657849 Wed Oct 07 14:06:53 -0700 2009 7 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 5086412 Tomato season will be over if I continue to wait for the link in the database to take. I've been waiting a few days now. This wonderful stand should not be missed. I’m seriously considering driving 50 miles to get more of the gorgeous alabaster tomatoes with the extraordinary lemon flavor … and maybe more of the best, sweetest dry farmed Early Girls I’ve had in my life … in my life. Only two miles from the center of town, anyone in the Healdsburg area who loves tomatoes should make this a must stop. There are also heirloom apples, pears, melons and Italian varieties of eggplant, squash and onions. The Profumo di Genova Basil is available by the stem or bunch and is cut to order. The woman at the stand walks a few feet to the basil patch and … snip, snip, snip … can’t get fresher than that. This site describes the basil perfectly http://mariseeds.com/seedcatalog/herbs.html “I will be forever indebted to my good friend … who specializes in rare Italian vegetables and herbs for introducing this glorious basil to me. Lovely large leaves. Highly perfumed fragrance and so sweet it has to be experienced to be believed.” The basil and tomatoes drizzled with olive oil was almost an out of body experience. Could anything be so divine? There are a lot of vendors selling a dizzying palate of colors, but Verdure had the most distinct variety of flavors. Four types of yellow/white tomatoes were each so different that they could be easily distinguished with eyes closed. Ditto for the five different orange tomatoes … some meaty with both a surprising acidic and sweet flavor … others delicate in flavor. I swear there was one tomato with a hint of lavendar in it. One white tomato had a hint of, well, socks, but when paired with the basil … oh my ... it really rang my chow bells ... loudly. The prettiest tomato was one of those green tomatoes that is supposed to be green when ripe. When cut open, there was a beautiful blush of pink in the center. Driving into the small dirt parking lot surrounded by the farm … it didn’t look like much. “This is heaven?”, I thought. The modest stand is shaded by a huge olive tree and a canvas tarp with a small sign attatched that says "Tomato Heaven'. It is just a few tables, about the size of the average farmers market vendor. There were only about a dozen crates. However, each box held three to five different varieties. I wish they were labeled but the pleasant woman at the stand knew each and every name, no matter how similar they looked. The two apples were very nice with an interesting dense yet juicy texture. The Fameuse (snow apple) is described as http://www.treesofantiquity.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=120 “One of the oldest and most desirable dessert apples, a parent of the aromatic McIntosh. Flesh is tender, spicy, distinctive in flavor” I completely forgot to stop by The Tomato Patch Geyserville which has been reported on this board and described by one chef as having the world’s greatest tomatoes http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/651339 I have to wonder if they could possible beat the tomatoes from heaven? Tomato Heaven is open until November. Verdure Farm - Tomato Heaven 2476 Westside Rd, Healdsburg, CA 95448 707 433 1403 Late July through November, every day 11-6 Wed Oct 07 14:06:53 -0700 2009 10264 rworange 1 5086527 Nice. I wonder if doing both this and the Crane Melon Barn in a day would be doable--aren't they (the melon barn) doing a tour this Saturday? Wed Oct 07 14:39:56 -0700 2009 5086412 21142 abstractpoet 2 5086599 Yes. This weekend is the tour. It would be easy to do both. That was my plan and then I got lost, as usual, in Santa Rosa. That Farm Trails book is really deceptive. Don't rely on their maps to actually find a place. This is the second time I got lost using it. I didn't get to Verdure until 2 pm, then I walked around Downtown Healdsburg a bit and stopped at another farmstand. So it was late in the day when I got lost and I figured by that time I wouldn't make it to Crane Melon barn before it closed. There are a few pumpkin patches along Petaluma Hill road I want to check out, so I might give it another try. Wed Oct 07 15:06:39 -0700 2009 5086527 10264 rworange 3 5086641 Alas, the actual walking tour for Crane Melon Barn appears to be completely booked. But I suppose it might still be worth it just to go up to the barn itself. These tomatoes sound great, and I always love the Healdsburg wineries for tastings too. Wed Oct 07 15:19:16 -0700 2009 5086599 21142 abstractpoet 1 5098863 Boy, you weren't kidding about the socksy whites--those are some of the funkiest tomatoes I've tasted. You could also like them to sweaty gym shorts, with a slight undertone of chlorine. They weren't altogether unpleasant...but I'll admit I did find them a little bit unpleasant, even with the basil. Did you, by any chance, find out what these are called, rworange? In any case, this is a great little stand. Among the tomatoes, my favorites were the juicy greens and a crisp bi-colored orange and yellow, which was super sweet and beautiful when sliced. Dry-farmed early girls were very good too. Quite a haul. We also bought a Bosc pear and a sweet red pepper the woman said she'd just picked. Haven't tried either of those yet. Tue Oct 13 01:31:33 -0700 2009 5086412 21142 abstractpoet 2 5099664 Heh. No there were too many unmarked varieties and I'm more of a visual person so if I see the name written down I remember it. I'll have to ask the story on that tomato next time. IIRC, they were Roma sized and I bought three. I kept thinking ... do they really taste this way? Doesn't sound like the lemon flavored tomato was there on your visit. That is the one I really want to get the name. Anyway, glad you liked the place. Tue Oct 13 09:43:09 -0700 2009 5098863 10264 rworange 3 5099806 Yeah, they were somewhat on the small side, and the two that we got both had that funky smell/taste--I think the smell was even stronger than the taste. The lemon ones may very well have been there, but we just grabbed a random assortment, including a couple that the woman recommended particularly. Tue Oct 13 10:23:40 -0700 2009 5099664 21142 abstractpoet 4 5160139 I went back Sunday and it seems like the funky tomatoes may have been something that cross-bred. It wasn't on purpose Speaking of cross-breeding and mystery produce, I bought a lot of the different varietis pf eggplant which included a bright yellow one. I ate the mutant yellow eggplant http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/665097 I made a final run of the seasonal farmstands. Many had tomatoes, but they looked pale ... .like the ghosts of summer tomatoes past The only exceptions were Tomato Heaven and Tierra. Tierra only had one variety, but Tomato Heaven still had quite a few varieties. As far as, cherry tomatoes, the favorites of the owner were the Rose Quartz. They were good but whatever the orange cherry tomatoes were they were my favorite. The eggplant, all five varieties, and mutant yellow eggplant were quite good. The peppers were really beautiful as well but I haven't tried them yet. Thu Nov 05 23:40:55 -0800 2009 5099806 10264 rworange