It’s a True Cornucopia

Looking for a vacation from the routine? Why not be a tourist in your own backyard? Calendar Weekend’s Day-Tripping is an occasional series of local outings. We start with a visit to a farmers’ market that offers much more than produce. We plan on other outings and welcome suggestions.

*

I’m from New York. I miss the street life. That’s why I was so happy to discover the Hollywood Farmers’ Market. From 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Sunday on the two blocks of Ivar between Hollywood and Sunset boulevards, it provides a weekly opportunity to slip into the flow of humanity and emerge toting shopping bags overflowing with organic produce, gourmet foods, flowers and specialty handicrafts like mango-scented soap. You can even adopt a pet from the neighborhood Animal Group. Or you can settle for a bag of ladybugs to let loose in your garden.

Since an estimated 5,000 people pass through the market every Sunday, it’s a real fanny-bumper. I don’t know all those people, but from the number of acquaintances I run into every week, I must know a good percentage. Some of the ones with blue streaks in their punk haircuts are my friends; other exotic Hollywood denizens with multiple piercings I just admire from a distance, like the 6-foot-tall African American guy I saw carrying a flat of wheatgrass home on his head.

My favorite chance encounter was the time I came across Father Guido Sarducci with “Mr. Bill’ creator Walter Williams and a film crew, making “Mr. Bill’s Christmas.” Excitingly enough, I got to be in the video, telling Father Guido he couldn’t come to Christmas dinner at my house. I didn’t get paid, but they did send me a free copy.

A lot of market regulars are parents, which can make for stroller gridlock. Many are European; my French friend Caroline, who has lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years without losing her accent or her sure touch in the kitchen, rarely skips a Sunday. And almost everyone, except Father Guido Sarducci, is there for the food.

Where else, for instance, can you find green eggs? Available only from Lily Farms, these petite pale-green gems from the Chilean Arucana hen are supposed to be higher in vitamins B and E and lower in cholesterol, and, according to the hand-lettered sign, “Dr. Suess says no ham included.” They usually sell out early.

So does the beluga caviar at $22 an ounce from Epicure Smoked Seafood & Caviar. The chevre from Emily Thomson goes fast as well. But lest you think this market is strictly for upscale foodies, all vendors must accept food stamps. And they, or a member of their immediate family, must grow, raise or catch at least 50% of what they sell.

Kachi Takahashi, who operates what appears to be the most popular produce stand, Top Veg, says that after 35 years, her family’s farm is one of the last left in L.A. County. She has a steady stream of repeat customers. Chef Fred Eric of Vida and Fred 62 shops there.

Scott Peacock’s daughter Heidi, from Peacock Farms, says she’s been working farmers’ markets since she was 8 and now, at 29, “I’m ready for retirement.” Every Sunday, she gets up at 2:30 a.m. to drive down from Arroyo Grande to sell roses she grows herself, and grapes, persimmons, tomatoes, eggplant, eggs, raisins, and sauces, jams and relishes from her family’s fourth-generation farm just south of Fresno. “I love what I do,” she says. “But I’ve learned not to stay out late on Saturday night.”

Part of the fun is getting to know the people behind the stacks of fresh produce. One of the friendliest is David “the Mushroom Guy” West, who started growing “literally in the basement of my house.” He always tosses an extra handful of mushrooms in the bag, and his recipes are free for the asking.

Free cooking advice is also available from John Siracusa, who sells fish that he and his son Peter catch on their 42-foot boat out of San Pedro. Their fresh swordfish keeps for several days in the fridge and slices like butter. They also cook up fried calamari, fish ‘n’ chips and fresh ceviche.

You can snack your way around, noshing on free samples like the strawberries from Harry’s Berries, the nuts from Santa Barbara Flavored Pistachios, the garlic-and-eggplant spread from Marin Gourmet, the fresh pomegranate juice from Sherrill Orchards, or the fuji apples from several different stands.

More serious eaters have many options: chicken mole at Juanita’s Mexican Foods, fresh peach crepes with whipped cream from Country Crepes, a low-fat sausage sandwich from Gourmet Sausages, or a sinful cinnamon bun at the Focacceria.

But two lunchtime choices stand out: Corn Maiden tamales and the Bag Lady’s seafood gumbo. I can’t leave the market without one or the other--and sometimes I break down and indulge in both.

The people who run Corn Maiden have a romantic back story: French chef Pascal Dropsy met Native American Santa-Fe-style tamale maker Shirley Coriz, and the happy result of their union turned out to be the best tamales you’ve ever tasted. Handmade and hand-tied, without lard or preservatives, the tamales feature such ingredients as goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes or spinach, leeks, fresh corn and nutmeg.

The line at the tamale stand is long enough to be daunting, but that didn’t stop customer Marlene Singer from buying frozen tamales to take to Boston to celebrate the birth of her grandson, Eli Martin Solomon, “8-and-a-half pounds, 20 inches.” “I got a dozen green corn and a dozen pork and red chile,” she said, “because in my family we like to cry over our food.”

The Bag Lady herself, Marlene M. Myrie, presides over the gumbo and other delights at the stand next door. “I do bouillabaisse too, and I’m going to have jambalaya,” Myrie says. She hails from Costa Rica, but “my grandparents are from Jamaica. I’ve been cooking since I was 9. I like to cross borders with my food--I call it Caribbean bleeding into Creole.”

The barbecued chicken and ribs look swell, and her peach cobbler earns raves. But personally I’ve never made it past the gumbo. A friend of mine buys it by the quart and freezes it. The Bag Lady caters, too. Her card features a quote from Victor Hugo: “Nothing in this world is so powerful as an idea whose time has come.” And nothing in this world is so powerful as her gumbo.

I’m surprised a version of this motto hasn’t been adopted by the people at the jojoba stall, Penny and Gary Tremper. They’re on a mission to educate the world about the wonders of jojoba as a substitute for whale oil. They call themselves the “Jojoba’s Witnesses.” A word to the wise: Don’t stop and talk to them if you’re pressed for time. And especially don’t get drawn into conversation with the Willy the Whale hand puppet.

I like to pause to listen to guitar man Clark Allen, one of several musicians who perform at the market on a regular basis. Now “almost 73,” he used to own a popular flamenco cabaret, El Cid, on Sunset. He played flamenco guitar for his actress-dancer wife, Margarita Cordoba, in the Marlon Brando film “One-Eyed Jacks.” He still accompanies flamenco dancers, and although playing at the market doesn’t net big bucks, he says, “I meet a lot of nice people.”

My sentiments exactly.

*

Anne Beatts is a two-time Emmy winning writer for “Saturday Night Live,” the creator of TV’s “Square Pegs” and co-editor of “Titters: The First Collection of Humor by Women” (Macmillan).

BE THERE

Hollywood Farmers’ Market, Sundays, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Ivar Avenue between Hollywood and Sunset boulevards in Hollywood.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

More Farmers’ Markets

Dozens of Southern California cities have farmers’ markets throughout the year. Here are some of the best (all are year-round unless otherwise noted).

Beverly Hills: 200 block of North Cannon Drive, Sundays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Brentwood Village: 16600 block of Chayote Street, Wednesdays, 4-7:30 p.m.

Downtown L.A.: Seventh Marketplace, 735 S. Figueroa St., Thursdays, noon-5:30 p.m.

Northridge: Wilbur and Nordhoff streets, Saturdays (June-May), 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Santa Monica: Arizona Avenue between 2nd and 3rd streets, Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; Saturdays, 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Santa Monica: 2640 Main St., Sundays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

West Hollywood: Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd., Mondays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.