Skipping over those first days in San Francisco, instead I’ll write of the place I’ve referred before, ‘the left coast twin sister of my sweet Fairway’..

On route 68, in between the western end of the perennially growing salad bowl and the outskirts of Salinas, on my way to the John Steinbeck Center there, I turned off to the shoulder, braked, and reversed into the parking lot—the roads out there run quick; my reaction times enjoyed the kick—as I did not know it was there. Farm Fresh Produce sells all the food you need and want to compose your prandium, or cena, minus the meat—especially if you are Mexican and or just know the recipes and secrets of some of the ingredients sold there—jamaica, whole red & white hominy corn maize, dry fava beans, and plenty of other curious goods proffered on shelves and palates around the store. There are dry beans—black, kidney, pinto, perueno; eggs; cheese; chilis—jalepeno, serrano, yellow wax, and pasilia. I fell in love outside at a small table with a box of small meyer lemons 0.25 cents each (inside larger meyers are 0.50 cents), haricots verts in 0.75 cent bags, and carrots and melons for I forget their prices. The Meyer lemons were the hook. But the prices at Farm Fresh Produce were key indicator of its roll in the community there.

The market sits in the middle of miles of black dirt sprouting our nation’s greens and offers its community affordable, fresh, local produce. The folks grew it. The folks eat it. The money stays in Salinas. Which sounds like a good thing for a downtown area built up in mostly local businesses. Before you go there, I won’t leaf out, indeed some items are imported, notably the Manila (as in Philippines) mangoes. Though demand for mangoes remains for their consumption within broad demographics for SES and culture—obvious to their centralized store placement and careful and deliberate arrangement on their palate.

If you don’t live in the area but are traveling by car near Monterey or between San Francisco and central coast, which I was, is worth stopping at Farm Fresh Produce to pick up provisions. A bagful of produce and a baguette of grainy bread was easily half what a Gotham receipt would run, and kept me sated on hikes and while working in Big Sur.

Sharing some of the goodness from Farm Fresh Produce. Click pics to enlarge..

Buen provecho..

Farm Fresh Produce CLOSED
Open daily 8am-6pm
63 Monterey-Salinas Hwy (Hwy. 68)
Salinas, CA 93908
831-770-1172