Torrance Farmers Market
Charles H. Wilson Park, 2200 Crenshaw Blvd.
Tuesdays and Saturdays, 8am-1pm
I was recently told by someone, and very enthusiastically, that the Torrance farmers market on Crenshaw was the best they had ever been to. Until recently I had not even heard of it, let alone that it was worth taking the 405 and several minutes of driving surface streets to get to. In fear of sounding like a puff-piece author, it was indeed the best farmers market I have enjoyed to date, and I promise I didn’t take bribes from its coordinators to say so.
To start out with: abundant and entirely free parking directly adjacent to the event. I happened to visit on a Saturday, but this market is also open on Tuesdays, so if you are lunch-breaking in the vicinity, it would not take much effort in the parking department to stop in for lunch and groceries.
Before I ramble on about the wonderful quality and assortment of produce, I have to commend the overall layout of this particular farmers market. Instead of the usual singular strip or uncoordinated blob, this farmers market is in a dog bone type of shape with a wide center and two circles at the ends so that you can flow around it without retracing your steps or missing anything. The result is convenient, and probably maintains visibility for the many vendors.
One end of the market is entirely prepared food of a very impressive variety. Peruvian, Thai, Mexican, even a gentleman in a chef’s jacket preparing made-to-order crepes. The fresh lemonade line was predictably long considering the near-nineties temperature that afternoon. While the meals are not exactly as cheap as fast food, the portions, quality and taste justify the steeper prices. All of these mini-restaurants are situated around an inviting and shaded sitting area to facilitate eating, relaxing, and listening to the cool old guy play Bob Dylan covers.
Next came all of the specialty food booths, like a designer guacamole maker called Newfound Kitchen Co. Instead of guacamole, they make “Calimole” among other things, made entirely of California-grown, farmers-market-sold avocados. Also worth mentioning is the “fiesta salsa” by La Fiesta Movil, which combines the usual salsa ingredients with interesting additions such as black beans and avocado. They add jalapenos to your specified degree of heat right there as you watch. Besides being as fresh as possible, the salsa is tasty, enough so that I know people who travel back to Torrance just to restock.
Aside from the usual pita chip and jarred honey booths, there were egg vendors, homemade chocolates, designer cookies, and someone who calls himself the Cheese Man. There was even fresh tuna and tuna jerky for sale. A Frenchman, or a man pretending to be French, was selling French pastries and croissants, which looked good enough to justify the price.
If you never want to buy another peach from Ralphs again, then try one from Ken’s fruit stand. I always buy fruit at each market, but it’s obviously difficult to decide which vendor has the best to offer. I picked the most crowded fruit stand, which worked out in my favor. Another way to decide is to try the fruit, which they make excessively easy to do at the Torrance Farmers Market. While other markets are getting stingy with the samples, even putting up counter-intuitive “one sample per person” signs so you can’t compare products, here they have buffet style carts at almost every vendor. The fruit is labeled, toothpicks are provided, and little roofs keep the bugs away.
I should mention several instances of rare or unusual produce that I have not seen with frequency at every farmers market before. Many vendors had tiny, dark “sweet strawberries,” whose juiciness confounds our expectation for the typical giant, vibrant strawberries. There were tiny purple artichokes which one doesn’t always see, and quite a few fresh herb vendors with exotic varietals, like basil with tiny, soft leaves. Also impressive was the availability an
d selection of flowers at the market. Aside from fresh bouquets and herbs that are already pre-picked and bundled, there were seedlings and potted plants and flowers, an unusual find in such hot weather that would make their transport risky.
I honestly have no reason to go to Torrance in my everyday schedule — it’s one of those cities on the way to another city. However, I would go out of my way just to make the Torrance farmers market the one I proudly frequent. There is a reason for the full parking lot and crowded booths, just as there is definitely a reason that this review reads like a PR drafted description from the market’s own website.
Photos by Shelby Chambers
Subscribe to our RSS Feed And checkout our coffee competition to win a $30 gift voucher to your favourite coffee shop : click here
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
0 responses so far ↓
Subscribe to our RSS Feed and leave a comment to enter the commentator of the week competition and win a $20 Amazon.com gift voucher.
Leave a Comment