Let’s start off saying that the Little Italy Mercato
is the real deal. Reminiscent of a true old world market, Little Italy closes
down multiple blocks to attract quality farmers, vendors, artists, craftsmen,
and musicians to their neighborhood. This weekly event rivals not only other
large scale local farmer’s markets, but is about a beer garden and sound stage
short of a full on yearly street fair. (Note to local farmer’s markets: find a
way to get beer gardens.)
This Saturday morning walking down the packed blocks
in Little Italy I saw enough amazing musicians, tasted my share of stellar
food, and checked out a so many cool crafts to have weeks worth of features.
But let’s save that for another time because this week’s all about produce and
Little Italy had it’s fair share.
First I talked to Suzie’s Farm. Hard
to miss, they seem to be everywhere in San Diego. Not just the farmer’s markets, but also any farm-to-table
restaurant worth its salt in town, including Starlite, The Linkery, and
Alchemy, among a ton of others, get a fair share of their produce from Suzy’s.
They make the best of their San Diego farm situated down in the Tijuana River
valley near the border. Delivering their produce to local restaurants and even
boutique farming specific vegetable orders for local chefs set them a notch
above standard practice. But they keep finding ways to reach out.
Last month Suzie’s sponsored a campout weekend for
local chefs. They had farm tours, sat around the campfire, and made lots and
lots of stellar food. It’s not only great to know where your food comes from,
but get a chance to hang out and sing some campfire songs with them, too.
Meet my new friend:
Name: Caz
What
to try: “Everything. But our tomatoes are especially good now. Take them home,
slice them in half, dice up some of our basil here, then go down the row and
get some amazing cheese and add that in. A little balsamic and you’re ready to
go.”
And Caz isn’t kidding. These lush greens and
vegetables look awesome. But besides appreciating these vegetables as
impressive pieces of art, they can seem awfully intimidating if you’re not a
super chef. That’s why they offer great tips, like Caz’s, and a whole website
dedicated to recipes specifically for their produce. So, really everything is
good at Suzy’s.
Down the row my taste buds took a stop at Pudwill Berry Farms. Pudwill grows
their tasty berries up in Nimpomo, CA. After years of figuring out berry
farming techniques for their specific geography, Py and Randy Pudwill have
discovered berries for every season. Sweet and juicy berries are hardly limited
to the warm summer months with Pudwill at your market. On the stand today were
red raspberries, blackberries, and figs and I picked up a three pack of all of
them. I’m a complete berry fiend and blackberries are my especial favorite.
Meet the crew behind the counter:
What does everybody need to try, Jordan? "Golden raspberries.
But as you can see, they go pretty fast. Come early next time if you want to
get a taste."
With a year round growing system in Nipomo, Pudwill Farms
has berries dialed pretty well. And for their loyal CSA customers, they grow a
special batch of boutique berries. If only we could be so lucky.
Later that day, after a sever berry gorge out, I made my
favorite fig dish that I learned from my friend, stellar cook, and farmers
market hound, Ann. It’s very simple. Slice up the figs, shave some Parmesan
cheese over it and add some balsamic vinegar over the top. Take a bite and get
ready for lift off.
So if
you have not been to the Little Italy Mercado, put it on your immediate to do
list. It had only been a year since my last visit and I its growth blew me
away. For an old world market feel, grab a popsicle from the ice cream cart,
listen to some jams, and find every type of produce you need for your next big
meal or week’s grocery list.