SLO Farmer's Market

For the past several summers, Tim, Karen and I have rented a house on California's central coast. We don't go for long—usually three days—just long enough to get back in touch with our youthful selves, when we used to spend most of our adolescent summers at the beach. We usually have a specific objective—for example, visiting Hearst castle, antiquing in Cayucos, seeing the murals in Lompoc—but the one constant is always the fabulous farmer's market in San Luis Obispo (SLO).

Held every Thursday night, 6-9PM, the market is, hands down, our all-time favorite. Where else can you find fresh-cut flowers, recently picked produce, political campaigns, rock 'n roll cover bands, and lots and lots of barbecue? We're literally in hog's heaven in SLO!

As usual, we left Culver City at noon on Thursday and arrived at "our" house in Shell Beach by 3PM—just enough time to unpack, unwind, and head 11 miles up the road to SLO. We always park on the south end of the market and then meander north on foot, making mental note of the best-looking vegetable stands and barbecues. (Vendors are not allowed to sell anything until after 6:10PM.) In the past, we were perpetually on the hunt for the perfect sparerib, but last year we discovered Mo's pulled pork sandwich (YUM!) and are now hooked.

By the time we get to the northernmost end of the market, it's past 6PM and the feeding frenzy begins! Some of our favorite SLO farmer's market buys: the giant crusty bread from Guiseppe's restaurant, Marcie's pies, See's Canyon apples, and dahlias from a nameless florist. This year, we also met my long-time friend and former coworker Betty, who lives in nearby Morro Bay, at the market, making our evening doubly special. Fat and happy, we returned to Shell Beach after 2 hours.

Enjoy the sights (below) of the SLO market!