Boulder Farmers Market — Attraction in Boulder

It's a tight space and many vendors can't get into this location, however, we love certain vendors here. Our favorites are Aspen Moon Farm for hard to find veggies or herbs (though the prices are higher), Hazel Dell Mushrooms, Farmer John for compost, and a few others. But it's tough, you taste the wine once and you pass by it every week after, get a jar of honey and it lasts months (the way and frequency we use it.

But I think the most annoying part about the Boulder Farmers Market is you HAVE to get there by 8am, otherwise you won't get a spot. Also, some vendors like Black Cat, are stuck up and won't answer questions for rarely seen veggies like "What do you use this in?" or "What does it taste like", we've even held out money for over a minute and they just don't care. Others are higher priced than what they should be and going to Louisville's (Saturday @ 9am) or Erie (Thursday at 5pm) are much more relaxed, inviting, and you can actually talk to the vendors instead of being rushed in and out.

By far, our favorite vendor to eat at is Cafe Aion because of the careful craft he delivers each week. It's always something different, well executed Paella, and the flavors are spot on and for roughly $9 two people can share. Other stands, $12 will get a meal for one, and even then they skimp on areas they shouldn't.. You can taste the difference if you try each one.

Comparing Boulders Farmers Market to Longmonts (both are BCFM and the same time), we like going to Longmont. More vendors in a more attractive space. Boulders works if your going once or twice, but it leaves much...

This is my impression after my first trip to the Boulder County Farmers Market. Disappointed.

The vendors were extremely friendly, and are knowledgeable about their products. The atmosphere is relaxing. There are a lot of interesting people to talk to. As a social event the farmers market is terrific! You can play Frisbee, practice yoga, learn about Boulder County Open Spaces, cry about politics, and discuss renewable energy.

Unfortunately, I came here to buy my groceries. I have heard, many times, that shopping local is a great idea and that farmers markets are a place for bargains because you're buying directly from the grower. This is not true.

Here is what you get for $89.49:

Bread, 2 loaves $12.00 1 baked pretzel 4.00 1.6 lbs cherries 14.00 6 cucumbers 5.00 18 radishes 6.00 1 quart cherry tomatoes 8.00 1 10oz bag salad greens 10.00 8oz goat cheese 10.00 1.18 pound beef sausage 11.79 0.72 pound pork sausage 7.20 Fee for buying 'Market Bucks' 1.50

This is probably the least cost effective way of buying groceries that I could possibly imagine, about double of the cost of shopping at Sprouts.

Perhaps it will be better in the peak summer season. I'll post an update at that time.

EDIT: Post pandemic, those prices look...

Update: No response from owners/ organizers for almost a month on my review or others for years so I’m lowering my score. I was going to give it another chance but I won’t now.

I saw some great produce but I was a little disappointed with the unfriendly vendors and I went to the Vietnamese food truck that didn’t have proper menu signage. I ordered a crepe with the toppings and sauces listed and when I waited around for 20 minutes I watched them make what I ordered without the right toppings and sauce. I asked why they did this and the woman that made it was irritated and said she ran out of tomatoes and they don’t have Hollandaise sauce on Wednesdays. Really?! I love how they didn’t bother to tell me that they used pesto sauce instead and left off toppings. If there are major differences between Wednesday and Saturday menus then simply have separate signs. .It is really annoying to stand around for the wrong order but also they need to think about food allergies. I’m not sure if I’ll give this market another chance. I might but with the high prices and stressed out...