San Diego Farmer's Markets

Taken Mostly from the San Diego Farm Bureau's Website

TUESDAY

Coronado - 2:30 to 6 p.m.
Old Ferry Landing at First St and B Ave
Manager: Mary Hillebrecht (760) 741-3763

Escondido - 2:30 to dark (effective Oct. 3)
Grand Ave between Broadway and Kalmia St
Manager: Debra Rosen (760) 745-8877
Website: www.downtownescondido.com/events/farmers_market

UCSD/La Jolla - 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Sept thru June)
UCSD Price Center near the bookstore at Lyman Lane and
Library Walk
Manager: Bonnie Harmon or Christine Woolery (858) 534-4248
or via e-mail at bharmon@ucsd.edu

WEDNESDAY

Carlsbad - 2 to 5 p.m.
Roosevelt St between Grand Ave and Carlsbad Village Dr
Manager: Christy Johnson (760) 434-2553 Cell (760) 687-6453
or via e-mail at info@shopcarlsbadvillage.org
Website: www.shopcarlsbadvillage.org/events/farmersmarket.html

Ocean Beach - 4 to 7 p.m. (8 p.m. in summer)
4900 block of Newport Ave between Cable St and Bacon St
Manager: David Klaman (619) 279-0032

Temecula - 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Promenade Mall accross from Edwards Theatres
Manager: Gayle Cunningham (760) 728-7343
or via e-mail at gcfarm123@aol.com
Website: www.temeculafarmersmarket.com

THURSDAY

Chula Vista - 3 to 6 p.m. (7 p.m. in summer)
Downtown Chula Vista at Center St and Third Ave
Manager: John Ward (619) 422-1982

Horton Square/San Diego - 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Mar thru Oct)
Downtown San Diego at 225 Broadway and Broadway Circle
Manager: Mary Hillebrecht (760) 741-3763

North Park
Reopening Thursday, June 21, 2007
3 p.m. to sunset (Spring-Summer); 2 p.m.-dark (Fall-Winter)
CVS Pharmacy parking lot at University and 32nd streets
Manager: David Larson (619) 237-1632
or via email at drlinbaja@hotmail.com

Oceanside - 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Pier View Way between Coast Hwy and Ditmar St
Manager: Suzanne Bendixen (619) 440-5027

FRIDAY

Borrego Springs - 7 a.m. to noon (Nov thru May)
Christmas Circle Community Park at Christmas Circle and
Palm Canyon Dr
Manager: Erica Savage (760) 767-5555

Clairemont Mesa - 3:30 to 7 p.m.
Ray Kroc Middle School
5050 Conrad Stree
Clairemont Mesa and Highway 805
Manager: Susan G. Beach (858) 272-4267

La Mesa - 3 to 6 p.m.
8300 block of Allison Ave east of Spring St
Manager: Suzanne Bendixen (619) 440-5027

North Pacific Beach - 3 to 6 p.m. (7 p.m. Mar. thru Oct)
Corner of Cass St and Chalcedony
Manager: Ron LaChance (858) 272-7054

Rancho Bernardo - 9 a.m. to noon
Bernardo Winery parking lot at 13330 Paseo del Verano Norte
Manager: Mike Machor (760) 723-2469
or via email at rexranch@att.net

SATURDAY

Carlsbad - 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Roosevelt St between Grand Ave and Carlsbad Village Dr
Manager: Christy Johnson (760) 434-2553
or via e-mail at info@shopcarlsbadvillage.org
Website: www.shopcarlsbadvillage.org/events/farmersmarket.html

Del Mar - 1 to 4 p.m
City hall parking lot at Camino Del Mar between 10th St and
11th St
Manager: Alan Usery (760) 727-1471

Pacific Beach - 8 a.m. to noon
Promenade Mall on Mission Blvd between Reed and Pacific
Beach Blvd
Manager: Mary Hillebrecht (760) 741-3763

Poway - 8 a.m to noon
Old Poway Park at Midland Rd and Temple
Manager: Suzanne Bendixen (619) 440-5027

Scripps Ranch - 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Ellen Browning Scripps Elementary School
10380 Spring Canyon Rd
Manager: Bev & Mike Cassity (858) 586-7933
Website: www.scrippsranchfarmersmarket.com

