Laguna Beach Farmers Market

Featured on Nov. 13, 2009

The Laguna Beach farmers market, held in a city parking lot below a huge bluff, has remained a stable, successful venue for the past decade. It features about 20 produce vendors, including three Orange County vegetable growers, Smith Farms and two branches of the Berumen family.

The best display belongs to Amado Rodriguez of J.R. Organics, from Escondido, who offers a wide range of freshly picked vegetables, including pristine Sebring gold zucchini, and unusual Purple Queen beans, which are dark purple, almost black, on the outside, and green inside. The beans' color fades to dark green with cooking, even if they are roasted rather than steamed, but the flavor is excellent. The farm, which brings dazzling bouquets of dried red Thai chiles and multicolored ristras, also sells at the Manhattan Beach, Mar Vista, and Santa Monica (Virginia Park) markets and offers a community-supported agriculture program.