Well it finally happened! My family and I visited the Farmers’ market at COC last weekend - I didn’t know what to expect.
First of all, after arriving I was admonished by my nine year old daughter for not brining our own canvas bags. Instead, we utilized one plastic bag for all of our purchases. My wife and I informed the nine year old that the situation would be rectified before our next trip to the market.
Upon entering the market, I observed two bakeries next to each other, which in my opinion were a bit of a disappointment. First of all, my father is a retired baker (42 years), which explains my dislike for cakes, cookies, brownies, danishes and so on. I got burnt out at an early age. However, I was also spoiled in that my dad brought home six days a week, a half-dozen French rolls. As I approached both bakery booths, I anticipated purchasing some French rolls, but to my surprise no rolls. Instead that had several versions of pound cakes, cookies and sliced bread. I n my opinion the items were over priced compared to going to an actual bakery and buy them. You could tell the bread and other products were at least a day old. According to the label, the baked goods were produced in Rancho Cucamonga. I wonder if this person, just paid for the products, increased the price and brought them to the market to sell.
Nonetheless, the lady running the booth was very pleasant and gave my six year old son a sample butter cookie, which he devoured and requested that we purchase a container of cookies for $4.50 (which we did) – this would cost less in an actual bakery. My daughter purchased a small chocolate pound cake, which she enjoyed a slice of last night for dessert.
As we continued to stroll down the first of two aisles; I observed that the “gourmet tamale” booth was packed and a line existed. Hopefully next time, I will be able to purchase a tamale and write about it. Speaking of tamales, Vallarta offers great tamales at a decent price. However, if you want some authentic tamales, you will have to visit a hole in the wall in San Fernando on Workman and Seventh Street. I purchase tamales here every year for Christmas.
The flower booth was located near buy. I found the flowers to be fresh and well priced. I think the most expensive bouquet was $6.50. Across from the flowers was a crepes and omelet vendor. It didn’t look very busy.
Next, we purchased some wonderful strawberries. I paid $8 for three pints, but observed that another vendor about 35 feet away was selling a flat of strawberries for only $10. I don’t know what caused the difference in price, or whether or not the strawberries I purchased were organic or not. All I know is that they were delicious and throughout the remainder of the day, my daughter and I snacked on them.
Afterwards, I observed a fruit stand, which was selling nectarines, apricots and several other types of summer fruit for $2.50 a pound, this struck me as a bit expensive. In addition, the fruit looked very small in size. However, they did not advertise them as organic. Also, they were selling small buckets of cherries for $3.50 which seemed like a far price.
In addition, I purchased two haas avocados for a $1.25 a piece; as I waited in line to pay for them. I noticed that several people in front of me were asking the vendor to select the avocados for them. Here’s a quick tip. When you select an avocado, gently press the sides near the base of it. If it is firm, the item is under ripe and will take several days to ripen. If you are able to make a small indention, then you have a ripe avocado and remember to use it within a couple of days or it will over ripen. The avocados were later used to make guacamole.
Next, we purchased organic beef steak tomatoes for $3.50 a pound. We haven’t tried them yet, but will be doing so in the near future. Lastly, we purchased boysenberries for $2.50. My wife loves these berries and informed me that they tasted wonderfully.
I found all of the vendors to be friendly and offering samples. Also, if you do go remember to take cash and bring a bag with you.
In the end I was a bit disappointed. I was hoping to purchase some corn to barbeque (no one had corn for sale). Also, I expected a little bit of variety in produce, which I didn’t observe. Literally, it would take about 4 minutes to walk the entire two aisles. I think we spent a total of about 20 minutes walking around the farmer’s market. Hopefully the market will continue to grow.
I plan on attending the farmer’s market in Newhall this week and will compare the two in a future op-ed.
Michael Cruz