What do you picture when you think of a farmers market?
Until I became a food writer, I imagined farmers markets as places that existed in more verdant towns than Tucson, where vendors sold expensive, locally-grown produce to the people who had means to afford it. I had been to a few farmers markets in Southern Arizona as a kid, and the most exciting thing they offered were goat milk soaps and emu oil lotions. I remember little produce and fewer food vendors.
Over the course of my time as a food writer, these misconceptions and memories have slowly been debunked.
Not only do these markets offer more than I thought, they are the gathering place for some vendors offering specialties hard to find elsewhere in Tucson: Turkish flatbread, Uzbek baked goods, Greek pastries and more (not to mention some of the best quiche I've had stateside).
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Another important assumption to address is the lack of accessibility: while farmers markets still have some barriers — with limited hours and locations, they’re not as convenient as grocery stores for people with tight schedules — they’re working to address affordability as one of them. I’ve written this article about how people on SNAP, WIC or senior benefits can receive double the money to spend at participating markets, with additional resources to access fresh produce for people who might not qualify for those programs.
The point of this story, though, is to expand the idea of what a food vendor at a farmers market can be.
The produce stands at local markets have grown greatly since I was a kid. While you can still find dairy products like Golden Rule’s raw milks and butter at farmers markets, you can now find seasonal produce from grapefruit to mushrooms.
But what farmers markets have to offer has evolved beyond even fresh produce to become a proving ground for small pop-up food vendors. Well-loved restaurants like Fiamme Pizza, Selena’s Salvadorian and Del Cielo Tamales started out at farmers markets, and are still popular options on Sundays at Rillito Park.
This article isn’t a comprehensive list of every vendor at every farmers market. It’s my favorite vendors at the markets I’ve been able to get to. That means this is a living document, to be developed over time: if you have a favorite vendor at a market I haven’t been able to visit yet, please reach out to me at elueders@tucson.com, and I’ll check it out when I can.
This is spinach and feta gözleme, or stuffed Anatolian flatbread, from Elif Gözleme, which is run by Elif Demirbas.
Elif Gözleme
Turkish food is one of my favorite cuisines, and one of the hardest to find in Tucson. Rillito Park has a small community of great Turkish vendors, of which Elif Gözleme is my absolute favorite.
Gözleme is a type of stuffed flatbread, with popular fillings like spinach and white cheese, rich potato or a heartily seasoned ground beef. They’re cooked on a griddle and served hot. The delicate dough is much lighter than laminated spanakopita, though the spinach is a similarly enchanting filling.
Location: Rillito Park, 4502 N. First Ave.
Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday
For more information, check out their Facebook page.
Happy Kimchi sells homemade varieties of the fermented condiment.
Happy Kimchi
Kimchi is the popular Korean pickled cabbage condiment that can truss up everything from a simple bowl of rice to an elaborate sauerkraut stew or dumpling. While you can ferment your own mix of cabbage, radish and other veggies at home, or get premade jars of kimchi at grocery stores, Happy Kimchi is a local operation making homemade varieties of kimchi for Tucson to enjoy. Because it’s made fresh and sold close to when it’s made, you can enjoy the kimchi from the early days of its fermentation for months if stored well.
Location: Rillito Park Market, 4502 N. First Ave.
Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday
For more information, check out their Instagram page.
Find homemade focaccia in Tucson at Rachael Colasanto's home bakery, called Holy Focaccia.
Holy Focaccia
I first covered Holy Focaccia when owner Rachael Colasanto was starting out as a cottage baker, and you could only get her bread on Sunday pickups at her home. She’s since expanded to attending several of the Heirloom Farmers Markets, usually supplying different flavors for the markets than her weekly pickup options that you can still preorder through Instagram.
Locations:
Green Valley Market, 101 S. La Cañada Dr.
Santa Cruz River Market, 221 S. Avenida del Convento
Udall Park Market, 7202 E. Tanque Verde Road
Hours:
Green Valley Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday
Santa Cruz River Market, 3-6 p.m. Thursday
Udall Park Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday
For more information, check out their Instagram page.
This apricot pastry is from Katerina's It's Original Greek, which is at Rillito Park Market on Sundays.
Katerina’s It’s Original Greek
It was hard for me not to feel intimidated by the prolific display of Greek baked goods at Katerina’s It’s Original Greek stand at Rillito Park. While I was evaluating my options, I overheard a patron talking with the owner about a specific kind of bread a Greek relative of hers loved that she finally found at Katerina’s. Though that loaf piqued my curiosity, my weakness for apricot motivated me to try one of her delightful, rich apricot tarts.
Location: Rillito Park Market, 4502 N. First Ave.
Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday
The quiche our food writer can't get enough of is Nouveau Quiche's roasted garlic flavor, made with tender, golden cloves.
Nouveau Quiche
Nouveau Quiche’s roasted garlic quiche is possibly my favorite thing I’ve ever tried at a farmers market. The garlic was sweet and tender; the egg was deviously light; and the crust, so often heavy and cloying, was instead tender and added just the right bite. Every time I pass this stand at Rillito Park, I’m tempted to indulge in this decadent treat. If you like quiche, you’ll love this; if you don’t like quiche, this is the one that might change your mind.
Locations:
Green Valley Market, 101 S. La Cañada Dr.
Oro Valley Market, 10901 N. Oracle Road
Rillito Park Market, 4502 N. First Ave.
Hours:
Green Valley Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday
Oro Valley Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday
Rillito Park Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday
Salima's Bakery may be the only place in town where you can find Uzbek baked goods.
Salima’s Central Asian Bakery
I don’t know anywhere else in Tucson serving Uzbek food other than Salima’s Central Asian Bakery. When I went for this article, about food east of Houghton Road, they had pillowy round bread sprinkled with white and black sesame seeds, stuffed flatbread and spicy red pepper spread called salca upon request. But I was even more impressed when I saw them at this year’s Tucson Meet Yourself: their baklava was my favorite of the day.
Locations:
Udall Park Market, 7202 E. Tanque Verde Road
Rincon Valley Market, 12500 E. Old Spanish Trail
Hours:
Udall Park Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday
Rincon Valley Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday
Planet of the Crepes offers both sweet and savory crepes, pictured here as the Breakfast Crepe (with eggs, cheese and bacon) and the Sweet Whipped Crepe made with strawberries.
Planet of the Crepes
This crepe truck is one of the most loudly recommended eateries by readers. Though I haven’t gotten the chance to try them yet, I’m intrigued by their selection of both sweet and savory crepes.
Locations:
Oro Valley Market, 10901 N. Oracle Road
Rillito Park Market, 4502 N. First Ave.
Hours:
Oro Valley Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday
Rillito Park Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday
Tofu Tots from Tita Tita. Tita Tita is a Filipino-inspired street food concept paying tribute to all the aunties that work so hard to make it. Tita Tita focuses on fun and vibrant flavors of Metro Manila.
Tita Tita
We first covered Tita Tita when they were starting out as a pop-up at events. Now, they have a regular presence at the Rillito Park market and are rolling out frozen lumpia you can order and keep in your freezer. The frozen lumpia are available for pickup at Market Tito’s, the brainchild of another standout farmers market vendor, Queen Ceviche.
Location: Rillito Park Market, 4502 N. First Ave.
Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday
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