Los Angeles Farmers Market

We love the Los Angeles Farmers Market at 3rd & Fairfax. This old school LA spot was one of the first places I fell in love with. Josh, on the other hand, grew up just blocks away and has been coming here since he was a baby. His dad too. Really.

This market has been here since 1934 and although it certainly has changed since then, the speed of change is much slower than the rest of the city.

One thing you'll notice right away is an interesting cross section of people there. It is one of the few places in LA that you'll see elderly folks sitting at one table, teenagers at the next, families with infants at the next, tourists at the next and celebrities with big sunglasses on at the next too. Everybody comes here.

We buy meat from the classic butchers (Huntington & Marconda - we go to both) here...by classic I mean you can tell them what you are cooking and they can help you find the type of cut you need. You can also tell them you need a purple spotted wild boar from Timbuktu and if it exists, they will order it for you. They know their stuff.

We also come here to eat (often) and have several classic and new favorites: French Crepe Company for crepes, Patsy D'Amore's Pizza for the 1st pizza ever made famous in LA, Gumbo Pot for jambalaya, Loteria for chicken mole burritos, La Korea for bibimbap, Mr Marcel for croque-monsieur, etc.

And of course we always stop by the Refresher for unusual ice cold sodas out of glass bottles. Then we follow it up with a stop at either Bennett's or Gill's Old Fashioned ice cream shops - I switch favorites every few months for various reasons. Perhaps it is just an excuse to keep eating them both.

Honestly, we've tried every place in the joint. No joke. We lived three blocks away for over five years, how could we not?

Since we've been loving the Los Angeles Farmers Market we've seen the Grove pop up (they are connected) which adds another shopping experience in and of itself right next door. Many people hit both the same day. It makes me sad when I talk to people who say they go to the Grove but have never been in the Farmer's Market. It is the original! I mean, I love the Grove too, but it is just another outdoor shopping mall. Not special in the way the Farmer's Market is! Get your butt over there!

There are some corporate companies (ie - the ubiquitous chains) that have forced their way into the Farmer's Market in the last few years. The market has overall been very good about only allowing independently run shops there, but still, a few have leaked through the cracks. Overall, the Los Angeles Farmers Market is a well preserved piece of classic LA.

The Los Angeles Farmers Market is a great tourist attraction too, even more now than before due to the Grove and I love it that they help support this landmark and see this authentic side of LA. CBS studios is on the same block, so you'll often see vacationers with those yellow Price is Right name badges on wandering around getting lunch. Fun! If you are on vacation you'll fit right in and if you are local, some of their enjoyment may rub off on you. In fact, I always feel like I'm on vacation when I'm there.

Speaking of vacation, you can find a number of odd little tourist shops in addition to produce, meat, bakeries and food stands. You'll find oodles of Los Angeles shirts, mugs, magnets, postcards and other goofy stuff that you'll wind up bringing home. Don't say I didn't warn ya.

Parking is no big deal, if the two Farmer's Market lots are full (which does happen, especially on weekends) just park in the Grove's parking structure and walk through the lovely Grove, following the trolly tracks. As I write this, it is 2 hours free in the market lots with purchase validation and 1 hour free (no purchase required) for the Grove lot. Keep in mind, these rates, times may change since they seem to change every year.

Oh wait, I almost forgot to explain the most important thing...this is a permanent farmer's market, not the type where farmers come and set up a tent only on certain days. Yes, we have those here too. The Los Angeles Farmers Market originally was like that (imagine people selling fruit out of the back of their cars on a big dirt filled field) but has evolved into the permanent indoor/outdoor structure that it is today. I mention this because one of my best friends (and a real LA skeptic) always says that it isn't a traditional real farmer's market and is thus poorly named. 'Tis true, but we love it for what it is.