Mmmmm Citrus

On my first real day in S.F. we went to the best Farmer's Market ever. You have to be local and organic to sell your stuff. Generally, I don't really care if my food is organic, but I will say those two hours of sampling was the best way to start the morning. I did learn some interesting things wandering around there. For instance, did you know that jam falls in the gel/liquid rule for carry-on luggage? I do. I sampled some amazing jams and desperately wanted to take some home with me only to be informed that I would have to check my luggage to do so. I decided that I didn't need jelly that much, but I was highly impressed that the guy running the stand knew this. I wanted to ask him why he didn't sell smaller jars, but I realized that there were probably not that many people that were deterred from purchasing his product because of this federal regulation.

I had some of the best citrus here, comparable to the Citrus place in FL(!). Mandarin season had just begun so they were particularly amazing, sweet, and delish. We found the best stand for them - in the front to the left - and after snacking on the few we realized we would want more when we got home so we turned back to purchase a few more. People had seen us eating them, could tell that these were particularly good, and asked where we got them from. We let them in on our find giving them precise directions to the proper vender. When we eventually returned for a few more for the road we let the guys working the stand that they had the best ones and we pointed a number of people in their direction. They guy was so happy he gave us one for free! How cool! Yes, I know they were only 50 cents but still!

I absolutely loved this sign. Anyone who has talked to me about citrus knows that I often use that term when talking about oranges, grapefruits, tangeloes, etc. I realized I looked like a weirdo taking a picture of this compost but I couldn't resist.

I'm sure you gathered that this area is super eco-friendly, but just so you can truely appreciate how hippy green they are here, let me tell you about their trash. They have a person who's duty it is to watch the trash recepricals to make sure that individuals throw their waste in the correct bins. The bins available are recyclable, compost and god forbid actual trash. These trash monitors have vests on and everything. It is kind of awesome. The farmers market is about to go completely plastic bag free. There is a countdown near the fried asparagus stand. You read right, fried asparagus. It is AMAZING.