SF Farmers Markets & Groceries

[fxmail]

We will be visiting 4/13 through 4/18 and intend to visit the Berkeley farmers market on Thursday afternoon and the Ferry Building farmer market on Saturday. Does anyone have a suggestion for other markets? Our last time to the bay area we visited the Berkeley Bowl and we intend to return. Does anyone have a suggestion for other interesting food stores? Thanks!

[little big al]

Assuming you have a car, you may find it interesting to pay a visit to the original Farmers Market in all its WPA splendor on Sat. morning on Allemany Blvd. Contrast the local color and prices to the lovely but decidedly upscale Ferry Plaza. The last time I was there I saw a citrus vendor pelting a customer with oranges for "disrespecting" her fruit. Park in the back (since you have to drive that way anyway to get out), and don't miss the beautiful and efficient Afghani bolani vendor. Everything $6, buy 4, get one free.

[rworange]

It is possible to miss ... or even get by ... the Afghani bolani vendor?

I agree that out of the Thursday afternoon Berkeley market is the least of all the three Berkeley markets.

The Friday morning Old Oakland Farmers market is interesting. You can go to the Houswives market and see various sausage and meat shops. There are a few African stores nearby with interesting stuff and one has Carribean beef patties. They also have a great ice cream vendor whose name is currently escaping me.

Just behind Ferry Plaza is the Sunday Marin farmers market in San Rafael. There are a lot of the same vendors, a few different ones and it feels more like a farmers market.

Alameny on Saturday is good as suggested. The Wednesday Civic Center market has quite a few of the same vendors but I'd place Alameny ahead of it.

If you haven't been to the Cheeseboard in Berkeley that is worth a stop. I truly don't think Monerey Market has a bigger produce selection, but I think it is worth visiting as it is as much of an institution as the Berkeley Bowl. It has its followers. There are some interesting little food shops nearby.

Where are you coming from?

While not just a market, some of the big Asian malls with 99 Ranch in them are cool. All those tanks of live fish and you can even get them fried right out of the tank. There's one near Berkeley in Richmond. It is right off the freeway.

[Ruth Lafler]

Nope. Not possible to get by the Afghan bolani vendors. And why would you want to when they'll ply you with all the delicious samples you can eat and flirt with you shamelessly at the same time (the guy who runs the Grand Lake farmer's market booth told me once that Persians were better looking, but Afghans were more charming).

I'll just put in a plug for the Friday morning Old Oakland farmer's market, which has it's very own cool-Oakland vibe and can be combined with a visit to Oakland Chinatown. If you don't have a car, it's easily accessible from the 12th St. BART station.

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Old Oakland Farmers Market
9th St and Broadway, Oakland, CA 94607

[wally]

Actually, the Afghan bolani vendors are not at the Thursday Berkeley market.

[rworange]

And no Suki's Indian food either ... is this really a famer's market. Kettlecorn ... no kettlecorn either ... I thought those two were part of the permit requrements. Hey, what are they trying to get away with ... focusing on farmers?

[Robert Lauriston]

The Berkeley Thursday market is open only to organic vendors.

Though many of the organic vendors from the Tuesday and Saturday markets aren't at that one.

[wally]

They do have Hog Island.

[Robert Lauriston]

The Berkeley Thursday market is much smaller than the other two. If your schedule allows, I suggest you visit the Tuesday market instead, otherwise consider the Thursday market at the Marin Civic Center.

Monterey Market in Berkeley has even more produce than Berkeley Bowl. As long as you're in Berkeley, you might check out the Cheese Board, Tokyo Fish Market (despite the name it's a full grocery store), Spanish Table, Indus Foods, and Fourth Street (Cheese Shop, Cafe Rouge butcher counter, Sur la Table, etc.).

Bi-Rite is somewhat amazing.

[JasmineG]

Yeah, if you don't have time to go to the Tuesday market in Berkeley, I'd go to these places instead of the Thursday farmer's market.

[wolfe]

Monterey Market in Berkeley has even more produce than Berkeley Bowl.
A brief visit to the Berkeley Bowl produce section showed about 30 choices of apples, 10 choices of melon, more then 20 of pears and mushroom and 14 of grapes at which point I gave up. The only things Monterey Market , as much as I like it, has more of is "M"s.

[Robert Lauriston]

Sloppy writing on my part. By "more produce" I meant to the sometimes laughably large quantities outside, in front of the store.

More variety, Berkeley Bowl generally wins. Monterey Market does have bigger selections of a few things. I go there mostly for mushrooms, chiles, and certain varieties of heirloom apples the Bowl doesn't stock.

MM has a wider variety of organic produce than BB, but neither has the quality I'm used to from the farmers markets.

[sugartoof]

It's pretty much going to be more of the same, but if you're doing a Farmer Market tour, the Civic Center one mid week is pretty no nonsense with it's share of good bargains (are you buying or window shopping though?) and a combo of some name brand farms, and rag tag who know's where they picked the stuff vendors. It's not really an event market though.

[Sharuf]

There's a tiny farmers market at Larkspur landing on Saturday mornings from April or May thru October. It has only about a dozen vendors, amazingly easy parking, and some of the best strawberries and peaches You can find anywhere.