New 52 | Week 32: Little Italy Farmers Market

Well, hello, 981st post! Like I had previously mentioned, I'm still brainstorming on a giveaway on my blog with my 1,000th blog post! :)

It seems weird that we've lived in San Diego for so many years but have yet to try out the Little Italy Farmer's Market on Saturdays. It wasn't for lack of trying. Earlier this year we went on a Saturday, too late, around 11 AM, and could not find parking any where. So we left and went to Point Loma Seafoods for lunch.

This time, we were determined to make it a go, so we left early, right after 9:00 AM. We took the opportunity this past Saturday, because our running plans were put on hold after the confluence of me having a sinus infection and Todd spraining his ankle. We arrived there and found metered parking right on the street near the entrance! We ended up putting in a couple of dollars worth of quarters, but it was worth it!

We had heard that the Little Italy Mercato is the creme-de-la-creme of farmer's markets, and it really didn't disappoint! Wow, the number of vendors was astounding (140!), and so was the quality of items.

We stopped by JR Organics and got tomatoes and broccoli, which we used in a meal on Monday.  Yum!  You know what's cool?  You can join up in their CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), whereby you pay a quarterly fee and you get a box of their organic, seasonal produce on a regular schedule. 




More organic goodness.


The location of the Little Italy Mercato is really fantastic. You get to see nice architecture, and the ocean at the end of the street!






Todd and I made the rounds, going up and down the whole market before deciding on our lunch and purchases. We spotted Chef Deborah Scott's "Chop Soo-ey" food truck. We had heard lots of this food truck, so we decided to give it a try.


Todd ordering the BBQ pulled pork sandwich.


A "Todd Shot" of Todd eating said pulled pork sandwich.


My lobster roll. Yummy!


This man named "Smilin' Jack" was very entertaining. He played the accordion with a music track and smiled like there was no tomorrow!

Here's a video on Youtube of Smilin' Jack in action, playing "It Had To Be You".

We really enjoyed the Little Italy Mercato. Definitely the best farmer's market in San Diego.




Before leaving, we stopped in at Cafe Italia and got a ice blended caramel latte to go.


We also got some pesto Bitchin' Sauce (hummus made of almonds!) and some beef tamales to take home. All in all, a great NEW experience that we loved. We'll definitely be back on a Saturday again.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About This Project

New52 is a project started by Peppermint and I to encourage each other and others around us to try something new every week in 2011. The "new" each week doesn't have to be something big. It could be something as simple as ordering a new dish instead of old standbys at your favorite restaurant. It's simply opening your heart up to NEW possibilities.

Don't worry if you're late getting started on joining in. It's totally OK if you miss a week here or there. We encourage everyone to keep an open mind about trying something new. This is a life project, and a photography/blog and even scrap challenge if you wish. If you participate this week, please leave a link to your blog post in the link list below.