South Park - 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Corner of 30th & A Streetsl
Albert Einstein Academy playground
Manager: Darcy Young (858) 405-6086
Website: www.southparkmarket.com

Temecula - 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Old Town Temecula at 6th and Front Street
Manager: Gayle Cunningham (760) 728-7343
or via e-mail at gcfarm123@aol.com
Website:www.temeculafarmersmarket.com

University City - 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. TEMPORARILY CLOSED
Spreckels Elementary School
6033 Stadium Street, San Diego 92122
Manager: Mike Echavarry (619) 729-4333
or via e-mail at mike_echavarry@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.openairemarkets.com

Vista - 7:45 a.m. to 11 a.m.
City hall parking lot at Eucalyptus Ave and Escondido Ave
Manager: Margo Baughman (760) 726-8545
or via e-mail at baughman@tfb.com

SUNDAY

Hillcrest - 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
DMV parking lot at 3960 Normal St and Lincoln St
Manager: David Larson (619) 237-1632
or via e-mail at drlinbaja@hotmail.com

La Jolla - 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
La Jolla Elementary School at Girard Ave and Genter
Manager: Darcy Young (858) 405-6086
or via e-mail at darcyyoung@verizon.net
Website: www.lajollamarket.com

Leucadia/Encinitas - 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Paul Ecke Elementary at Union St and Vulcan St
Manager: Ron La Chance (858) 272-7054

Solana Beach - 2 to 5 p.m.
410 to 444 South Cedros Ave at Rosa St
Manager: Barry Koral (760) 631-0200 or (760) 455-1261

Third Avenue/San Diego - 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Downtown San Diego at Third Ave and J St
Manager: David Klaman (619) 279-0032

Gourmet Tamales

Gourmet Tamales is a small family-run business based in Oceanside. They sell their tamales at farmer’s markets around San Diego, and even up into Orange County and LA. Their flavors include sweet corn and scallion (simple, but one of my favorites), spicy black bean (flavorful, but not really spicy), green mole and vegetables, feta and spinach, poblano and cheese, chile relleno (similar to the poblano), Tinga (spicy chicken), beef, and dessert tamales like pumpkin, apple-strawberry, and pineapple. This is not even half of their flavors.

They do not use lard; they make their masa with olive oil. They also use onion broth to make their masa, giving all their tamales a light and delicate flavor with a hint of sweetness that complements the savory flavors. Their dessert tamales, luckily, are not made with broth, but instead are made with apple juice, again adding flavor and sweetness.

The tamales run $7 for a pack of three, which adds up quickly but is well worth it. I always keep several flavors on hand in my freezer as they make a quick and delicious meal for about $2.50 that puts to shame anything you can get from the frozen department of the grocery store. You simply wrap your tamale in a wet paper towel and microwave up to 5 minutes. I emerges steaming hot and ready to eat. You can also steam your tamales if you are not in rush.

You can buy Gourmet Tamales at these farmer’s markets in San Diego County:

Sunday
Hillcrest
Encinitas
Solana Beach

Tuesday
Escondido

Wednesday
Ocean Beach

Thursday
Chula Vista

Friday
Rancho Bernardo

Saturday
Vista
Del Mar

Gourmet Tamales
760-402-0805

Where's the Cheese?

Upon my return from Spain, and after the delicious and decadent cheese adventure I had there, I decided to seek out San Diego cheese, or at least Southern California Cheese.

But alas! I have had a very hard time finding it. I have found cheese from Humbolt (Cypress Grove Chevre), and I have found cheese from Sonoma (Bellweather Farms Fromage Blanc), and I can find cheese from Spain and France and England and Holland, but in all my searching I could not find any San Diego Cheese. The cheeses above can be found at People's Co-op (www.obpeoplesfood.coop) or Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's has a good selection, too.

I have never seen San Diego cheese at the Hillcrest Farmer's Market, which is the largest farmer's market I have found in San Diego. Until Earth day 2007. For the first time I saw Southern California cheese. It wasn't from San Diego County, but it was from LA County, which is closer from Sonoma, which was all I could find until now.

