Frogtown Farm

I visited this farmers' market last Saturday on a friend's recommendation. It has all the ingredients I love - it is small, perhaps 40 vendors at the most, mostly Hmong. The market is in a parking lot with plenty of left-over space for parking. It focuses exclusively on fresh vegetables, herbs and some flowers. The enormous variety of greens I found here left me dizzy. For the first time in the USA, I found red amaranth greens!! And then, jute greens - yes, they are delicious stir-fried with garlic. There were gorgeous squash blossoms as well as tender squash greens. There were several greens that were new for me and the vendors, many of them women, suggested how to cook them. I got a huge bouquet of zinnias for $5, and big fat bundles of basil, cilantro, dill, each for a dollar. The market also had more common produce like cucumber, green beans, zucchini, spring onions, new potatoes, etc. I am definitely driving across town to this farmers' market - can't wait for Saturday to arrive.

Not to be all sassy but I feel like this farmer's market is nothing compared to the Minneapolis Farmer's Market...it's pretty small and does not have as nice of a selection of fresh produce. Most of the vendors sell the exact same items for the same price so there's not really an advantage to walking around and browsing. The market itself is located in the parking lot of a strip mall so you can just assume anytime you go there on the weekends the lot is going to be a huge cluster. Prices range from $1-$10 for items and it really is limited to fruits, vegetables, and maybe some flowers depending on the season. If you are looking to spend a couple hours browsing for unique breeds of fresh produce, flowers, hot food vendors, or gourmet/artisan items...THIS MARKET IS NOT FOR YOU. If you happened to forget to pick up some carrots or lettuce from the grocery store in the strip mall as you are walking out to your car, this market might be a better fit. I would say if you don't live in the frog town area, it's just not worth the stress of University Avenue and pedestrian traffic for the trip out here.

Mamet was good; however, at Hmongtown Marketplace you have food as well. Frogtown grocery is dirty. I would choose others before going back.

This farmer's market serves a special niche in the Twin Cities farmer's market scene. All the growers seem to be of Asian origin (presumably Hmong). Most of the customers seem to be of SE / E Asian, S Asian, or African origin. This is a market that caters to that customer base's big-cooking-project wishlist.-- You WILL find large, cheap quantities of bitter ball. You WILL find good prices on lawn-and-leaf-bag-sized quantities of collard greens when they're in peak season. You WILL have an easier time finding just about every single variety of plant in the mustard/broccoli family in season in Minnesota than you might at another market. You WILL find more variety and abundance in melons and squashes favored by Asian/African immigrants than you might at another market.-- You will NOT find blueberries at this market. You probably won't even find apples, strawberries, or raspberries. You probably will NOT find arugula here (but you probably will find leaf lettuce and spinach, in season). The heirloom tomato selection may be smaller than at many other markets. Certain varieties of winter squash favored by customers of western European origin common at co-ops and other farmer's markets may be harder to find here. You will NOT find people selling their own meat or eggs or dairy at this market.The market in the Unidale mall parking lot serves a niche similar to the one outside the Hmongtown market (but is easier to get to), and I always try to come up with a recipe around its selection, pricing, and quantities whenever I have a chance to go.-- If you're making a large quantity of stir-fry, curry, or boiled greens, or if you're looking for fresh-picked versions of the kinds of produce commonly found in Asian/Indian/African grocery stores whose appearance is sporadic at other farmer's markets, this is a wonderful market and easy to get to (although I do recommend parking at the Salvation Army / 7 Mile Beauty / fish joint end of the parking lot, for your sanity, and walking to the farmer's market end of the parking lot -- so much less risk of a car accident).-- If you're making a small pea-shoot stir-fry, with strawberries for dinner, you're probably better served at the downtown St. Paul or Minneapolis farmer's market (Minneapolis if you're leaning towards more variety of Asian/African/Indian veggies, St. Paul if you're leaning towards more variety of dairy and heirloom tomato -- at least last time I was there).Finally, this market is right outside a big Asian grocery store (and near many more), so if you need anything else, like a lime or soy sauce, they are at your disposal.

I love this market. I am a little concerned that the produce isn't local but I can't base that on much beyond suspicion. This market fits my needs since I love to can, pickle and preserve. Prices are fantastic compared to other markets. If you buy in large quantities you can typically talk the vendors down to a lower price. The market prices also beat grocery stores like cub. I suggest going on a Friday if possible. Late morning and early afternoon on Saturday and Sunday get super busy. Another tip is to bring a cart or wagon and your own bags if you have a long list. I go at slow times since my wagon is a bit cumbersome. But when hauling the amount of produce I get others can just suffer!!It is true that if you aren't an adventurous eater or shopper you may see the strange and unusual. But try something new! Vendors are happy to talk to you if it isn't too busy. Although I'm still trying to figure out why anyone would ever eat a bitter melon! Yuk!!

Yes, most vendors sell similar things to the others. About half mainstrem veg and half hmong/asian veg. But they are cheaper on some things! If you want a bushel basket of pickles or tomato seconds for canning and you don't want to pay a ton of money, then this is it. I have gotten baby cukes for canning here for like $18-25 for a huge basket vs. $30-40 they were asking downtown.