VIEW SLIDESHOW: Market Scene: Saint-Rémy-de-Provence

[Photographs: Naomi Bishop]

An endless sprawl of cheeses and olives, asparagus and charcuterie; the Wednesday morning market in Saint-Rémy is the serene Provençal spread of your dreams. No writer has made it through southern France without pausing to wax poetic about the bustling, colorful stands that make up the outdoor shopping experience in this part of the world. Covering most of the town—which, with a population of only 10,000 people, isn't quite as massive as it sounds—the market at Saint-Rémy is well-known as one of the region's best.

The market sets up at around nine in the morning, crawling along Boulevard Marceau towards the heart of the town. At its edges, non-food vendors hawk clothes and crafts. By the time you reach the over-size central roundabout, seafood trucks emerge, giant ice chests extended from their sides like distended bellies, overflowing with urchins and oysters, langoustines, and impeccably fresh fish. The stalls in the grassy plaza sell tablecloths and napkins sporting classic Provençal themes, alongside displays of ceramic cooking vessels and tableware. Bright blue casseroles, thick green mugs, vibrant red bowls—it's a cook's fantasy, and one that only gets better when you turn down the Rue Lafayette. Here are the meats, potted and cured, the cheeses, stinky-soft or alpine-hard, and the kind of small-batch preserves that leave you wondering if there's a place to buy a spare suitcase before you head home.

Since so many streets are closed off for the market, arriving much past 9:30 is tempting the parking gods, even in the off-season. For tourists taking the 45-minute trip from Avignon, that calls for an early departure; luckily, there's plenty of breakfast to be had upon arrival. Prepared foods, like potatoes with olives and grilled sausages, compete with giant pans of paella, but the smart shopper won't fill up too fast, as vendors are quick to offer samples. Wandering from charcuterie stand to cheese table, pausing for duck rilletes and cleansing the palate with a few olives, one could make an entire meal of small bites. A little nibble helps to fortify the appetite while gazing over stunning displays of colossal cabbages, brilliantly-hued radishes, and the occasional miniature goat.

Click through the slideshow for a look at what spring brings to the Saint-Rémy-de-Provence Wednesday morning market »

About the author: Naomi Bishop is a Seattle based food and travel writer. Find her wandering through words and worlds on her blog, TheGastroGnome, where she claims that being a GastroGnome is not about sitting idly on the front lawn of culinary cottages. Follow her explorations of cooking and culture around the world at @GastroGnome. Get restaurant suggestions and locate local eats in the Northwest from her app, Unique Eats of the Northwest.

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Market Scene: Mission Community Market, San Francisco

The farmers' market on Bartlett Street and 22nd in San Francisco's Mission neighborhood is small but mighty, serving an after-work crowd year round with ready-to-eat food from 4505 Meats, Roli Roti, Bok Ssam, and more, plus a number of pastry vendors as well as farms offering produce. And while citrus season has been a pretty good time, fruits and vegetables are starting to get much more exciting. Last Thursday's highlights included ripe apricots (!) and peaches (!!) as well as an assortment of berries. Check out our snapshots in the slideshow above »

Mission Community Market

84 Bartlett Street, San Francisco CA (between 22nd and 21st, map) missioncommunitymarket.org

About the Author: Maggie Hoffman is the editor of Serious Eats: Drinks. She lives in San Francisco. You can follow her on Twitter @maggiejane.

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Market Scene: Hillcrest Farmers Market, San Diego

[Photographs: Erin Jackson]

There's no bad time of the year to visit the Hillcrest Farmers Market, but there's no better time than right now. Why? Well, for one, just about all of the tastiest fruit and vegetables are simultaneously in season, from stone fruit to sweet and juicy Ataulfo mangoes, plus pints of strawberries, blueberries, and cherries.

Gluten-free pastries from Olive Oil Organic Cafe

Need another reason? The market is also now larger than ever, with approximately 125 different vendors selling everything from produce fresh pasta to flavored salts, sausages, and gluten-free pastries. Come to stock your crisper, fruit bowl, and cookie jar with tasty goodies, or just stuff your face. The expanded prepared foods area has an exciting mix of multi-cultural street food, including Turkish grilled kabobos, Argentinean empanadas, African sambussas, Chilean style salsas and chips, Mexican tamales, and so much more.

