Downtown Long Beach Farmers Market
Fridays, 10-4
Between 4th and 5th streets, East of Pine
The first installment of my weekly farmers market adventure was the surprisingly eclectic one held in downtown Long Beach. Though I am a Long Beach native, I had not yet visited the market near the recently built up and gentrified Pine area, and I was pleasantly surprised at how expansive it was both in size and offerings.
The market is held smack in the middle of a Friday, so the area was heavy with car and pedestrian traffic, but there is a wealth of metered parking around so one can easily stop in for lunch. The two block long event was quite jovial with its balloons and bannered light posts, not to mention the flutist playing Simon and Garfunkel tunes on the corner. Of course this market had the usual fresh produce options at prices and qualities that make us into farmerâs market patrons in the first place. The pluots were juicy, the apples crisp, the kettle corn irresistible. One vendor boldly claimed he was selling the best tasting apples on earth, and they turned out to be pretty good, as far as apples go.
Slightly more unique however were the prepared food offerings. Aside from the usual roasted corn and a slightly uninspired but dependable hot dog, I was very impressed by booths selling smoked and BBQ beef or pork sandwiches, and homemade tamales. As I consider myself a tamale connoisseur, I bought a chicken filled one from Me Gusta, a company proudly announcing their tamales were freshly handmade daily. For three dollars I got a satisfying tamale with especially moist masa and both green and red sauce. Another vendor served up fried and roasted chicken plates, coating the surrounding air with smells that made my bag of organically grown fruit seem healthy though dull.
In addition to the food, there was a craft fair attached to the farmers market. Clothes, jewelry, plants and face painting booths lined the closed off street, benefiting from the crowds the farmerâs market was drawing. One man selling beautiful bonsai trees said he sold them exclusively at the Long Beach farmerâs market. Another had adorable cacti and succulent cuts.
While the huge and hugely popular farmers markets like Santa Monicaâs at 3rd Street Promenade offer some of the best produce and selection I have yet seen, the Long Beach farmerâs market was not too shabby. Plus, there was Mexican food and I only had to walk half a block to my car, which would be a miracle in Santa Monica. All that was really missing was some sunshine, but maybe next week.
Photos by Shelby Chambers
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