Berkeley Farmers’ Market

This farmers’ market is all organic, which means it can be a little more expensive. A large heirloom tomato can easily run you $ 6+, which for our family means that this is just an occasional treat. But if you’ve got the spare funds, that sun-​ripened goodness is worth it! And there are deals to be had. Zucchini and squash tend to be a good price at most booths. At the end of the day, you can often get strawberries two-​for-​one or some other discount.
The market’s info stand boasts a fair lot of space for event fliers as well as reusable bags, canteens/​water bottles, and t-​shirts for sale. The friendly booth staff inform me that for people on food stamps, they have a match program where for every regular dollar token you buy up to $ 10 (the regular dollar tokens can be spent on anything), you get a free dollar token that can only be spent on fruits and veggies. What a great way to help nourish people!
It’s a laid-​back atmosphere and there’s a real sense of community. There’s often a fiddler whose music fills the space with a lighthearted, hometown feel. Families eat together on a small plot of grass. We’ll keep coming back as long as this market is around, which I hope will be for many, many years to come.

This is a review for the best organic sheep, cow, and goat cheese available locally – a regular at the market. I am from France, and so I grew up eating delicious cheese. Even by French standards, I’m a bit of a cheese snob. Upon moving to California ten years ago, I began my search for truly delicious local cheese. It took me years, but I eventually found ONE cheesemaker who makes cheese that tastes as delicious as I expect: Weirauch Farm & Creamery. Joel and Carleen, the cheesemaker and shepherdess, are the nicest people too, and they follow the highest standards for humanely raised animals (Animal Welfare Institute). I had a chance to visit their farm and was so pleased to see how happy and well cared for their sheep are. These sheep live on gorgeous free-​range pasture, and they get to keep their lambs with them (unusual for farming). They get their organic cow and goat milk from small family dairies in Sonoma and Marin County. Also, if you like meat, be sure to try their lamb – it’s the most tender lamb I have ever had the pleasure of tasting, and also the most mild-​flavored, like an extra-​tender extra-​mild veal.
Their produces are also available at the Saturday Berkeley’s Farmers’ Market on Center St. & MLK.

North Berkeley Farmers Market on Thursdays is my favorite farmers market by far! It’s from 3pm — 7pm, so it’s perfect for no-​early morning person like me. It’s held in the gourmet grotto with Chez Panisse, Cheese Board and other great restaurants/​shops. The organic produce and fruits at the market are of very high quality and fresher than the best grocery stores in Berkeley like Berkeley Bowl, Monterey Market, Whole Foods and Andronicos. Check it out to see it for yourself :)

The perfect way to spend a Thursday afternoon: groping vegetables, sniffing fruit, sampling citrus and strawberries and convincing yourself that because it’s a Farmer’s Market the taquito and pastry you ate do not break your diet.
I’m a HUGE fan of this particular market because it feel way more intimate tucked away at the foothill of the Berkeley hills and I feel like (personally) the veggie selection is fresher, albeit more expensive, than the Saturday markets.
Located close to ATMs, really fun to chat with people here and learn about how lemons are supposed to be greenish and not fully yellow because that’s Monsanto for ya. Also nice to see a million varieties of peaches and make important decision on which ones you’d want to spend close to 6 dollars a pound for. #lifechoices
So yep. This is my market.

The North Berkeley Farmers Market is an ALL organic market.
Wonderful selection of offerings. All-​star cast of farmers and vendors.
As always, my go-​to is RiverDog Farm! Best!

It’s not the biggest farmers market I’ve been to, but I love the vibe and the location. I love Berkeley! They do have a unique selection of vendors though and plenty to keep me happy. I wish I could go there more often.

Picked up some potatoes, a head of cabbage, and lettuce for my upcoming meals and paid $ 3. Also grabbed a pint of chocolate Ici for $ 10. Will have to fit this into my Thursday routine so I can try some of the seafood, beef and poultry here.
Yes, smaller than other farmers’ markets but everything I needed today!

My second favorite farmers’ market in Berkeley. Less vendors than the Saturday market.

Could you please provide a restroom? I have to ask several retail and grocery stores if they let me use their restroom. This is a hassle! They usually don’t. I park in their space and I’m not even a customer.

