3rd Avenue Farmers Market & Asian Bazaar

I got excited when I saw the sign for a farmers market while strolling through Gaslamp… I was surprised when I realized the market only lasted a block. The booths are limited in number and what they offer. At least four were juice stands. If I lived here, there’d never be a reason I would intentionally come to this farmers market-​not enough to choose from or anything you can’t get at another stop.

It’s wonderfull that San Diego is attempting to establish a Farmers Market downtown. However, this one woefully misses the mark. There were 2 stalls selling farm foods, the rest were selling artistic items. And a few commercial eatery tents. Perhaps the draw isn’t there yet, but this is more market, and less farm.

So let me start out by saying I don’t understand the «Asian Bazaar» part of this farmers market. I only went to this farmers market to meet a lady I had previously met at the Flower fields in Carlsbad who sells vintage spoon bracelets. I went last Sunday. unaware that there was also a Padres game going on, so I ended up having to pay $ 12 to park which sucked. It made the situation worse when the vendor I went to see was a no show, nice. Anyway, I decided to make the best of the farmers market since I was already there. I actually ended up spending a small amount of money and walked away with a jar of jalapeño jelly, clay face mask, some cookies, & pita chips/​hummus. I also got to try a new vendor that was out there called Spudz, they make a really delicious Brazilian dish which I think is called a Papa Rellena. It was SO good. like a giant hashbrown with carne asada, cheese, and pico inside. I also was confused because usually farmers market have people selling organic products or produce. there was maybe one vendor there selling that kind of stuff. Also, there was a guy selling very pretty flowers for great prices. I would have gotten some flowers if I had more cash on me (the $ 12 parking was cash only, awesome!). Some vendors here have the square credit card reader for their phones so you can pay with a card, but a lot only take cash so just come prepared. Overall this was nice to walk through for a Sunday afternoon, but I wouldn’t go back often. It’s a very small «farmers market» just a corner of a street block, not really worth going downtown (maybe i’ll take the trolley next time).

I happen upon this Farmer’s Market Sunday morning during my walk. The first thing I noticed was that it was smaller than most I have visited.
Most of the Vendors were just getting under way. When I think of a Farmer’s Market, the first thing I think of is fresh produce and organic products. There were only two vendors selling fresh produce and their variety was limited. Perhaps, the light off and on rain showers kept them from coming today.
All in all, their were some cool thing to be had. Their seemed to be more food vendors than anything else. A lady was cooking up breakfast burritos, a man was getting ready to make some Philly steak sandwiches, a cook was busily preparing kabobs, and older gentlemen had a variety pastries filled with feta and potatoes. All of it sounded great, but since I recently had breakfast, I had to pass.
I did pick up a couple of avocados and a few mandarins.

Smallest one that I’ve been to. Not much to see, but surprisingly a decent selection of food. Kettle corn sold here! I’ve been craving it since the fair went away.

I had a half hour to browse the market on a Sunday while waiting for a table at café 222 to become available.
The term Farmers Market and Asian Bazaar is a little misleading. There were three or four actual farmers stands selling produce only. One stand selling scones, breads, and other baked goods, a jerky stand, a flower stand, and a jelly/​jams stand. I dont know about you, but when I hear farmers market, I want plenty of stands selling various and interesting fresh produce. Not your run of the mill oranges, lettuce, lemons, and other citrus fruits.
The Asian Bazarr portion I must have missed. There might have been a few things for sale at a few booths that were imported from Asia. Maybe that counts.
The other booths were filled with hand crafts, paintings, or food stands.
Skip this «Farmers market» and hop up to the one in hillcrest instead.

This was pretty underwhelming. It was quite a let down from the Little Italy Mercado. There was, maybe, 3 actual farmers there. There were maybe 15 booths there. We were able to walk through it in a few minutes. It was more like an arts and crafts fair. The only thing that was worth anything were the breakfast burritos, which were only so-​so. This was good for the cruise ship tourists, but not for locals or people used to good markets.

I’ve been going to this market ever since I’ve lived downtown and even though it’s very small, I still like it. The breakfast burritos are perfect. The crepes are good (although not very french-​like), the produce and flowers are fresh. And of course there’s the usual ware-​sellers which aren’t generally that interesting to me — jewelery, paintings, hand crafts, some clothing and accessories, etc. For being so small, it does have a wide variety.
So, my rating is based on what I buy — food and flowers.
My favorite is the breakfast burritos (although they do have other types of burritos available). The lady who makes them is nice and it looks like she prepares some of the contents the day before. But, they’re spiced perfectly and mmmm, so tasty. I wish I could get one from her every morning. The breakfast burritos are $ 6, which is a little more than I like to pay, but they’re good. The other burritos are about $ 7 and decently sized.
My second favorite is the $ 3 small bundle of assorted flowers. I pick one up for my wife just about every time I go (which is almost every week if we’re in town). They last for a long time, and usually by the next week when I want to buy another bunch, the last week’s are still fresh and beautiful. They’re perfect for a little «I love you» without spending $ 20 on over priced, old flowers.
Anyway, it’s probably not worth a drive if you’re not in downtown. But, if you are around the block at Café 222 or Richard Walker’s Pancake House, you might stroll through it and just take a look.
Cheers.

This is a nice market. There was live music, a good amount of prepared foods, and the usual other vendors. It was really empty though. Everyone is probably at the market in Hillcrest instead.