Winchester Gouda is a farmhouse-style American Gouda made by Valerie and David Thomas in Winchester, California. And it is GOUD. I had never heard of "sharp" gouda before, but now I have. And I can buy it at the Hillcrest Farmer's Market.

I also enquired at my new favorite restaurant, Spread (www.spreadtherestaruant.com) about where they obtain their delivered-daily-fresh-cheese. They would only tell me the creamery doesn't sell to the public. But the owner of Spread did say "everyday more sophisticated people are moving to this town," and that means more sophisticated palates, which means when we reach a sophisticated critical mass, I will have the San Diego Cheese I am dreaming of.

Spread – revised


After my return to Spread the Restaurant for the first time in about a year, I am happy to report that changes have been made. Not that it wasn’t good to begin with (it was), but now it’s even better.

They have changed their serving style to be more in the tapas approach. Each dish is served individually, set in the middle of the table, and all diners try everything. The menu still changes daily, as the chef-owners shop for fresh produce to feature, as it is available and in season. The highlight of our night was the flowering herbs that were interspersed or sprinkled on top of almost every dish. Who doesn’t like to eat flowers? It’s what they serve in heaven, alongside the milk and honey.

We started with drinks, made with fresh squeezed juice and top shelf liquor. It was citrus season, so we had blood orange juice and oro blanco (AKA grapefruit) mixed with champagne and sweet potato vodka, respectively. Then we had a wilted spinach salad with an avocado vinaigrette and flowering herbs. Divine!

We then had a fresh, house made pasta with wild mushrooms and flowering herbs headlining. Third course was a potpie made with corn bread crouton as the crust, and again featuring wild mushroom and other in season vegetables. I don’t even like mushrooms, and this pie was amazing. For dessert, we had a creamed ricotta (delivered daily to Spread) with a caramelized fruit topping. It was simple, but it was out of this world!

The grand total for this 4-(small)-course meal with drinks: $35 a person (after tax and tip). You really can’t beat it. However, they did stop with their peanut butter samples, it seems. Still, I recommend going to Spread first chance you get for this divine and continually evolving restaurant.

Spread
2879 University Avenue
San Diego, California 92104
Tel. (619) 543-0406

Tuesday through Saturday evenings from 5:30pm-11pm
Sunday brunch 10am-3pm

Whole Foods La Jolla


Well, it’s not like they need the publicity, but I go there regularly, so I thought I’d write them up anyway. Whole Foods La Jolla is a great place for a quick meal. It’s not somewhere you’d go on a romantic date or anything, but they have a hot food bar, a cold food bar (including salad, of course), pizza, soups, sandwiches, drinks, snacks, and even produce! It is a pretty normal sized grocery store (for the United States… HUGE for the rest of the world), but the emphasis on prepared foods is much more than your average store. This is what makes it so good for a meal.

They have meat choices as well as vegetarian; they are healthy and wholesome, but not always good for you. I almost always get one of their soups, but I am a soup lover. I recommend their tomato soup – either of their tomato soups, to be exact. They have everything from a roasted tomato basil soup, which is very heart healthy, to their creamy tomato basil soup, which is a delicious artery clogger. They usually have some kind of chicken soup (like chicken noodle), and a bean based soup (like lentil or split pea). They don’t have anything too unusual, but they still never disappoint.

While I recommend Whole Foods for a meal, I do not suggest you do your regular shopping there. Their grocery prices are very high. If I did regular shopping there, I’d be able to eat one week out of the month. They have a great selection, and offer high quality products, but they are not a good value.

The parking lot is a nightmare- always overcrowded. And the whole mall is like that, so you can’t even head to the back of the lot because it’s full, too. I recommend going at non-peak hours (in other words avoiding the lunch rush and after-work rush). Also beware when you leave the parking lot; if you are going northbound in I5, you must exit form the far side of the mall and go north one block to La Jolla Village Drive. You can not access I5 northbound from Nobel.

Whole Foods Market
8825 Villa La Jolla Dr
La Jolla (San Diego!), CA 92037
(858) 642-6700

Torrey Pines State Park


Torry Pines State Park is one of the most beautiful vistas in San Diego. Nestled in between University of California San Diego on the north end of La Jolla (just to the park's south) and Del Mar just to the park's north, the park is well marked off of Pacific Coast Highway. This urban escape can't be closer to civilization, yet from the trails all you see is the rare Torrey Pine (native to this small stretch of coast) and the ocean.