I love getting my fresh cow milk and yogurt here! You have to place a $ 1.50 deposit for the ceramic bottle and container though. If you come back frequently, you can the deposit back. I have never tasted anything better than the fresh ingredients that I can get here.
I also love how it’s so convenient to get cash from the CVS by using the cash back option if you forgot to bring cash.

Super convenient and well organized farmer’s market — lots of neighborhood parking, easy to reach by public transit and loads of places to stash your bicycle. The vendors that compel me to return to this market — though it is not the closest weekend farmer’s market for me — are RawDaddy (super delicious savory cones o’vegan goodness!), Phoenix Pastaficcio and the nice Asian ladies who sell piles of delicious mushrooms.
I also adore the musicians who play there — there are usually 2 – 3 groups of musicians playing along this market with amazingly little auditory overlap — just proving you don’t have to be obnoxiously amplified (*ahem* Temescal market!) to provide an enjoyable entertainment experience.

Really awesome organic farmer’s market in Berkeley in Gourmet Ghetto. It’s right by Safeway and CVS. Pretty small for a farmer’s market, but still has a nice selection.
Highlights:
Ici’s Ice Cream: There proportions at the flea market seem larger especially near the end of the farmer’s market albeit there is a limited selection and tend to run out.
Macaroons and Chocolate nutty chewy cookies: I’m not quiet sure what the kart was called, but this place is really delicious. If you ask, they will probably give you deals. 2 macaroons for $ 5
Avacados: Delicious. Organic. Affordable if you buy in bulk.
Cheese/​Butter: This cart won the contest/​fair for the best better. It’s about $ 5 and lasts for a pretty long time. I used the butter for salmon and for crackers and it lasted me a good couple of weeks. Cheeses there are a bit pricey $ 8, but really interesting. I have gotten Sage Cheese and Pesto Cheese. Very unique and delicious!
It’s a nice way to experience a part of Berkeley and experience North Berkeley. Cheeseboard and the rest of Gourmet at the tip of your fingers to explore!

I came across the farmers’ market last Thursday and felt like I walked into a medieval festival. There were people playing music on the grass, and a small but sufficient selection of stands selling strawberries, peaches, cherries, avocadoes, jams, cheeses, meats. Got my daily dose of Vitamin C by eating samples. There was even a stand selling Ici’s ice cream!
Love this place. Even though it’s walking distance from campus, being here is a nice getaway from the college-​town feel.

This Farmer’s Market is nicely located along North Shattuck and offers you the convenient chance to hang out in the Gourmet Ghetto area before, during, and after. And the Thursday timing fits my schedule and commute just right.
As Toni mentions, this place is a bit on the small side, but the selection is good enough for me, and I enjoy the variety and the friendly neighbourhood vibe. Parking is also fairly straightforward if you know where to look.

This is our first time at this farmers market, though it’s been going for a few years now. I’ve never felt comfortable at the Saturday farmers market on Center Street and I figured I wouldn’t here either. A couple of weeks ago we happened on Lone Oak Ranch at the Kaiser Oakland Friday farmers market and picked up a 10 lb bag of oranges for $ 7. We have one orange left and I decided to check whether Lone Oak was at this farmers market. It was, so we drove over shortly after they opened.
It was smaller than I had expected, but a nice size. We went first to Lone Oak and bought a bag of navels (this one was $ 10, probably because there’s a charge for the stall here) plus a few blood oranges and Cara Caras. They also had grapefruit, pomelos and tangerines. To our surprise they accepted credit cards. We wandered through the market. I bought a couple of artichokes to cook tomorrow night and tasted some strawberries that aren’t yet sweet enough. OctoberFeast had a stall and we picked up a couple of pretzels and a couple of croissants. Frog Hollow Farms sold a variety of preserves and conserves, $ 8 apiece or 3 for $ 20. We bought 3 (I’m looking forward to the Meyer lemon marmalade) plus a pastry filled w/​a sweet risotto w/​currants. There was someone selling yogurt and several other bakeries. It was a nicely varied market and I think we’ll shop there again. We lucked into an excellent parking space too. All in all a nice afternoon’s outing.

