There are those who hate on L.A something fierce. I’m willing to bet that none of them have ever visited the Hollywood Farmers Market on a fine mid-winter day like today (sunny and warm, crisp blue skies and just the tiniest hint of a breeze).
The Hollywood Farmers Market rules for so many reasons, so don’t even get me started. Just go if you haven’t already. And ride the metro… it’s right there and you won’t find parking any closer, or cheaper. You might even run into a celebrity. Like Gwen Stefani.
Instead of my usual soul food lunch at the farmers market, today I ventured out and tried the Korean food stand instead. The nice lady there makes these delicious vegan vegetable pancakes.
The plate came with noodles, rice and kim chee. It was all great, though my pancakes were a little bit under cooked on the inside. If I get these again I’ll ask for them well-done and crispy. I also want to try her tasty looking tofu, which looks like it’s nice and spicy with Korean goodness.
And here’s the bounty I came home with. From left to right: mandarin oranges, purple cauliflower (oh joy!), artichokes, fuji apples, arugula, watercress, mint, sage, cherimoya, rainbow chard. The lemons are not from the farmers market but they insisted on being in the picture. What was I going to do, argue with a lemon?
All of this, along with the lunch and a round trip on the metro = under $30.
Wearing sandals and a t-shirt in January while sampling strawberries = priceless.
Oh man, I went to the Farmers Market today & it was 45 degrees! My shopping was mighty quick!
O.O! That korean plate looks greasy and awesome and perfect and omg pancakes!
ooh, which market is that? the one at La Cienega? those pancakes look YUM.
Sounds like a lovely farmer’s market, and some great pictures too.
okay, your produce bounty is filled with so much goodness – BEAUTIFUL!!
I recently went through the exact same thing! (would always get the soul food too but last time I went, also got that exact same korean plate with a little too chewy pancakes)
….like something from the twilight zone.
Thanks everyone!
Liz²: Surprisingly they weren’t as greasy as they look, which was nice.
Beth: No, this was the Hollywood Farmers Market, located right off Sunset between Ivar and Selma (every Sunday from 8am to 1pm).
Teenage Glutster: The Koreans have been tempting me with their goodies for quite sometime so I finally just had to given in :) I actually would have liked it if my pancake had been a bit more chewy like yours. I was also tempted to try the Indian food around the corner from the Koreans that had a big “vegetarian food” sign, but when I went there all they had left was chicken.
i had the soul food plate with mac & cheese, bbq tofu, kale and lasagna. everything else plays second fiddle.
Scott: I haven’t tried their lasagna yet but it sure does look good. Have you tried their pot roast? It plays second fiddle to none! ;)
sweet, thanks! yea, leave it to Hollywood to have 2 farmer’s markets on the same day within a mile of each other.
The Korean pancakes looked mighty delicious!!! And wonderful blog, btw — while I’m very un-vegan, I do enjoy great vegan meals, so will be looking your way for recs! :)
the roast is good. sometimes i find it a bit too salty. i think the lasagna definitely trumps it. i may go back and forth between roast and bbq tofu now. the bbq tofu was better when they first showed up at the market a bit more than a year ago. i liked the bigger softer chunks. now its cubed too small and too chewy for my tastes.
H.C. Thanks for stopping by… I dig your blog as well! Which reminds me I’ve been meaning to add you to my blogroll, so thanks for the reminder!
Scott: Agreed, their bbq tofu used to be much better. When I walked by last week they had some very tasty looking chocolate vegan cheesecake, hope they have it to try next time I go…
one time they had a ‘fish’ entree that was incredible. layers of tofu skins with a crunchy bread crumb crust on top. it was so good, but i dont think theyve had it since.