MY first Los Angeles meal is dinner at the over-hyped restaurant of an overexposed reality star and not only are we packed in like sardines but it’s so dark we need iPhones to illuminate the menu and so noisy we have to shout.
Breakfast the next day is at a glitzy hotel, where suspicious attendants hover around the buffet to ensure I don’t take anything I’m not entitled to eat. Rows of empty plates suggest I should have set the alarm to arrive before the morning rush.
So, when I meet LA-based mates for lunch we decide to hit The Original Farmers Market, where a menu featuring literally hundreds of options, made from the freshest ingredients, guarantees a great feed.
The market – which sits beside The Grove, one of the city’s favourite shopping malls – is far from fine-dining fancy but, in a city often accused of lacking soul, it bursts with laid-back character.
Forget what you know about farmers’ markets, this one has been the business of a local family since 1934 when they set aside a corner of their dairy farm for neighbours to sell fresh produce from parked trucks.
Today restaurants, cafes and even licensed bars out-number fruit and veggie stands, and 60 eateries offer gourmet goodies seven days a week.
After doing a lap to see what’s on offer, we decide on a mini do-it-yourself degustation. We start with fried shrimp and seafood chowder from Tusquellas Fish & Oyster Bar before following with Mexican at Loteria Grill, and Brazilian barbecue from Pampas Grill.
We devour cheesy slices from Patsy D’Amore’s Pizza, Asian-inspired curry from Singapore Banana Leaf, a fat slice of apple pie from Du-par’s Restaurant, salted-caramel crepes from The Fresh Crepe Company, and sticky jam-filled doughnuts from Bob’s Coffee and Doughnuts to ensure we sample flavours from the market’s most famous vendors.
We tag team to resupply, with one person dashing off to find the next delicacy while others guard the table in a shed packed with vintage 1950s-style furniture and, with no rush to leave, we sit to watch the world pass by.
There are just as many options when hydrating – including alcohol – but we settle for iced tea and homemade lemonade from Bob’s Coffee & Doughnuts as well as a blend of the two that’s known as an Arnold Palmer. Then milkshakes from Bennett’s Ice Cream make the perfect end to an epic, and quintessentially LA, feast.
And the best thing of all, we’re a one-minute walk from The Grove, the perfect place for a spot of post-lunch shopping at my favourite US stores.
Visit The Original Farmers Market website
• This story originally appeared in Escape on Sunday, March 6, 2016 •
… posted March 9, 2016 
Far Near Or Here 