Lemon’s Philo Market

This pint size rural market packs a serious gourmet hootenanny punch! Better than any market you can find in Booneville and they definitely do not price gouge! We stayed up in Anderson Valley for New Years and came here to buy steak to grill, oysters to slurp with some bubbly and dungeness crab as a treat which they totally hooked us up on because they were live. I was sworn to secrecy not to reveal the price by the incredibly sweet ladies behind the deli counter. I guess people really hate cleaning and cooking live crabs? My honey does it over the campfire — eat that!
All deli and grocery items were priced very reasonably and were very fresh. and they even let us borrow a shucking knife for the night. They are so sweet!
But yeah — this market helped us get some serious glamping/​cabinning in and ring in New Years surrounded by wine country and redwoods. Gourmet dinners every night over the fire thanks to trusty Lemon’s! Happy 2014.

People working in the deli are incredibly rude. We bought eight sandwiches and the lady acted like it was a huge hassle. Typical «abe» townie who doesn’t understand us «bright-​liters.»

Lemon’s isn’t «decent» or «pretty good»… it’s excellent! I’ve seen reviews stating the sandwiches are pretty good, or decent. What a load of BS! Their sandwiches are awesome! We were up visiting family members who own property up the valley from the Lemon’s farm, which has been there and owned by the Lemons for, like, a hundred years. We bought sandwiches from them before heading to the swimming hole at the river nearby. The offerings are wide spread meats, you can have regular, brown and even Mendocino (gourmet) Mustard on your sandwich. A cheese choice give you three nice pieces of cheese. I got a pastrami on sliced sourdough, with all the usual veggies plus pepperoncinis (jalapenos offered as well), salt and pepper, Gouda cheese and Mendo Mustard. It was one of the best sandwiches I’ve had, all the others agreed theirs were as well. Not overly huge, just big, and extremely fresh ingredients made it great!
Another thing Lemon’s has going for it is the staff. Our hosts made us aware of the family aspects of the store and told us of the fisherman in the family who supplies the fresh fish and other seafoods (there was a beautiful whole salmon in the deli case when we were there… beautiful really doesn’t do it justice) as well as the fact that they do their own butchering onsite. You want steaks? A brisket? Rib eyes from hell, and want them 2″ thick? Just ask and they will make it up for you. Their meat is gorgeous, they make their own sausages… this place is a local gem where you can find great quality foods at fair prices. They have the very best peanuts I have ever tasted in the store (the roasted salted, didn’t taste the roasted unsalted), they have a coffee selection that’s kinda limited, but it’s in huge bags that you can scoop your coffee from, giving the aroma a chance to waft up your nose. Great stuff.
We stopped in the first time while a younger gal was working alone, she was really nice and helpful and gave us directions, chatted with us as though we’d know her for years. Later, we came in while it was crowded. The deli was staffed by two women who whipped out our great sandwiches. I think one of them was a matriarch in the Lemon clan. Very friendly, informative about the fresh fish catches. I so wanted to take some steaks home with us, but we ate so much meat while there we didn’t want to force more into tonight’s diet, but we’ll get some next time through!
Their veggie and fruit isle is well stocked with nice, fresh stuff. They have a good selection of chips and snacks, drinks and some of the better local wines (as well as others) plus all the staples you go into funky country markets for, but they have something most of those places don’t have; personality. And they have longevity. Reviews that give less than high marks to this market are written by people who either had a bad day or are clueless to the small things that separate this market from most others of its kind. This place rocks! Next time we go to Mendo or Fort Bragg (not to mention next time we visit our Philo hosts), we will stop for peanuts, some of their awesome meats and grab some sandwiches to go! Love this place.

Really the only place in Philo… so there’s not much choice but we dropped by to get something to eat for bfast the next day and I grabbed a pasta salad (yes…i’m weird. i like lunch food for my bfasts). Anyways, the pasta salad was YUM

Great local vibe, everybody knows everybody else. Grocery goods are a little pricy but the fresh seafood is tough to beat. We bought two, 2 lb crabs that were caught and cooked the night before and had ourselves a feast last night. Probably the best option for fresh crab on our way up the Mendocino coast and definitely cheaper than going to a restaurant in Mendo or Fort Bragg for a winter crab fix.

Fresh steaks and Clover Vanilla Beach ice cream.
That is all you want and that is all you need from this excellent grocery store in the middle of Philo.
I am still amazed by the quality and freshness of produce they had there.
In and out.
Now back to the house for some grubbing.

Small grocery in Philo has great sandwiches, made to order! Locals frequent this all purpose grocery, deli, meat market, wine shop, etc. Staff are friendly and food is economical compared to high end deli’s in area. Pick up some sandwiches and head to Navarro or Goldeneye for a picnic overlooking the vineyards. A must do while wine tasting in Anderson Valley.