El Cerrito Plaza Farmers' Market

I go to this market every week. It is small, but that is a very, very, good thing. The vendors are actually farmers. The produce is actually what's in season. Go to the big outdoor markets if you want a show, and want to pay for it. Come here if you want to buy 5-6 local, in season items each week, purchased from the people who actually grew those items.

Maybe it's the impact from Covid19, but the El Cerrito Plaza Farmers' Market was small and not well curated. It mostly boasted similar tents selling veggies, and a tent selling honey.A stone's throw away from Trader Joes, it was a customer ghost town when we got there about 20 minutes before closing. There was no live music, no food trucks or food tents, and overall it just seemed a bit sad and withdrawn.We've really enjoyed our experiences at the bright and fun Kensington Farmers' Market, so we likely won't be back.

Farmers' Market in El Cerrito is the place to be on Saturday and Tuesday. I only gone to the Saturday and I need to check it out on Tuesday. The Saturday market gets plenty of people stopping by. It is infront of Trader Joe's where people do their grocery shopping.It isn't quite big compare to Alemany or Diablo Valley Farmers' Market which is also held on Saturday. It is located in the plaza which had plenty of parking spaces.The tents that are at this location is nice. Not only you see fruits and vegetables being sold but also pastries and coffee are being sold here.Check out the El Cerrito Plaza Farmer's Market Satuday and Tuesday 9am-1pm

Like the Heart of the City Farmers' Market in San Francisco's Civic Center (review: http://bit.ly/2NFGwhl), this is one of those farmers' markets that sneaks up and delights you without calling undue attention to itself. No dog and pony show here like it was camera-ready for CreateTV although I did see one woman forlornly sing some Joni Mitchell with her guitar (photo: http://bit.ly/2A77PiS). The market's only open for four hours on Saturdays and Tuesdays from 9AM to 1PM, and it's crowded into a section of the El Cerrito Plaza parking lot that would be otherwise pretty empty anyway.But you do have to watch for drivers that try to dart ahead of you as you walk to your market with your recycled Trader Joe's shopping bag. There was a bounty of fine produce to be found in the main aisles though I've noticed that they start folding up their tables around noon. You can also get fresh seafood and alluring baked goods here. Fish I can eat but I'm on constant calorie watch, so I haven't tried any of the doughy confections. There were also women serving tamales and Indian food. I have weakened and bought a handmade tamale. Good stuff.

The good is that this is a different market with some interesting food stuffs, but my experience with them is enough for me to take the many stars that they should have away.The woman who manages it is an ogre. I don't know if it was her personality or not, but yelling at people is not a good communication tool, when you are asking for basic things. Running over to people entering the market at 1:55 or afterwards, with a sign and screaming "Closed!" at the top of her lungs until you turn around and walk way is really off putting. Especially when I know what I want and where to get it and it'll take two seconds.I used to sell bath and body products. And I hated that this woman talked to me like I was a five year old. She didn't talk to other vendors the same way. We (the crafts people) were also separated from everyone elsed and not integrated to the market. I don't know if it's a plaza policy, but I could only sell at the Tuesday market, and those of us there were on disability and couldn't work a regular job. I made my way to one at a Jr. High and talked them into letting me have Tuesday's off. They said yes (they were desperate). But I was making more money being abused by the 7th and 8th graders so I went back to teaching Jr. High on Tuesdays.I shop here because they have the same produce as Berkeley and it's fresher than what you'd find at Trader Joes or even Sprouts. And when I see the ogre, I walk in the opposite direction.

Omg the produce selection is livid!!! Can get a little pricy when it comes to certain items but you do get what you pay for. Never had a bad experience here. Friendly staff and decent prices

The El Cerrito Plaza Farmer's Market is one of the best in town. Here, take my hand and I'll show you around!We'll start at the Southwest corner, closest to Wells Fargo, there you'll find Hudson Fish, home to some of the sweetest and freshest seafood I've ever had. During crab season, they consistently have the best crab in town. Their fish is excellent year-round. If you don't know what to get, just ask, they're friendly and helpful. We start here because they sell out of the good stuff early, but fear not, they'll gladly put your purchase in the cooler for later pickup, along with a complimentary bag of ice to keep it cold for your trip home.Continuing from here, your next stop is Beckmann's old world bakery, driven in fresh from Santa Cruz each Saturday morning. If you're nice they'll probably even give you a sample or two of something delicious. My favorite picks: jalapeno cheese twists, sliced marble rye bread, and of course their award winning pies. I also try to keep a bag of their Holiday rolls and Francese rolls in our freezer at all times. They're convenient to throw in the toaster from frozen, and they come out steaming full of deliciousness.Continuing along this path, you'll pass the tamale booth (nom nom nom) and the indian food booth (equally nom nom nom). Both of these lovely ladies make excellent and easy meals to take home, or eat on the spot. Continue up this aisle on the right side and you'll come to the most popular table of vegetables in the market, Vue Farm from Fresno. Here you'll find all kinds of fresh greens and other $1 per bundle veggies, both Asian and otherwise. They offer lots of healthy leafy greens, and the price is the best in the market.Turning around now we'll head back to J&J Ramos Farm, for excellent stone fruit, apples, and oranges. They're always busy as well (you'll notice a trend here), but they can always find time to offer a sample, or a recommendation for what is sweetest to eat today.Wrapping around J&J, before you get to the musicians, you'll find Rainbow Orchards, their apples and cider are the best in the market. Their Pink Lady apples are the perfect combination of sweet, crunchy, and tart. Pair with cheese, or make a tarte tatin. During blueberry season, these are the ones to get.Just past the the little apple table, we stop and watch the musicians, after my 2 year old daughter gets her groove on, we drop a dollar in the open guitar case and continue on. Just past the musicians: sweet berries from the Fresno Valley. I'm not sure how they do it, but they manage to provide year-round perfectly ripe strawberries, and often red and golden raspberries and blackberries as well.Across from the strawberries a vendor offers nice but expensive vegetables. I come for their fresh mushrooms. From here we loop back around the musicians for one more jig, and marvel at the beautiful orchids as we walk back towards Hudson Fish where we started. We make one last stop at Gratto Farm from French Camp, where we pick up the last of our vegetables. Anything we haven't gotten yet, we can find here, including excellent broccoli, carrots, celery, swiss chard, onions, garlic, squash, potatoes, cauliflower, and just about anything else we might need. Also, they're ridiculously nice, and prices are reasonable. We stop back at Hudson to pick up the fish we bought earlier, and we're on our way home with our bounty!Who's ready to cook?

Small farmer's market with just the essentials: a few vegetable vendors with reasonable prices ($2 to $4 per lb); one or two fruit vendors (apples and persimmons in season currently); one floral vendor; and a few hot food vendors too (Sukhi's). I was able to look around entirely in under 20 minutes.Produce quality was so-so. Personally I like the selection, quality, and prices at the Kensington or Jack London Square farmer's markets more (both on Sundays). None of the "big name" vendors were here, however: no East-West (bolani), Happy Boy Farms, or Frog Hollow. Also pretty crowded as it shares some prime real estate with Trader Joe's.

Nice if small selection. Would be five stars except one person smoking disturbed my senses. How can I smell the produce? No one can stop this but maybe my post will help.A

Great market for neighborhood. I come here twice a week and purchase all my produce. They may be expensive compared to sprouts or Trader Joe's but produce is farm fresh and locally grown. I always considered it 5 stars but took one star away for the behavior of the co manager or whatever he is with Jean. Today I was standing in line and he oblivious to all the patrons was watching porn on his phone. Apparently at his age he is hard of hearing and has it on loud enough for us to hear. I came home and threw up.