Farmers markets as cultural activities

When I plan trips, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I rarely figure museums and other such cultural activities into the itinerary. Instead, it's farmers markets and food musts like Le Pigeon and Waffle Window in Portland, and Pink's and Sprinkles in Los Angeles, with a hike here and there to crank up the appetite again. But in defense of my gluttonous, culture devoid life, I discover more about the culture of a place via its food than I would at any museum or art venue, even in the ridiculously long line at Pink's Hot Dogs. Because to me, that's what food and LA is about. In a trend and fad obsessed city, waiting hours for a hot dog or a cupcake or frozen yogurt is all part of the food experience, and as long as what's at the end of the line is a little more than decent, the wait makes it all the better. (Though in breaking with our tradition of only going to places with long lines in LA, we did have a meal at JiRaffe on account of Chef Raphael Lunetta's superlative foie gras preparation at Roy's 20th Anniversary.)


There's no art gallery that could be more beautiful to me than the stalls of farmers markets, especially that of San Francisco's Ferry Building. From produce as "ordinary" as grapes to the surreal Buddha's Hand citron to fragrant bunches of lavender, it engages all my senses in no way paintings or sculptures could.


Maybe it's also all the experiences and memories that I've had with food that I don't have with canvas and paint. The sight of romanesco (below) reminds me of my stage at Coi, one of the most exhilarating experiences in my culinary career, when I plucked tiny morsels from the stems to be blanched and served with a shred of preserved lemon. (Oh, where we get our kicks from...) And I can't resist getting three dozen oysters from the Hog Island booth, to recapture memories of friends and I in Point Reyes, shucking literally hundreds of oysters, straight from the ocean, slurping them while perfectly cold and briny.


When I'm at the Ferry Building farmers market, I always pick up a pastry from Frog Hollow, producers of the flakiest pastries filled with luscious fruit, and thick slabs of smoky bacon from Fatted Calf. It's all very expensive (which I think is partially due to the fact that half of the clientele at this market are tourists), but while my frugal mind screams a little everytime I buy things here, I know it's worth it, and the producers deserve it.

We cap our trip with a visit to Yountville, Thomas Keller's city with three of his restaurants and bakery. Brunch at ad hoc consists of a Smoked trout, soft-boiled egg, pumpkin seed, and frisee salad with a Meyer lemon vinaigrette; Chicken, duck, and spinach crepes topped with fried sage; and a puckeringly tart lime and pomegranate granita with a creme fraiche whipped cream and sprinkled with crushed almond cookies.