Opening night – the 2014 Farmers’ Market report

Seeing the shiny white tips of the market tents poking through the Plaza trees was certainly a sight for sore eyes.  Each long winter, the months pass in a chilly, wet blur as we count the days until the hot summer Sonoma sun returns and with it icy white wine, peaches, and the Tuesday Night Market: the official, unofficial beginning of the wonderfully food and wine-filled Sonoma summer. Our market, most certainly an event cherished by the whole town.

The heavy May breezes that often take the fun out of the early in-the-season market nights remained beautifully calm for last week’s very first Tuesday market of the season.  The evening was simply all a-glowy, the late afternoon sun casting a dreamy light on the already movie set perfection of the scene.

The first market: always a marvelous opportunity to sample the fare of the new and returning food vendors.  My slightly starving group of friends convened around a large picnic table that was quickly covered with many bottles of wine and a few tasty nibbles, which luckily included a friend’s famous, ridiculously yummy, curried deviled eggs.  Tuesday markets are a beloved opportunity to not only procure my week’s supply of local veggies, but to picnic; easily one of my most joy-filled pastimes.  Though, tonight, we were on a mission to discover the tastiest treats the market had in store for Sonomans this year.

There were many goodies from Chai’s Gourmet.  Fresh spring rolls were the ideal, cooling starter on that lovely warm evening.  Each was stuffed with crunchy lettuces and meant to be dunked into a sweet-spicy-sticky sauce.  I missed the typical fattening peanut sauce often served with these, but they were scrumptious all the same, We all tucked into a couple of massive hoagie rolls, in the style of a Vietnamese banh mi, all truly overflowing with spiced pork or tender tofu, and a refreshing pile of shredded vegetables.  A fragrant soup was a favorite, warm curried spices co-mingling with a creamy, coco-nutty broth, the dish both soothing and comfy.

Not being able to sink my teeth into Rob Larman’s succulent, perfectly sauced pulled pork sandwich this year will forever be a tragedy — his application to be a market vendor this year was, in my opinion, foolishly denied by the market management! The cute chicken frying folks at Drumbs and Crumbs are now in that, sadly, smoke-free corner space.  Greasy fingerprint-stained Kraft colored boxes littered our enviable, food-crammed table.  The chicken all gobbled down quickly by our group.

I was thrilled to see that Rocket has returned to the market.  Their flawless tuna poke is always gorgeous, a fresh, healthy alternative to so many not great for you market offerings.  Salads from the Rocket gals are also unfailingly pretty, loaded with local veggies and expertly tossed with homemade, thoughtfully matched dressings.  Even if you’re not hungry, be sure to sip on one of their restoring beverages.  The strawberry mint elixir was unbelievably yummy, even though I couldn’t help but imagine it doused with booze.  On a side note, in news to be filed under “yippee!,” I heard the Rocket crew will soon be reopening their Springs restaurant.

Mike the [bejkr] is back, thank God, with his world-class breads at his stand on the west side of City Hall.  His gorgeous, crusty baguettes are dreamy, and could be dinner in themselves, but what you truly want are his crazy-good flatbreads.  His dough is nothing short of pizza dough perfection.  It has this wonderful, subtle yeastiness.  The edges char in the most wonderful way from the extreme heat of the fire and the crust always has the most delightful, ideal chew.  Toppings vary week to week and are always seasonal, obtained from other market vendors, but always feature a restrained amount of vegetables, slivered remarkably thin and finished with a few dots of some unique, and if we’re lucky, stinky cheese.  This is slow food at its finest, hence the inevitable, but so-worth-it, line.

There were so many more bites of ridiculously fun fare: tender tri-tip sandwiches and Thai noodles, little local strawberry cupcakes, and gooey cheese-filled crepes.  All the bites left me utterly grateful for the market, the hardworking vendors, our heavenly little town.

There was one bite that literally stopped me in my tracks.  A bite of a sandwich so mind-blowingly delicious that I had to stop chewing mid-bite and have another look at what I had just, sort of brainlessly, stuck into my mouth.  This sandwich was the epitome of sandwich perfection.  The bread was masterfully sliced, the ingredients layered in the ultimate quantity.  This happy dance-inducing sandwich was an inspired arrangement of fennel-studded sausage, all crisp and delightfully slick with porky juices and fat, all dripping magically into melty cheese and a moist layer of tangy sauerkraut.  The menu at the Farmer’s Wife booth sports nine, yes nine, grilled cheese offerings.  It will be nearly impossible to not order the same one next Tuesday, but I am somehow have a happy feeling each might simply be more insanely delicious then the next.

Every year as the market slides into full swing, I am reminded that I made the decision to move to Sonoma after strolling thru a Tuesday Farmer’s Market.  That night, I figured that the whole town was there, picnicking, sipping wine, laughing, eating, watching little kids dancing barefoot in the grass.  On that evening, seven years ago, I gawked at the massive tables spilling heirloom tomatoes and watched in wonderment as the line for hand-dipped corn dogs snaked practically around the block.  I knew at that moment that there couldn’t possibly be a more perfect, delicious place in the whole world to live.  I can’t help but think of that night each Tuesday and think how true that is!