Parking at the has always been tight, but that also got a boost. There's a new trolley that loops through the market, dropping off shoppers at the San Diego School District's 300-space parking lot.

With so much in store at the expanded market, you'd better bring an extra bag. Scroll through the slide-show above and you'll quickly see why >>

The Hillcrest Farmers Market is located on Normal Street between University Avenue and Lincoln (map); it's open every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Click here for more photos

About the author: Erin Jackson is a food writer and photographer who is obsessed with discovering the best eats in San Diego. You can find all of her discoveries on her San Diego food blog EJeats.com. On Twitter, she's @ErinJax

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Market Scene: Phoenix Public Market

[Photograph: Erin Jackson]

The Phoenix Public Market is a great spot for a Saturday morning (or Wednesday evening) stroll in search of fresh produce like tomatoes on the vine, miniature watermelons, root vegetables, baby artichokes, and big bags of mixed greens... but you're more likely to end up with lots of sweets, ranging from fudge and cookies to gourmet caramels and flavored popcorn. Vendors selling all sorts of tempting treats vastly outnumber those selling vegetables.

Besides the plethora of sweets, there is also a good variety of arts and crafts goods, pretty potted succulents, and handmade soaps. You can also pick up a pretty bouquet of purple petals from Maya's farm or ready to plant flowers, herbs, fruit plants, and tomatoes from Abby Lee Farms.

The busiest booth by far was Mi Burro, a food vendor selling grilled burritos stuffed with breakfast fixings, chicken, chorizo, or veggies. The fat, 5-inch "burros" were just $5.

Scroll through the slide-show for a closer look at what's in store at the Phoenix Public Market »

The Phoenix Public Market is located at 721 N Central Ave in downtown Phoenix (map); it's open on Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. (May-September) and 8 a.m. 1 p.m. (October-April)

About the author: Erin Jackson is a food writer and photographer who is obsessed with discovering the best eats in San Diego. You can find all of her discoveries on her San Diego food blog EJeats.com. On Twitter, she's @ErinJax

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Market Scene: Morning Market in Luang Prabang, Laos

[Photo: Jennifer Kikoler]

Each morning a market pops up in a web of alleys off Sisavangvong Road, Luang Prabang's main street. This Southeast Asia UNESCO World Heritage town, tucked in the mountains on a peninsula between the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers, rises early to greet the resident monks who walk through the streets at sunrise collecting alms.

By 7:00 am the monks have passed through and the market streets are filled with people buying fruits and vegetables, meats and spices, and sampling sausages, noodles, and banana leaf wrapped sweet rice parcels. Some vendors sell at tables, but most use bamboo mats and sheets on the sidewalk; business is conduced at a crouch.

Tiny Laos eggplants, purple banana flowers and curly green vegetables, grown nearby, might be the salad of the day at a local restaurant, and the fruit becomes breakfast at the many guesthouses on the peninsula. Between the fresh items are dried buffalo skin (a regional snack) and chili peppers, rice flour crisps, traditional sarongs, and local handicrafts.

A covered butcher section in the middle of the market offers everything from pig's snouts to fresh blood cakes, and just-caught river fish look like they're about to swim right off the table. Freshly plucked chickens are for sale, and for people who want to choose their own bird, there are baskets of live poultry.

By noon the market has vanished—all that's left are a handful of tomatoes and eggplants that have rolled away.

Check out the slideshow for a further look into the morning markets of Luang Prabang.

About the Author: Jennifer Kikoler is a writer and editor who spent fall 2012 volunteering at a youth outreach NGO in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She blogs at jenniferkikoler.wordpress.com.

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Market Tours: La Merced in Mexico City

[ Photographs: Joshua Bousel ]

A 48-hour whirlwind tour of Mexico City recently left me with little free time, but Lesley Téllez, the author of the Mexico City food blog The Mija Chronicals and founder of the food tour company Eat Mexico, gave me many suggestions. She was even kind enough to take me on a tour of Mexico City's oldest market, La Merced.

We started our venture early in the morning in the neighborhood of La Roma, traveling the metro's pink line eastward together to La Merced. Stepping off the train and ascending to the street of vendors that surround the market, I quickly understood why we didn't just meet at the market. As the market was still coming to life in the early hour, there was already a mass of stalls and people bustling about. And that was only the tip of the iceberg.

