Hillcrest Farmer’s Market

The Sunday Morning Hillcrest Farmer’s Market is on of the best Farmer’s Markets in San Diego County. It used to be held in the parking lot of the Department of Motor Vehicles near the corner of Park and University, on the east edge of Hillcrest. However, the market continued to grow and the surrounding parking wasn’t ample, so now the market is held on a long block of Park Boulevard, and the parking lot has returned to it’s usual purpose.

At the market there is a huge array of natural, organic, and always-local produce stands, selling everything form tropical fruits to Mediterranean delights, to heirloom varietals, to the basics. There is a mushroom booth, a nuts and grains booth, and a tea booth, as well. There are also a great number of prepared foods, to eat at the market or to take home. There is granola, olives, specialty olive oils, artisan cheeses, samosas, agua fresca, and many more.

My personal favorite prepared food booths are Gourmet Tamales from Carlsbad, and Guanni Chocolates from Fallbrook. The tamales are $2.50 each, which at first seems expensive, until you see how huge they are. One tamale is a full meal, and then the price seems fair. But when you bite into them you realize they are actually a bargain because the ingredients are incredibly fresh and high quality, with flavors like spinach feta, potato cilantro, and poblano in sweet corn. Guanni chocolates provide a similar experience, except sweet instead of savory. Again they seem expensive when you see only the price, but they are delightfully enormous, and when you bite into the decadent flavors you feel like you should be on a credit card commercial oohing and aahing over how priceless this chocolate experience is.

The market also hosts a number of craft booths, which range in products and quality. I would prefer that these booths be limited to hand-made goods by local artists and craftsmen, but the yare not. This means that some booths offer locally made products, but others offer goods imported. Some of these imported goods are nice products, but I think that these products are not appropriately sold at a farmer’s market. Still, the range of products by local artisans includes handmade books, beautifully crafted scarves, clothes such as skirts, shirts, and dresses, and jewelry.

The must-tries include the heirloom tomatoes and watermelon, the fresh herbs, the exotic fruits, the chocolate, and tamales. Bring your grocery list, because the farmer’s market is one of the best places to stock up on all your basics. You can’t beat the freshness, and the prices are great, too.