Once on the trails you are guaranteed to see other hikers. Still, the trails are extensive, with lots of benches and decks jutting off the main trails throughout the park, so you can take a moment to step off the main routes and have a little (semi) privacy. None-the-less, the views are rewarding, the air crisp and fresh, and the scenery beautiful. The wildflowers bloom here in the spring and there are some interesting cactuses and land formations, like the eroded sand that makes beautiful patterns.

The trails total to about 7 or 8 miles, and you can loop around to create several different routes. From the parking lot you can hike up the road (or drive and start from the lot at the top), and take quite a few short loops to see maintained gardens with plants of interest marked, or you can venture out on the the larger loops that ascend and descend a couple of times. You can hike down to the beach from the top of the park. However, I don't recommend to start at the beach because unless there are crowds of people hiking you may not be able to find the entrance. I tried this once and ended up in a scary predicament climbing a eroding wall and endangering myself as well as breaking park rules and hiking off trail through sensitive habitat, both of which I could have done without.

On a clear day you will be able to watch gliders hanging from the clouds as the La Jolla glider port isn't too far away. From the far southern edge of the park you can also (unfortunately) see the Torrey Pines golf course, a glaring green against the natural subdued colors. Still, this park is a great city escape for an afternoon hike or all day escapade. I recommend bringing a picnic and hiking down to one of the benches on the cliffs for a day you won't want to end and view you won't forget.

Cowles Mountain



Cowles Mountain (or Mount Cowles) is a great San Diego hike, part of the larger Mission Trails Park. The Mount Cowles is a great urban escape, head east on I8, exit College Avenue and go north (away from San Diego State University). Follow the road as it curves and changes names until you reach Navajo, and turn right. This road curves through some cute (though suburban) neighborhoods until you reach Mount Cowles on your left. Keep a sharp look out for the entrance at the stoplight. The parking will be on your right as you make the left turn off Navajo.

From here, you start the hike. It's pretty much ascent and descent. The whole hike should take about one and a half to two hours, depending on how fast you go. Some people run the whole thing and complete it in under and hour. I'm not quite there yet. You are guaranteed to pass other hikers while you hike, no matter what time or what day. Still, the trails are fun and the hikers are friendly.

At the top you are rewarded with amazing views of San Diego County in all directions. On a clear day you can see well into Mexico. There is a back route that you can take all the way down into Santee, and another that emerges off of Navajo a little further east.

A more adventurous option is to go to Cowles at night, by the light of the full moon. This is a popular hike and even after dark you will encounter other hikers. A fun option to this great easy escape!

Spread

This North Park restaurant, located on University Avenue just west of 30th next door to the remodeled theater and across from Clare de Lunes.

This is one of the few locavore restaurants that is also vegetarian. They use eggs and dairy, but not meat. The decor seems to be in transition; it began as a funky pop place, with plastic chairs and flatware, and live DJs on the weekends, even during brunch. They seem to be moving towards something more classic modern, with large square (ceramic) plates that are used to make beautiful food displays.

The food is inspired and fresh, with their daily menu changing as the seasons change. I most recommend the breakfasts, with a few staples like spicy Thai omelettes and almond French toast, and specials like purple potato breakfast tacos. Whatever you order, they serve water fro ma pitcher filled to the brim with the seasons finest fruits and herbs, from watermelon and rose petals to rosemary and citrus.

Did I mention that peanut and other nut butters are their specialty? They actually started out as a gourmet peanut butter company, selling exclusively at farmers markets. Now they include these gourmet nut butters in many of their recipes, like the chili lime peanut butter that makes their omelette spicy and Thai. And the almond butter that makes their French toast nutty.

While you wait for your meal they usually bring out a sampler plate with a nibble of several different flavors of the nut butters to try while you wait. They are fun and delicious, and it's great marketing because I inevitably buy one before leaving.

The prices for the menu are average, though the nut butter are a bit inflated. Overall, it is a highly recommended find in San Diego locavore dining.

Spread: 2879 University Avenue • San Diego, California 92104 • Tel. (619) 543-0406.