I have some back posting to do about Sonoma. But I don’t want to get too behind on the season. If you’ve been paying attention to my twittering, you knew that on Saturday morning, instead of roaming the Pasadena market in the wee hours of the morning, I was planted firmly in a seat at the Springbok Bar in Van Nuys for a breakfast broadcast of rugby’s Heineken Cup. I was surrounded by the angry an jubilant United Nations of rugby fandom, all while consuming South African Boer sausage, bacon, eggs, roasted tomato, and toast. JJ is an ardent rugby fan, so Saturday morning was all for him. I’d have to settle for the Sunday market in Hollywood. Darn.
We’ve been hit with some slightly unseasonal weather in the southland – chilly wind, rain, hail, and snow. There were snowball fights in Baldwin Park. Thankfully, it started to clear up a touch this morning, making for some really pretty skies.
I love this about the Hollywood Market – they label their produce by variety. Castlebrites. Blenheims. Rainiers. It’s a great launching pad for conversation. I saw Plumcots and Apriums side by side and finally got an answer to the question that’s been plaguing me for a year – what the heck is the difference? Turns out the Plumcot Is a straight 50/50 cross. The Aprium is about 75/25. Voila.
Albion strawberries – it says ‘alvion’ but I’ve seen worse misnaming. Albions are a pretty new variety on the scene. People seem to really love them because, well, look at them. Consistently uniform shape and almost perfect red coloring. The hold up well, which makes them a fav of the farmers. It’s sweet. Has good acid balance. Plays nice in the fields. Many growers are already predicting that this berry will eclipse other established varieties in a few years. My one taste was of a firm fleshed berry, but not dry. Definitely sweet with just enough bite to remind you that you aren’t sucking on a sugar packet. Hm I says! Hm!
I haven’t seen mulberries at any of our markets, but then I know a mess of locals who have their own trees and don’t mind sharing. That said? I’ve never had mulberries that were the length and thickness of my index finger, like those pictured above. It’s a touch early yet for good mulberries, but these were downright tasty, if a bit odd on the mouth. They were almost…unseemly. Ahem.
I love the Pasadena market. I do. It’s home. But sometimes visiting the larger ones like Hollywood makes me yearn, yearn I say, for the sheer variety. We get the standard greens and such at Pasadena. And they’re good. But I counted almost 10 varieties of kale at one table here. Mustard greens? My mind did a quick lap around the pool of possibility. I think Pasadena could handle the variety. Maybe. Someday. Until then, I guess I’m going to have to make the occasional trek west.
As if you needed further proof of summer’s arrival. Yes. I know. It’s summer. Got the memo, you say. I figure once I start seeing the $1 bunches of basil and a rainbow of heirloom tomatoes, I can cling to spring for a bit. But when the bell peppers start going rainbow on me, I know I’ve got maybe a week or two left.
Stopped by Groundwork at the corner of Sunset and Cahuenga southwest of the market. It’s gone through a few changes since I was last here, but the Spanish Latte pictured above didn’t betray that anything was amiss. They made it with a dab of condensed milk – no sweetening required. Almost caramely and very very smooth. I wandered a bit, checking out the walk of fame, then zipped back east to unload my haul.
Hollywood Farmers’ Market
Corner of Ivar Avenue and Selma
Sundays, 8AM-1PM