Entering La Merced and seeing the vastness of this densely populated market was overwhelming. Realizing that this was just one of many buildings that make up a maze of vendors sprawling across an area about four city blocks long by two blocks wide, was dizzying.

La Merced is situated in a neighborhood of the same name, just outside the southeastern corner of the central historic district in Mexico City. This area was an entry and exit point to the city after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire, and appropriately became a point of trade. By the turn of the 19th century, the entire neighborhood was essentially one giant market, and in 1863, the first permanent building to house it was constructed. Since then it has endured and expanded, only to be outdone by Central de Abastos, the largest market of its kind, which was built to alleviate crowding at La Merced in the early 1980s.

I relied solely on Lesley's expert knowledge of the complex and walked through one section after another, each focusing on a set of common Mexican ingredients. First it was chiles; it wasn't just one or two vendors hawking their anchos, pasillas, and guajillos, but maybe 15 or more. This was repeated again and again—fruits, vegetables, corn, cacti, poultry, pork, beef, sweets—each area of specialty being large enough to be considered a well-sized market within itself.

You can find vendors selling hot food like tamales, quesadillas, and huaraches. We made a breakfast pit stop for a plate of chilaquiles that consisted of a layer of tortillas stewed in a tart and tangy tomatillo sauce and topped with poached chicken, onion, sour cream, and cheese.

As we reached the 1.5 hour mark of our quickly paced tour, there was a slight sense of disappointment on Lesley's face—we wouldn't be able to see the whole market unforunately. La Merced could easily take up at least half a day—more if factoring in getting lost—and beyond all of the amazing Mexican items there are to experience, it's the quantities at which these are sold against the overall enormity of the market, that's the real attraction.

See all the market photos in the slideshow >>

About the author: Joshua Bousel brings you new, tasty condiment each Wednesday and a recipe for weekend grilling every Friday. He also writes about grilling and barbecue on his blog The Meatwave whenever he can be pulled away from his grill.

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Market Scene: Lane County Farmers' Market, Eugene OR

[Photographs: Maggie Hoffman]

The Tuesday edition of the Lane County Farmers' Market in Eugene, Oregon might be a tad smaller than the one we visited in Portland, but it's full of riches nonetheless. Freshly caught salmon, gorgeous tomatoes, greens of all kinds, grapes, and apples greeted us as we made our way around on a recent visit.

Check out the slideshow for a peek at some Oregon produce (and other tasty farmers' market bites).

Saturdays at 8th and Oak, downtown Eugene 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tuesdays at 8th and Oak, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thursdays at 28th & Hilyard St next to the Amazon Community Center, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Winter dates may change.

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Market Scene: Chavez Plaza Farmers Market in Sacramento

[Photographs: Erin Jackson]

My discovery of the Chavez Plaza Farmers Market in downtown Sacramento was purely by accident, and it ended up being the absolute best kind. The entire park was ringed with vendor booths, all stocked with such a wide variety of produce that it was like summer and fall happening simultaneously. You could still get your hands on a beautiful basket of strawberries (the last of the season), while picking up early harvest apples or a pumpkin.

Plus, everything is rather cheap. Most items, including apples, stone fruits, and peppers, were about $1.50 a pound, and in some cases, even less. I'm not sure how much produce costs in Sacramento's supermarkets, but I'm used to spending twice that at my local farmers market in San Diego.

Another great feature of the market is you can also get tough-to-find items like baskets of ground cherries, nopales (cactus) and padron peppers.

There were also prepared foods like falafel, tamales, and Chinese food, plus several vendors selling bread, and one selling cookies (but they were all sold-out shortly after lunchtime).

Take a look at all of the beautiful market photos in the slideshow >>

The Chavez Plaza Farmers Market is located at Cesar Chavez Plaza Park, at 10th & J Streets in downtown Sacramento (map), it's open on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., May to October.

In Season Right Now

Apples
Stone fruit
Pomegranates
Melons
Grapes
Berries (but not for much longer)
Peppers
Onions
Carrots
Corn
Beans
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Swiss Chard
Summer Squash
Pumpkins
Nopales

About the author: Erin Jackson is a food writer and photographer who is obsessed with discovering the best eats in San Diego. You can find all of her discoveries on her San Diego food blog EJeats.com. On Twitter, she's @ErinJax

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Market Scene: It's Still Summer at the Grove Street Market, San Francisco

[Photographs: Lauren Sloss]

We're pretty spoiled when it comes to farmers markets in San Francisco. There is, of course, the Ferry Building—the arguable Big Daddy of all markets everywhere (well, other than the one in Marin, and the one in Berkeley... we've got much produce to go around in these parts)—is certainly worth a weekly (or tri-weekly) visit, but there are an amazing number of little market gems all over the city.

