Farm to Market

WARNING: This legless cow is slippery when wet, apparently.

While I'm happy where I live now, there are are plenty of things I miss about San Francisco and Northern California. Too numerous to completely list here, those things include: the vast selection of bulk wet and dry goods at Rainbow Grocery, sunny strolls to our formerly-local farmers' market, grabbing some lunch by the water and picking up edible treats from Boccalone and Cowgirl Creamery at The Ferry Building Marketplace, easy access to Lev's Original Kombucha. Ah, nostalgia.

Like I said, I'm happy here in SoCal. I still get my walking distance farmers' market, and there is a great  walk/bike distance produce stand open every day. If I have a complaint it is that acquiring much of my family's food involves a drive. Asian markets and meat vendors are spread out and away. And where are the bulk items?

This brings us to Farm to Market. I've seen Yelpies compare Farm to Market to Rainbow Grocery, but ...  well, no. It's more like the little neighborhood organic/natural/health food convenience stores scattered around SF but Farm to Market is larger and sells Harris Ranch Beef. The produce is priced well, but there is better produce up the road and closer to home. The upside is that they do have a decent-if-limited bulk section. It's good for picking up some kitchen staples and even has some items I haven't run into elsewhere, or have simply missed, like tomato powder. They also have a large selection of grocery items that were everywhere in SF but most stores around here don't carry. So, a couple more pieces of the puzzle come together: Bulk and hard to find organic/natural items. It's no Rainbow Grocery, but it will have to do.

I still have to drive a bit to get everything my kitchen needs, but I'll take warm weather over convenience, thanks. And where in SF do I get to see a weird fake legless cow when I stock up on bulk items? Oh, Orange County.

Coffee that conveys a thought or feeling? Or maybe it just arrives quickly? E-S-P-R-E-S-S-O, folks. Yeesh.