Santana Row Farmers' Market (Open May - September) — Local services in San Jose

Lots of vendors - you can get farm fresh produce, made to order eats, flowers and of course Bay Area beloved Roxanne’s Biscotti. However I do have an issue with the service. I recently visited Roxanne’s after a long while and the guy (Roxanne’s partner) was telling me about all the new products they have in a friendly manner, including biscotti bites.

However, as soon as I asked for a sample of a new flavor I wanted to try, his tone of voice changed completely and he gruffly answered, we don’t do samples. I was taken aback by the harshness of his tone, as I was asking a simple question. I don’t think it’s out of the question to assume that a vendor at a farmers market would give out samples, since literally everyone else does. I guess he assumed that I’m a freeloader or something, well his loss as he just lost out on a...

What a joy it was to stumble upon a California farmer's market! This one was great fun, with an entire block closed off for two rows of tents of vendor after vendor. There were vendors offering fresh, ripe California fruits and vegetables that made me wish I had access to a kitchen. There were talented street musicians. There were booths with all kinds of crafts and unique "made in California" items that made me wish I had more room in my suitcase. When we lived in California, I was spoiled by having these wonderful farmer's markets available in almost every little community. The puny farmer's markets and the less than optimal produce in Texas simply can't compete with this! California farmer's markets are more like weekly street fairs. It's...

This occurs only during the summer on Wednesday nights from 4 to 8 PM in the months of May to September.

It was my first time going to a farmers' market in the evening! I found this by chance while shopping at Santana Row, and I was very pleasantly surprised by the various businesses giving out free samples! I got to try lentil stews, watermelon, peaches, garlic chips... the list goes on! There were so many free samples :)

Some businesses that really caught my eye were Roli Roti Rotisserie, Little Sky Bakery, Roxanne's Biscotti, That Garlic Stuff, Roti Pakistani, and more! There was a live band there too called Sound...