Yup, you read correctly: I like to buy produce at the flea market.
Perhaps some background info would help... I live in an area with a booming Latino population. In our area, a lot of immigrants are small business owners, and the business of choice for many Latinos here is produce distribution. My best guess is they have a network of friends and family who own farms in the Southeast region and they gather and sell it, but I'm not really sure.
At any rate, there is a rather huge flea market in our town that is very centrally located to one of our main Latino communities. It caters to the regular flea market crowd, of course, so there are still rows upon rows of people selling all kinds of stuff. But, in the back quarter of the market, near the parking lot, it's like stepping into a street market from Central America. I love it!
There are hats, crafts, music, and food vendors among other things. In my trip yesterday I counted 4 produce vendors on the one row I visited, although I'm sure there are others in the areas I didn't visit.
So, you're probably asking: WHY bother going to the flea market to buy produce? Isn't it easier to just go to the store?
Sure, it's easier. It's not nearly as fun, though. As an added bonus the flea market produce is significantly cheaper. Most importantly, though, their produce is BETTER than just about anything I've found in any grocery store. Better, cheaper, and more fun? I'm so in!
As an aside, the other nice thing about the flea market produce is the variety. The rest of this entry is about pretty standard fair produce, but had I wanted to I could have could have bought mangoes, papayas, agave cactus leaves, mini-bananas, and a bunch of other things I've never really had before.
I went yesterday because my father was hosting a pot luck at his cigar store, and I wanted to bring pico de gallo, guacamole, and black beans. FYI, I bought the black beans at Publix in a can so they're not covered in the rest of the entry 
So, here's my haul from the flea market yesterday.
This includes 10 limes, 6 lbs of tomatoes, 5 avocadoes, 5 jalepenos, 2 poblano peppers, 2 onions, and a bunch of cilantro. My total was $18.
To give you an idea of what this would have cost in the grocery store I frequent:
10 limes @ 3 for a buck on sale = $3.33
6 lbs of tomatoes @ $1.99/lb on sale = $11.94
5 avocadoes @ $0.99/ea on sale = $4.95
5 jalepenos @ $1.99/lb on sale = $0.50
2 poblano peppers @ $2.99/lb on sale = $1.50
2 onions @ $0.99/lb on sale = $1.24
1 bunch cilantro @ $0.99/ea on sale = $0.99
That adds up to $24.45 + $0.74 in sales tax. Plus I would have to find all the items on sale, not to mention that the prices above are the best ones from two separate grocery stores, not just one.
And the best part? The flea market has produce in whatever stage of ripeness you want. Since this was all going to be eaten the day of purchase, I was able to get 6 lbs of perfectly ripe (and YUMMY) tomatoes, 5 avocadoes that slid out of their skin, and cilantro that looked like it might have been picked that morning.
The funniest part? There was less dirt in the cilantro from the flea market than in the stuff I buy from a regular store!!
I Buy Produce at the Flea Market
April 22nd, 2007 at 04:24 pm
April 22nd, 2007 at 04:36 pm 1177259777
April 22nd, 2007 at 04:43 pm 1177260219
Great Stuff Tina!
April 22nd, 2007 at 05:03 pm 1177261435
April 22nd, 2007 at 10:06 pm 1177279605
April 23rd, 2007 at 01:36 am 1177292209
April 23rd, 2007 at 02:15 am 1177294545
baselle: there is remarkable little pawing if i go to one of the bigger booths. the pickings are slim if i go later on sunday, but any time up to then they are continuously bringing in fresh stock. the trick to getting nicely ripe or over ripe for same-day consumption is to get there just after noon on saturday, when the first few layers have been bought and sifted over. for produce that will last throughout the week, they bring out fresh stock saturday afternoon and sunday morning.
April 23rd, 2007 at 03:44 pm 1177343052
April 23rd, 2007 at 07:30 pm 1177356649