized Tomatoes had a great combination of sweet and tart, it had the sweetness you love in in-season, ripe Tomatoes from the farm, but also enough acid to balance that out and get that great real Tomato flavor flowing through. :blush:

Roots Organic Farm
(@ Hollywood Farmers Market (Sunday))
1600 Ivar Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90028

Day: Sunday
Hours: 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

https://www.instagram.com/roots_organic_farm/

Arnett Farms

The 1st wave of Black Mission Figs season is over already. :frowning: (It lasted only 3 weeks at Arnett Farms.) So look for the 2nd wave of Black Mission Figs later in the Summer.

Currently, it’s all stone fruit season, and our favorite this week has to be the…

Black Diamond Pluots:

The farmer mentions their Black Diamond Pluots are a combination of Plum, Apricot, and Pomegranate, and it’s got a beautiful bright Plum fragrance, but also some sweetness from Apricots and a touch of tart. It had multiple layers of flavors. :slight_smile:

Arnett Farms
(@ Hollywood Farmers Market (Sunday))
1600 Ivar Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90028

Day: Sunday
Hours: 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

(Also at these Farmers Markets):

Tuesday
Culver City
Torrance
Manhattan Beach

Wednesday
Tustin

Thursday
Westwood Village
La Cienega

Saturday
Playa Vista
Calabasas

Saturday
Irvine

Sunday
Hollywood
Brentwood
Pacific Palisades
Studio City
Mar Vista
Larchmont

Murray Family Farms

While Cherry season is over, Murray Family Farms’ 2nd most popular season is upon us now, with their Heirloom Grapes arriving! Over the course of the Summer, Murray Family Farms offers countless varietals of Grapes, probably the most extensive list of Grapes I’ve seen at any of our local Farmers Markets.

They just started with Thomcord Grapes, but this week marked the debut of their Candy lineup!

Organic Candy Snaps Grapes:

Murray Family Farms features 3 special Grape varietals each Summer, all under the “Candy” heading. The first is their Candy Snaps Grapes. We picked a few baskets of these this week.

They have a beautiful Strawberry(!) aroma, mixed with a sweet and tart Grape flavor. Tasty. :blush:

Murray Family Farms
(@ Hollywood Farmers Market (Sunday))
1600 Ivar Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90028

Day: Sunday
Hours: 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

(Also @ Santa Monica Farmers Market (Wednesday))
155 Arizona Ave.
Santa Monica, CA 90401

Day: Wednesday
Hours: 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

(Also at these Farmers Markets):

Tuesday
Culver City

Wednesday
Santa Monica
Altadena

Thursday
South Pasadena
Thousand Oaks

Friday
Venice Beach
Saturday
Santa Monica @Pico
Santa Barbara
Joshua Tree
Palm Spring
Playa Vista
Torrance
Bakersfield F Street

Sunday
Hollywood
Mar Vista
Encino
Studio City
Beverly Hills
Ojai
Santa Clarita
Atwater
Bakersfield - Haggin Oaks

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Calling Leo.

Bulgarini needs this on the gelato menu.

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Great rundown again, thanks for the pics and info.

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Hi @ipsedixit ,

Oh my goodness! That would be insane! :open_mouth: The Sugar Queen is already amazing, but in super concentrated form at Bulgarini Gelato?! Woo! :slight_smile:

Two of my favorite summer fruits have just made their appearance:

Mango nectarines from Ken’s Top Notch Produce. They are nectarines that taste like mangoes; they are not a hybrid.

Ken’s is at:

Santa Monica/Pico and Cloverfield - Saturdays 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Torrance - Tuesdays 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Culver City - Tuesdays 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Wong Farm Mangoes

These are incredible. In fact, David Karp wrote about them.

They only sell mangoes at the Downtown Santa Monica farmers’ market on Wednesdays and Pasadena farmers’ market on Saturdays. They sell out fast, but they accept preorders.

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Thanks @maccrogenoff ! I’ve never seen mangoes at various local farmers markets we’ve visited. Great to know that at least Wong’s is at Wednesday Santa Monica and Saturday Pasadena Farmers Markets. Thanks.

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