Everything Glendale

Filed Under: Downtown Glendale, Events, Farmers' Market, Food, Green Living, Montrose, Shopping

[Editor's Note: Hot off the heels of Olivia's terrific post about everything Montrose has to offer comes Kathy's write-up about the farmers' markets in Downtown Glendale and Montrose. Great minds think alike!]

When was the last time you ate an apple? And not a grocery store apple, those tasteless fruits flown in from New Zealand and China. I'm talking about a farm-fresh apple, one that has been picked mere days, if not hours before, one that is so ripe, so sweet, taste buds secrete fountains of approval. What's that? You don't live on a farm? Either do I, but I eat farm fresh produce at every meal, and I gather my harvest right here in Glendale on Thursdays and Sundays at our very own certified farmers' markets.

The Thursday market takes place on Brand Boulevard, right north of Borders. Compared to other markets, this one is not the best, but it is certainly respectable, with a good amount of vendors. You will find mounds of beautiful produce, a local baker selling fresh bread and cakes, and a representative from CSUN supplying heirloom vegetables and potted plants. Unfortunately, the sidewalk is a tight squeeze, and the umbrellas catch the cigarette smoke of passersby (how is this healthy living?), but hopefully that will change after the recent smoking ban. You'll find free parking in the building behind the market—just tell the cashier as you are leaving and they won't charge you.

Montrose's Sunday market is a favorite of mine—they have a beautiful selection of vendors, many who are certified organic or grow without pesticides. One vendor in particular sells fresh goat cheese from Soledad that is truly out of this world; they offer amazing flavors like garlic-dill and lavender. The market also includes hot-food vendors, pony rides, a live brass band, and games for kids. It makes for a lovely Sunday morning. The one warning I would give is to make sure that another festival (like Octoberfest or Halloween) isn't taking place on the Saturday before; twice over the past six months, we have arrived only to find no market (and left practically in tears).

I started shopping the farmers' markets exclusively after reading Michael Pollan. In his book, In Defense of Food, he argues for the benefits of eating real food: food your great-great-grandmother would recognize, and food that is local and fresh. Pollan explains that the widespread use of industrial fertilizers and the fact that food is picked when it is not yet ripe and then shipped overseas means that grocery-store produce is lacking in both taste and nutritional quality. He notes, "You now have to eat three apples to get the same amount of iron as you have gotten from a single 1940 apple."

Walk yourself down to Brand Boulevard, pick up an apple—or an orange or a tomato or plum—and take a big bite, knowing that you're supporting a local farmer and living the good life.

Glendale Certified Farmers' Market
100 Block of N. Brand Boulevard
Between Broadway and Wilson
http://www.farmernet.com/events/one-cfm?venue_id=808

Hours:
Thursday
9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Montrose Harvest Market
Honolulu Avenue and Ocean View Boulevard
http://www.farmernet.com/events/one-cfm?venue_id=614

Hours:
Sunday
9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.