A Trip to the Davis Farmers Market and Down Memory Lane.

View of the Davis Farmers Market

Over the weekend, I visited my quaint little hometown of Davis, which is unwarrantedly notorious for its cow smell, but very deserving of its bike-friendly reputation. As you can probably tell by its defining characteristics summarized in the previous sentence, Davis can be a challenging place to find something interesting to do. But despite its boringness, Davis is my hometown, and as such, it can offer unique experiences that make me feel nostalgic in a way unlike any other. One such experience is the Davis Farmers Market, which I re-visited last Saturday morning.

This logo brings back memories. Credit: http://www.davisfarmersmarket.org/

Taking place in Davis’s Central Park, the Farmers Market is not only a place where you can get fresh produce and other goods, but also a place to enjoy the sunshine with family, run into old friends, listen to live music and to see that same guy and his son who have been running the Hot Dogger stand forever. Ok, ok, maybe I’m romanticizing it a bit, but you have to understand that my love for the Farmers Market stems from attending it on countless Wednesday nights. Each time I see the Market’s characteristic logo of a bitten watermelon, a flood of childhood memories rush into my head, including, but most definitely not limited to: the time we bought my first kitten, the times when my friends and I would dorkily dance to whatever local band was playing that night, taking  a ride that giant gyroscope, playing in the water fountains in the summertime, eating incalculable slices of Steve’s pizza, and so much more.

Bolani, yummy yummy. Credit: Diana Prichard

As a kid, I frequented the Wednesday night Farmers Market much more often than the Saturday morning ones. Nevertheless, Saturday morning Farmers Markets are still delightful experiences and my most recent visit was no exception. I went with a few members of my family and my friend Emile, and in the most Davis-like fashion, we ran into a few other members of my family. We strolled through the crowds of people, making stops at a few stands to sample the food. One of the more memorable stands was the East and West Gourmet Foods’ stall, which sold all kinds of Bolani and sauces. After sampling a generous portion, my family bought a few spinach Bolanis and their delicious cilantro pesto and garlic mint cheese sauces. Maybe it's the Middle Eastern side of me (Bolanis are Afghan), but I can’t get enough of the stuff, especially with the garlic mint cheese sauce, which has the consistency of yogurt and is so very very good. And through a bit of industrious internet detective work, I discovered that East & West is Bay Area based and their products are sold in grocery stores (Whole Foods and Andronicos specifically) and farmers markets around the Bay. So I will definitely be revisiting that.

Fat Face Menu: Breakfast Sammies and Popsicles

Emilie's Strawberry Rhubarb Rosemary (left)       Briana's Hibiscus Mint Grape (right)

Another memorable culinary experience of this trip was the Fat Face stand, which specializes in sandwiches and popsicles. I was thrilled because Fat Face just recently closed down Davis location before I got a chance to try it. Luckily for me, they moved to Midtown Sacramento and still make appearances at the Davis Farmers Market, so I was able to taste their Hibiscus Mint Grape Popsicle. It was as delicious as it sounded; the mint was so refreshing for a hot summer morning like Saturday and the little frozen half-grapes inside the Popsicle were fun surprises.

There were a few other notable experiences of this visit to the Farmers Market, both culinary and otherwise. One of these was buying the best apple juice of all time (Apple-A-Day Ratzlaff Ranch), which is a must-do at the Farmers Market; drinking this apple juice seriously helps you realize the amazing and delicious fact that apples are naturally super sweet. There was also band that brightened my day by playing Klezmer music, complete with accordions (an instrument that I will someday learn) and violins. I seriously felt like doing this dance from Fiddler on the Roof (below, circa 3:00, after the amazing bottle dance, with all the clapping) but was just barely able to restrain myself before I made a fool of myself in public.

With all these distinctive experiences aside, it was amazing to me how little the Davis Farmers Market has changed. Sure, maybe there aren’t as many familiar faces among the crowds and maybe I’ve grown up a little bit, but the Farmers Market is and will undoubtedly continue to be a Davis staple for a long time to come.