SOLEDAD — From afar, the Soledad Certified Farmer’s Market on Soledad Street doesn’t seem like much compared to the larger events happening around Monterey County during the spring and summer months.
So, my fiancée, Luisa, and I decided to stop by since it’s right around the corner from our house. And like some people say, looks can be deceiving.
The Farmer’s Market — hosted by the Soledad Historical Society — features a solid variety of choices from produce growers to several different food vendors from both near and far.
Our first stop was Stackhouse Orchards to check out the large white bins filled with juicy peaches, nectarines and plums. They also offer bags of almonds that come in an assortment from a sweet cinnamon honey to the fiery Cajun spice, which is the flavor we went with.
Those with a sweet tooth can stop by Dulces Pensamientos — a Soledad-based home bakery that had macarons, cookies, caramel apples, mini cheesecake bites and cupcakes, such as the chocolaty S’mores.
As we continued our short journey through the tiny bazaar, Luisa and I came across Wings Uncommon of Salinas. We decided to try them out and I’m sure glad we did.
Wings Uncommon owners Emilia and Micah Wilson served us a split order of eight pieces drenched in Buffalo and lemon pepper sauces that were beyond finger-licking good.
Next on our radar was a jumbo baked potato from Champion Corn, another family-owned and -operated business that makes its way around farmer’s markets in South Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties.
It was hard to pass up the combo potato with butter, sour cream, cheese, jalapeños, green onion and chunks of both bacon — not the fake bacon bits — and carne asada (beef steak) for $18.
This particular item is so massive that it can easily be shared by two, or three people, depending how hungry they are. Champion Corn also specializes in corn on a cob or in a cup for those feeling a little on the “corny” side.
We washed all of it down with a refreshing cup of sweet strawberry water from one of the other local vendors that had fresh chopped fruit and other tasty treats on hand.
The evening was capped off with a few more stops starting with Los Tamales Foods based out of Fresno. We picked one with shredded pork in a spicy red chili that was served by owner Robert Hernandez, who makes the tamales with no lard. One word to describe it would be “scrumptious.”
Finally, we made our way to Tacos Jalisco based out of Salinas, where an order of the popular quesabirria tacos were waiting for us. The taco plate has four soft, yet crispy, tacos loaded with birria (adobo beef), cheese, white onion and cilantro, and served with a side of beef consemmé.
Soledad Farmer’s Market returns to Soledad and Front streets every Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m.
