Farmers Market Update: UCSF Mission Bay
If there is one thing I never do it is skip my weekend Farmers Market trip, but today I am skipping it. The weather is beautiful in Northern California and I am spending the weekend hiking, eating and drinking in Tahoe with family. It’s Mother’s Day, it’s springtime and, mostly, I really need a vacation. Don’t worry, when I get back I will be able to pick up enough vegetables at Bi-Rite Market to last me until the UCSF Mission Bay farmers market on Wednesday (10am – 3pm), so my healthstyle will not suffer.
In the meantime I want to share with you some details of the Mission Bay farmers market, which has been an absolutely splendid addition to our quiet campus since it opened on Earth Day. Although the market is rather small, the quality and variety of the vendors makes it always worth a trip.
I love the exotic Asian greens available at Her Farm, where I found these beautiful baby spring onions. Other vendors offer more traditional seasonal produce, like jumbo artichokes and purple cabbages.
Fruits are also plentiful, and I have found some amazingly sweet strawberries (3 different varieties) and juicy navel oranges (only $1/lb!!). New this week were apricots–still a little tart–which are the first stone fruits to appear at this market (cherries showed up at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market last week). Summer is so close I can almost taste it!
Probably the coolest thing about the new market is all the artisan vendors selling homemade pasta, cured olives, nuts, smoked fish, raw honey, fresh tofu, crusty breads, Mediterranean dishes and vegan cookies. Though some of these sellers only come every other week, their presence really transforms the market from a simple vegetable stand into a true artisan marketplace where you can compose full gourmet meals using high-quality local ingredients.
Tell us what you’re eating for Mother’s Day!
Well, I guess its true that the rich just get richer. You have the greatest farmers market on the west coast, and now you have another one at school. Good for you UCSF students though!
LOL, funny to think of grad students and scientists as rich, don’t you think?
Great lookin onions. Was this market as bustling as the ferry plaza?
It was busy, but not even close to the same scale as the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.
Wow. It’s true that CA has some of the most wonderful farmers’ markets. Those artichokes look absolutely perfect! We are finally reaching the season for outdoor farmers’ markets here in the Northeast. I can’t wait!
It’s true, we are spoiled in CA with our farmers markets. Glad your season is coming up, come back and let us know what you find!