Rhubarb in SF or Marin?

[uberslop]

Help! I'm planning a mad Alsatian meal tomorrow, and have my sights set on a particular Alsatian rhubarb tart recipe -- but I can't find any rhubarb anywhere in the city -- does anyone know of any places that still have some rhubarb in the house?

Thanks!!!

[mrs bacon]

I was looking for it a couple weeks ago -- no luck. But I did get some frozen at Cal Mart in SF and it worked fine for my recipe.

[SteveG]

Thanks for the CalMart tip. I'm always surprised that CalMart & Bryan's carry odds and ends of unusual baking ingredients like almond paste or frozen Rhubarb. I wonder if there is that much demand in that neighborhood or if it is just that they have always carried those products, so people know to find them there. It's the unusual items that set the independent grocers apart from Safeway/Lucky, not just the high end butcher counters.

[dotMac]

I've purchased off-season rhubarb at the Nob Hill in Alameda. Perhaps other Nob Hills or Raleys also carry it?

[Brandon Nelson]

Field grown rhubarb is available in April and May. Hothouse grown product might be available to a local grocer, but it's a long shot. Rhubarb doesn't have the demand it once did.

[uberslop]

Thanks, guys! And: I know, I know -- but I thought maybe someone would know of some little grocer who was getting some from some little farmer who was "forcing" some winter rhubarb somewhere. Anything's possible out here.....

[Robert Lauriston]

It's possible, but around here these days the expensive restaurants that used to constitute the market for out-of-season vegetables are all into using what's seasonal.

[Robert Lauriston]

This time of year, I think you'd have to use frozen.