uh-oh!

The secret (well, not so much, at least among us
locals) is out!

The food section of today's NY Times features a
half-page article about Berkeley Bowl's tomatoes.
Imagine how much more of a bitch it will be to
navigate the parking lot and the aisles now.

Digression. I'm not knocking the Bowl - it's great
and all - I just feel that Monterey Market's produce
tends to be higher quality despite lacking the
astronomical variety that the Bowl boasts since the
Market's produce buyers seem to be a little more
discerning. I can get stuff that the Bowl doesn?t
otherwise carry, believe it or not, like Frog Hollow
peaches (cheaper than the farmer's market stall!). I
was delighted to discover Mas Matsumoto?s (of Elegy
for a Peach fame) beloved Sun Crest peaches at the
Market a few weeks ago. They have a shelf life of
like, 8 hours, they?re only available for about a week
or two, they cost an arm and a leg ($3.98/lb!) but it
was nice to see that the Market was willing to carry
them. As much as I love Frog Hollow, Mr. Matsumoto?s
peaches come the closest to biting into sunshine that
you can get. Plus, the employees know their stuff.
When their strawberries were selling for 49
cents/basket I pulled a stockboy aside to ask what
varietal they were - the blue flats were Seascape, and
the yellow flats were Chandler. And no grocery store
can hold a candle to the Market's mushroom selection.

But all of this is moot, because as any true tomato
lover will attest, no designer tomato sold at any
specialty produce stand, even the farmer's market, can
rival a tomato just picked from the vine and still
warmed from the sun, grown in your own backyard.

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