OMG. I went fruit-​bat-​shit crazy at this farmers’ market in Berkeley. I literally met fruits and veggies I never knew existed. Pluot? What _​is_​that? I was flabbergasted. Peaches and pears and plums, oh my. So many varieties.
There are tonnes of certified organic and local produce, baked goods, preserves, seafood, honey and more. I had a cross between a pretzel and a croissant. What is this place? The farmers market of Dr. Moreau? I love it. It’s an amazing way to spend a sunny afternoon.
Obligatory Title Pun: Catch some rays at this BERK du soleil.
Menu Readability: No menus.
Need to mention: Free samples!
What this place teaches me about myself: I’m a simple man that is blown away by fruit hybrids.

Just a small block of locally grown organic products! Wholesome goodness! There’s this yogurt place there that makes REALLY good yogurt! There’s a bakery there that’s also super YUMMY! The fruits and veggies are all excellent! You can smell it’s freshness a mile away!
Life of a starving college student: if it wasn’t so expensive, I would buy this stuff more often!

This is a small but lovely organic farmer’s market. I might be wrong, but somehow I got the impression that their produce is slightly more expensive than the Tuesday market at Derby and MLK, and the Saturday main market at Center and MLK. Perhaps it’s because they are CERTIFIED organic produce, and certification costs money, which falls upon the consumers. Or perhaps it’s because of the undeniably exceptional, first-​rate quality of their produce. I don’t know.
Nonetheless, this market has the MOST chill, relaxing and lovely ambience among all three in Berkeley. The North Berkeley Gourmet Ghetto location is wonderful — very tranquil, comforting and peaceful. I especially love to stroll here on a breezy, sunny spring or summer afternoon to buy veggies. It’s got a warm neighborly vibe, and there are always toddlers and dogs playing on the grassy strip, musicians playing and people reading or chatting under the sun. Nice people, good vibes…
So stop eating canned food and TV dinners and come here! Buy organic veggies. Soak in the lively atmosphere. Cook the vegetable as simply as possible to retain the original organic taste. For example, cook zucchini simply in a hot pan, and dress with just olive oil and vinegar (as opposed to smothering them in batter, deep frying them, and dunking them in heavy sauces). You won’t know how DIVINE good-​quality organic food taste until you try it.

I went to Berkeley Thursday Farmer Market after walking from Downtown Berkeley to the FM — it’s about 1mi or so (15 – 20 min). It’s from 3−7pm year-​round on Shattuck & Rose near the CVS in North Berkeley Gourmet Ghetto.
They have lights so even though it gets dark earlier now you can still shop. That’s GREAT!
Lots of Fall items now:
Butternut squash
pears
Fuyu persimmons
Frog Hollow Farms was selling their pastries for ½ off at 6:15pm. It depends if they have lots & trying to get rid of their stuff. I got a large chocolate cherry cookie $ 1 (reg. $ 2) and a bag of the mini cherry chocolate chip cookies for $ 2 (reg. $ 4 i guess). Galettes were on sale too.
Ici ice cream has a cart selling ice cream. That’s very cool. I got a pumpkin ice cream sandwich on gingersnap cookies for $ 4.25. Ice cream was very mild, but cookies were good.
Hodo Soy Beanery was there. I can’t wait to do their tour of their new facility in Dec!
Organic Gravenstein Apple Cider — Looks good. Will get another time.
Flacos — Unique vegetarian Mexican food. Will try another time.
Saint Benoit Yogurt has a stand.
Hog Island Oyster Company was there
Highland Hills Farm — grassfed beef, lamb & goat
Happy Boy Farms — certified organic produce
OctoberFeast from SF has breads & pretzels ($ 2). Didn’t get anything, next time.
I hope to go back one day.

My favorite farmers’ market because of all the organic stuff. Never mind that this and many other farmers’ markets are overpriced — why oh why should things cost so much more here? Is it what the market will bear?
In spite of that I can find pesticide free gai lon and other asian veggies; fantastic real strawberries and other fantastic stuff.
I usually walk though once and check what is available and the prices. I try to prioritize getting what is the most fresh and unavailable at the Bowl or other stores.