The Grove Street Farmers Market, holding court between Divisadero and Broderick every Sunday, is one of my favorites. In addition to the usual bounty of fruits and vegetables, you can stock up on cheese curds, fresh honey by the jar, and cheese curds; not to mention burgers grilled to order.

Seeing as this is a farmers market, is is the produce that really has us coming back every Sunday. Last weekend, summer was still in full swing, despite the chilly wind coming off the Pacific. Piles of tomatoes, corn, and baskets of strawberries beckoned from the stalls. Apparently, this year we're in for a long season of summer produce thanks to consistently warm, dry weather; as a vocal lover of all things tomato, I consider this to be the best kind of news.

But eggplants are making appearances as well, alongside a wonderful selection of root vegetables including Japanese sweet potatoes, beets, and carrots.

Check out the goods from Grove Street in the slideshow above!

About the author: Lauren Sloss is a bicoastal food-lover who is based in San Francisco. Some of her favorite things include The Black Keys, goat gouda, and guacamole. You can follow her on Twitter @laurensloss.

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Check Out San Diego's New Public Market

[Photograph: Erin Jackson]

San Diego's newest farmers' market, may be the best one yet: an astounding feat, considering how extensive the existing markets are. Developers Catt White and Dale Steele hope the 92,000 square foot space in Barrio Logan, which has space for 200 vendors, will soon rival markets like Pike Place Market in Seattle and the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto.

The community has been extremely receptive. When the duo launched their Kickstarter campaign, seeking $92,244 to get the market ready to open, they reached their goal in eight days. Donations continue to pour in; the total amount raised now sitting at over $50,000 over the initial goal.

There is still a lot of work to be done. Plans include building a permanent indoor market, a farmers market, and a commercial kitchen. Right now, the Farmers Market is open, on both Wednesday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Even on opening day, there were already an excellent variety of vendors, offering everything from fresh fruit and veggies, to prepared food, like the Ocean Beach Seafood truck, which had fish tacos and sandwiches, including a salmon breakfast taco with bacon and pineapple pico. Miss Sushi was also slinging rolls, and you could grab some sambusas, or a tamale.

Several bakers were on site, offering tempting treats like mini pies, cookies, brownies, and scones. The Sustainable Pantry had ready-to-eat items like this gluten-free chocolate cake, plus a wide variety of gluten-free baking mixes.

Some of my favorite samples were the sprouted hummus and these seasoned almonds from Hopkins AG. The Mexican chocolate flavor was killer.

See all the beautiful market photos in the slideshow »

The San Diego Public Market is located at 1735 National Ave. in Barrio Logan (map), hours of operation are Wednesday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In Season Right Now:

The market was bursting with so much produce that it's probably easier to say what's not (apples and strawberries), but here's a quick list of some of the items you'll find:
Stone fruit
Peppers
Raspberries
Pomegranates
Avocados
Onions
Kale
Carrots
Corn
Beans
Tomatoes
Tomatillos
Summer Squash
Nopales
Passionfruit
Macadamia Nuts

About the author: Erin Jackson is a food writer and photographer who is obsessed with discovering the best eats in San Diego. You can find all of her discoveries on her San Diego food blog EJeats.com. On Twitter, she's @ErinJax

VIEW SLIDESHOW: North Carolina: 10 Tasty Bites at the Carrboro Farmer's Market

The Carrboro Farmer's Market is an institution. It's been around for more than 30 years, and it's already been named one of the best markets in the country in the Serious Eats book. It's run by the farmers themselves and everything sold here comes from within a 50 mile radius and all of the farmers are happy to chat with you about when and where their wares were picked or pickled. If you're into eating local in the Triangle, this is the place to shop.

Photographs: Eric Mine

The market isn't huge. But the quality and variety are outstanding. In mid-summer it's a visual (and actual) bounty. There are more varieties and sizes of tomatoes, peppers and eggplants than you can shake a stick at. There are also artisans selling cheeses, pickles, vegan baked goods, jams, fresh pasta, pies, meats...you get the idea.

