Heart Of The City Farmer's

Art of the Falafel Catering at Heart of the City Farmers Market – The Heart of the City Farmers Market on Wednesays and Sundays is wonderful. There are a lot of great bargains on Vegetables, Fruits, and Flowers as well as good falafels at one stand. The falafels at Art of the Falafel Catering are cooked right there and are delicious. I have had a lot of them, and these are some of the best I have ever tasted.

Great Produce and Fish, Done Dirt Cheap – I love the Ferry Plaza farmer's market and I go there every Saturday for the Acme bread, Golden Gate meats, avocados, the Brentwood corn (in summer), and the Ciao Bello Valrhoma or Scharffenberger chocolate gelato (when I go late enough). But on Sunday mornings I get up early and head to the Civic Center for my real produce shopping.

Tomatoes cost a third of what they do at the Ferry Plaza, lettuce and most other greens and fruit no more than half. If I'm willing to gut, scale and clean my own fresh fish (and I am), it goes for half of what Whole Foods or the fish guys at the Ferry Plaza charge, and if you're into fish or shellfish, you'd be doing the cleaning anyway.

The produce is mostly just fine--I mean, come on people, eggplant is eggplant. The fish has never disappointed. And most weekends I find lemons for 25 cents, so if they're a bit smaller and more beat up than the ones going for 3 for $2 at the Ferry Plaza, well, I can live with that.

Yes, the area is a bit funky (but never dangerous-feeling), and you don't get the variety the Ferry Plaza offers (the farmers are more local) but so what? I'm heading there right now.

A busy market turns Civic Center's windswept concrete into a great source for low-cost produce. – In Short
Twice a week, produce stands representing farms from Santa Rosa to Santa Cruz sprout up in this windy Civic Center triangle between the New Main Library and Market Street. At this scruffy but busy market, growers hawk their garden-fresh goodies for pennies on the pound. Most days, live entertainment sprouts up as well, adding to the bustle. While the prices are low, quality can be spotty, so pick your veggies with care.

Bargains aplenty and no yuppies – This is the real deal -- and the complete opposite of the farmer's market by the Ferry Building. You won't find 36 varieties of colored asparagus here, but you will find tons of produce and seafood at bargain prices. There's nothing fancy, just the goods. Be sure to bring a backpack or wagon or cart to haul off your purchases.