Every Friday from 3:00PM - 6:00PM you canstroll through the various vendors of whole food products. This little outdoor market has been growing in popularity and increasing in size since it began a few years ago. All of the agricultural vendors are certified organic and all are from local family farms around San Diego. You can find great little gems here that are very hard to find anywhere else and even if you did, it would cost you an arm and a leg. Here, only a leg. I usually stroll through for the heirloom tomatoes a farm in Vista grows and a baguette from the Bread & Cie table. The Heirloom tomato's are by far the best tasting tomato anywhere and I would bet my can of San Marzano's on them being, well, better than the stuff from San Marzano. Just really fresh and bursting with flavor. Check these pictures out of a box of heirlooms. Ugly little buggers, but they make up for it with there taste and texture. Firm and smooth, not to much acid and not as strong in flavor as a San Marzano. Kinda medium taste and a little tart. I love them.
Little ugly pumpkin looking tomatoes. But worth seeking out. You can find everything here from Thai chili plants to flowers. 
Lots of flowers.
Olive Oil from Temecula.
And tons of fresh seasonal locally grown fruits and vegetables. The selection is always at it's peek when I go to the market. Here are a few more picks of the pickings.
Let's hope that the city of La Mesa doesn't ruin this great little farmers market like they did with the Oktoberfest that is held here every year. They took a German beer drinking festival and turned it into a craft fair. Lot's of crochet pot holders and tie dye, but very little lederhosen.
Not to crowded yet and a nice European feel to it, And by the way, after strolling through the market you can always go across the street and have a bite at All' Italiana or maybe a brew at that classic little and I mean little dive bar, Joe & Andy's.
Fresh picked peppers and unusual zucchini, some large
And some baby ones with blossoms still attached. I brought some of these back to the foodopolis test kitchen and they were outstanding. 
So skip out of work early next Friday and stroll through the La Mesa Village. You know some times it ain't so bad having your office in East County. You just have to know where to look for the cool stuff.
La Mesa Farmers Market
Every Friday from 3pm-6pm
Chow
Michael
2 comments:
Hi Michael... I'm working on an article on the La Mesa Farmer's Market and was wondering if I could interview you since you've been there and seem to have had a good experience. If so, please send me an email ASAP at jerums518@hotmail.com. Thanks!
How neat! I've been wanting to visit a Farmer's Market and came across a photo at Fickr, which let me to search more about this place. I found your blog. I will have to go visit sometime. Thanks for blogging about it.
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