But all of that variety can make decisions about your weekly haul difficult. So to keep our strength up, we need snacks while perusing the place. There are few full-fledged eateries at the market, but you'll find plenty of samples and small treats as you fill your reuseable shopping bag. See all the bites in the slideshow >>

Carrboro Farmer's Market

301 W Main St., Carrboro, NC 27510 (map)
carrborofarmersmarket.com

About the authors: Eric and Sarah Mine live in Durham, North Carolina. When not eating, cooking, or brewing, Eric works as a lawyer and Sarah works in food policy.

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Market Scene: Saturday at Ferry Plaza in San Francisco

[Photographs: Maggie Hoffman]

I didn't move to California just for the produce, but the fruits and vegetables here are doing a pretty good job of convincing me that I made the right move.

Juicy eat-over-the-sink peaches are abundant at Ferry Plaza's big Saturday market, plus apricots, pluots, and other stone fruits. The strawberries are red all the way through, and there's still some rhubarb to be had if you're making pies. Special finds this week included green almonds (what do you do with those?) and unusual mushrooms, artichokes, corn, and baby squash with the blossoms attached.

Here are my snapshots from last Saturday's market. Were you there? Did you find anything particularly delicious?

About the Author: Maggie Hoffman is the editor of Serious Eats: Drinks. You can follow her on Twitter @maggiejane.

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Market Scene: Saturday Farmers Market at Kapi'olani Community College, Honolulu

[Photographs: Carrie Vasios]

If the beautiful but bustling beaches of Waikiki leave you yearning for a little more local flavor, hop on the bus for a short ride out to Kapi'olani Community College. The Saturday Farmers' Market there is filled with local farmers hawking everything from live abalone to papayas to containers of taro hummus.

The market is open from 7:30 to 11 a.m., and you should definitely go for breakfast. There's a variety of hot food vendors and if you're like me, you'll have a hard time choosing between plates of Spam fried rice, tropical fruit and granola parfaits, and freshly fried balls of mochi. See all the photos in the slideshow »

Saturday Farmer's Market at Kapiolani Community College

Parking Lot C, 4303 Diamond Head Road, Honolulu, HI 96816; (map)

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Market Scene: Spring Onions, Strawberries, and Artichokes at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market

In Season Now: Strawberries, Asparagus, Cherries, Artichokes, Kohlrabi, Peas, Fava Beans, Lemons, Avocado, Citrus
Coming Up: Cauliflower, Tomatoes, Raspberries, Pixie Tangerines, Stone Fruits, Summer Squash, Corn, Green Beans, Peppers

Though California is blessed with beautiful produce throughout the year, the crowd at the Santa Monica Farmers Market seemed especially excited with spring and summer offerings overlapping. Fava beans and asparagus were plentiful, and there were some early heirloom tomatoes as a harbinger of summer.

Check out the slideshow for more market highlights >>

Santa Monica's Farmers' Market (4 locations)

Wednesday Downtown
Arizona Avenue (between 4th and Ocean)
8:30am - 1:30pm

Saturday Downtown
Arizona Avenue (betwenn 4th and 2nd Streets)
8:30am - 1:00pm

Saturday Pico
2200 Virginia Avenue (Pico Blvd. @ Cloverfield Blvd.)
8:00am - 1:00pm

Sunday Main St.
2640 Main Street (in Heritage Square)
9:30am-1:00pm

About the author: Sarah Woo is a pasture-raised, California girl paired with slow-grilled Santa Maria tri-tip and piquant Korean kimchi. Check out her kitchen adventures at Winner Celebration Party. You can also follow her on Twitter at @wcpartyparty.

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Market Scene: Fort Mason Farmer's Market in Early Fall

[Photographs: Carrie Vasios]

In early October, the farmers' market at Fort Mason in San Francisco is a wonderful hybrid of late summer and early fall produce. There are big, blushing heirloom tomatoes and piles of bulging Kabocha squash. You can sip on hot apple cider and sample slices of still ripe plums.

With its location next to the water (not to mention its variety of cookie and dumpling vendors), the Fort Mason Farmer's Market is a great way to enjoy those sweet San Francisco fall days. Here are some highlights.

To market, to market »