Jeff B.
Yelp
(Shopped 9/22/12 SA @ 10am): I'm a fan of farmers' markets and it was about time I checked out the one in my new neighborhood!
We finally had an open morning from all the moving and what-not, so my friend and I walked down from our place and joined the fray at the Silverlake Farmers Market on this first day of Fall.
It was already a warm and humid day, people roamed the sidewalks, traffic flowed, and shoppers were out en-force as they clogged the pathway from one vendor table to the next. Being our first time here, we did the customary walk-through from end-to-end before we decided which vendor(s) would get our business this morning. The usual fare of fruits, vegetables and food stands were on the menu, if you will, as well as some clothiers, jewelers, and incense shops to round out the collection of eclecticism. I was really amazed at the size of some of the fruits and vegetables we found here. Were these things given steroids, or what!? I saw some of the biggest mangoes and cantaloupes, and I recalled this particular stand asked for $1.50/lb. I'd dare say that these fruits would've cost me close to $5.00 each!
As we made an about-face and headed back in the same direction we came from, we stopped to buy a bunch of four long-stem ginormous sunflowers about the size of one's face (freaking scary, if you ask me) ($4.00), an 8 lb. bag of Valencia oranges ($6.00), a large, and I mean LARGE grapefruit ($1.00), and two pastries - a scone and a vanilla & almond thing ($8.00). The sunflowers certainly brightened our place, the oranges were not overly sweet with a tinge of tartness, and the pastries were magically fresh and apparently prepared and baked by angels (the two women who worked this stand were very friendly and took pride in their work). As of this review, the grapefruit has yet to be eaten.
The service was good as most vendors were jovial, friendly, and were ready to offer either a sample or at least offered to answer any questions. There was one Asian gentleman and his fruit stand who was not talkative at all and frankly, very stand-offish. Buddy, when other stands sold the same things you are, what's our incentive to buy from you...even if your prices were lower (they were the same).
Parking was decent, either along Sunset Blvd. (metered) or the many side streets, but please make sure to check the posted signs on the side streets as many are permit parking. Otherwise, if you lived in the area, just walk it; exercise is good.
Overall, I liked the concept of farmers markets, and Silverlake Farmers Market was no exception. The items we purchased were fresh, and by the look of things, everything else there was, too. For a community like Silver Lake, I wouldn't be surprised if there were more farmers markets around town on different days or hours. I found good value, as compared with other farmers markets I've been to, the prices are reasonable - as with grocery stores, too - based on the prices I quoted above (total bill was around $19.00; no tip required), but you left satisfied with the quality and that you helped "the little guy." The atmosphere, needless to say, was extremely hipster, outdoors (duh!), and the area this took up was a little triangle along Sunset Blvd. near Hyperion Blvd. I wished there were more stands and a variety, but you deal with the space you have. The attire was totally casual, so I was in a t-shirt, boardshorts, and flip-flops. Cash was primarily king here, and although I did see some credit card signs (VISA Mastercard), I only saw one vendor who accepted my credit card of choice...AMEX!
