la.foodblogging

One of our weekend rituals is to head down to the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market on Sunday morning. We don’t go so much for the produce, as for the prepared food and to relax on the grass. Our first stop upon arrival is at the Groundwork stand for some iced tea or coffee.

After we have our drinks, it’s time to divide and conquer as we do a fly by on all of the food stands. More often that not, I go straight to Carbon Grill to get a hearty breakfast wrap loaded with grilled chicken, eggs, onions, guac, salsa and cheese. The chicken is incredibly flavorful and the meal can last me all day. Other options from around the market include sausages, crepes, omelettes, pancakes and a variety of similar treats.

My wife has become addicted to the Corn Maiden tamales and this past weekend I joined her in her tamale quest. We left the stand with four different bundles of corn husk goodness. There was a spinach and artichoke, a chicken and cheese, a blue corn with green chile and a black bean, scallion and cheese tamale. The tomatillo and chipotle salsa was ladled on top and we were on our way.

This week I also splurged and picked up orange juice which was literally squeezed right in front of me. $3 for 16oz and it’s not filtered, so it has all the pulp that I love, plus a few orange chunks here and there.

Although Rockenwagner is closing, I assume that they will keep their baked good stand, so if you are looking for a chocolate croissant, you can stop by here.

Central to this market are the pony rides. Sometimes there are pony ride protesters and on more than one occasion I have seen the police step in to separate the angry protesters from the protective parents, with confused kids crying for reasons they don’t understand.

Every week there is different music, ranging from jazz to brazilian to an all percussion band with humungous wood drum and xylophone type intruments. The music always sets a great tone for the market and kids and adults alike move to the beats.

The market is a fun, funky community gathering. Sitting on the grass, rubbing elbows with your neighbors certainly takes you away from the city setting we live in. We try to go as often as we can and miss it when we haven’t been in a while. Plus the food is great and cheap too!

Santa Monica Sunday Farmer’s Market
Every Sunday Until 1PM
At the corner of Main and Ocean Park in Santa Monica

By Jonah (see more of his posts). Jonah is the founder of la.foodblogging and also created Digesty, a food blog aggregator and Cheww.com, a spam free foodblog search engine.