Farmers’ markets are my foodie Fairyland. I approach them with the giddy excitement of a child at an amusement park, torn between making my way methodically up and down every aisle so as not to miss a thing and running around randomly, drawn by a warm, sweet smell here or a throng of people there.
On a recent, rainy Sunday morning, after a 30-minute drive from Berkeley to San Rafael, I stood at the edge of the largest farmers’ market in Northern California—literally a tent city of almost 200 vendors—located behind the Marin Civic Center, that long, blue-roofed, scallop-arched, ’50s spaceship designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
As a first-time visitor to this huge playground of produce, I was thrilled to discover an official “Market Chef” who leads tours Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. I met Eric Gower at the Eat Local 101 Booth. He is author of The Breakaway Cook, and his cooking approach pairs “global flavor blasts” from international staples like miso, green tea, tamarind and pomegranate molasses with the freshest organic produce—a perfect fit for the Farmers’ Market.
Gower led me to County Line Harvest where I encountered a vegetable I had never seen before—treviso, a purple radicchio—as well as eight kinds of chicory. He suggested barbecuing them and serving with sweet ginger syrup to offset the bitterness.
One of the many market regulars is Vanessa Holton, an attorney for the California Department of Industrial Relations, who has been shopping at the Marin Farmers’ Market since she moved to San Rafael about eight years ago. “It’s the highlight of my week,” says Holton. “The produce drives my menus at home. I can buy corn that was picked just three hours earlier.” Some of Holton’s favorite finds are crusty sourdough bread from the Brickmaiden Bakery’s wood-fired oven, cheeses from Andante Dairy and Pug’s Leap, crab cakes from Santa Rosa Seafood and trays of fresh cut baby greens. “It’s relaxing and centering to walk through the market and live in the present moment, surrounded by the freshest produce—better than meditation,” she says.
I checked out the Santa Rosa Seafood stall and was bowled over by the incredible variety of fresh fish laid out on icy tables: amberjack, albacore, escolar, halibut, hamachi, mahi-mahi, sole, salmon, oysters, live lobsters and clams, sea urchins and whole crabs.
The sensory roller coaster gave me an appetite and, luckily, free samples were only footsteps away. The first table that beckoned was East & West Gourmet Afghan Food. Owner Bilal Sidiq offered me a taste of bolani, a thin Afghan flatbread stuffed with a choice of spinach, potato or pumpkin. I tried a triangle of spinach bolani topped with a smear of his tangy cilantro pesto and a dab of creamy garlic mint cheese.

A woven doll from Panama at The Folk Art Gallery. Photo courtesy The Folk Art Gallery.

As I spoke to Sidiq about his family’s business, he confided that he is sometimes the target of Americans’ stereotypes about his country. He hopes that these tastes of traditional Afghan cuisine may also provide a small window into his culture.
FlourChylde Bakery (read it aloud and you will understand the unusual name) is an old-world bakery with a cafe in Novato and a stall at the Marin Farmers’ Market. About half of their baked goods, including moist, dark chocolate or luscious lemon-coconut tortes, are made in a European tradition using ground nut–meals and so are wheat and gluten-free.
Captain Michael Hiebert of Cap’n Mike’s Holy Smoke cuts a colorful figure with his long hair and beard. Hiebert’s Native-American heritage on his mother’s side inspired his award-winning smoked salmon. He explained that cold smoking over alderwood for 30 hours imbues a special flavor to trout, tuna, sturgeon, black cod and white salmon. A few bites of his buttery fish proved him right.
You can buy a range of prepared foods at the Farmers’ Market, from Spanish paella to French crepes, whole roasted chickens to handmade peanut brittle, tamales to Thai plates. My favorite was organic dim sum from TruGourmet, especially the ethereal pillows of shrimp and sea scallop with tobiko.
If you can tear yourself away from the food, a row of artisans displays creations one usually finds at crafts fairs: hand-painted silk kimonos, pearl jewelry, carved wooden goblets and much more.
After leaving the Farmers’ Market, I checked out San Rafael’s Fourth Street shopping district on my way home. The Open Secret Bookstore may conform to a popular image of “Marin-ness” with its rooms filled with volumes on all manner of spiritual thought, shamanism, astral projection and channeling. (I loved the shelf labeled “Used Dream Studies.”) They also carry tarot cards, Buddha statues, incense and CDs and have a space for dance performances.
Around the corner, I stumbled upon the Folk Art Gallery whose walls are covered with new and antique tribal art and traditional artifacts. Owner Sharon Christovich turned her zest for travel and her appreciation of the stories of cultural groups into a space lovingly filled with Latin American retablos, African masks and baskets and Chinese ethnic textiles. A sheet that describes the history, meaning and creators accompanies many art objects.
Vanessa Holton, the devoted Farmers’ Market foodie, recommended Sol Food for its authentic, organic and affordable Puerto Rican cuisine. The restaurant, with communal tables and bright, homey decor, features large portions of chicken, shrimp or steak with rice, but is renowned for sweet or savory fried plantains (soft on the inside, crispy on the outside), homemade limeade and hot sauce.
Next time you wake up on a Sunday morning with a hunger for gustatory adventure, head to San Rafael and take your palate on a wild ride of discovery.
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Anna Mindess is a freelance writer specializing in food and culture and a frequent contributor to The Monthly. She is also a sign language interpreter. See her work at www.annamindess.com.

Marin Farmers’ Market, Sundays and Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Marin Civic Center, www.marinfarmersmarkets.org.
Eric Gower; www.breakawaycook.com.
East and West Gourmet Afghan Food, 108B Medburn St., Concord, (925) 687-0817; www.bolaniandsauce.com.
FlourChylde Bakery, 850 Grant Ave., Old Town Novato, (415) 893-7700; www.flourchylde.com.
Cap’n Mike’s Holy Smoke, 642 Martin Ave., Ste. A1, Rohnert Park, (707) 585-2000; www.holysmokedsalmon.com.
TruGourmet organic dim sum; www.trugourmet.com.
Open Secret Bookstore, 923 C St., San Rafael, (415) 457-4191; www.opensecretbookstore.com.
The Folk Art Gallery, 1321 Fourth St., San Rafael, (888) 276-1553; www.thefolkartgallery.com.
Sol Food, two San Rafael locations: 732 Fourth St. and 901 Lincoln Ave, (415) 451-4765; www.solfoodrestaurant.com.