Altadena Urban Farmers Market

What in the world is an urban farmers market, we wondered? Only one way to find out: drive all the way up there and check it out.  Which is exactly what we did last Sunday. The market was on the grounds of the Zane Grey Estate. It was only a few dozen stalls, mostly of people selling baked goods and marmalade (we couldn't find fresh produce anywhere). The smell of manure and hay was rife (the estate has a petting zoo, which was open). The atmosphere made me immediately think of the Women's Institute (UK readers will know what I mean), with a good layer of Bay Area hippie. Even the shoppers looked transported from San Francisco. Who knew there were so many Bay Area types in L.A.?

This venture is fairly new. We couldn't find a webpage but they do have a Facebook page. On this page there is a mission statement which reads:

To encourage more local food production, and make that food easily accessible to Altadena residents. Through partnership with the Arroyo Time Bank, to make buying locally grown food possible for those with limited financial resources.


The market takes place on the third Sunday of every month. To shop there you have to be a member, but I think anyone can be a member. Basically, you sign a "membership" form before entering, but the form was just a legal disclaimer which freed the market from injury suits. If you do go, check out the cookie lady with the most amazing butterscotch cookies. She's really nice, too.

Kogi Truck at Altadena

In LA, the Kogi Truck is the mother of all Korean taco trucks. Originally it was just one truck, but the trucks grew in number and they now even have a small restaurant. One of the Kogi trucks makes it out to Altadena once a week on Tuesdays so we finally decided to try them out. What an experience. We got in line at 10:33.  The line was a block long.  And it didn't move for forty minutes. I mean, what the hell are they doing in that truck!  And the whole system was crazy. Like the line goes the wrong way around because you have to snake to the front of the truck to give your order and than snake back down to get your food. Oh, and you wait another half hour to get the bloody food after you order. Like I said, what the hell are they doing in the truck.  So we got in line at 10:33 and got our food at 11: 55. Gee, just in time for the truck to close. Of course, it was a cold, damp summer night and I caught a chill waiting.

I learned two lessons here:  1. food trucks with long lines aren't really worth it & 2. if they want your name with your order, make up a crazy name or give a number so that there's no confusion (like if you're named Mike, say your name is Mickey Mouse because there's going to be a dozen Mike's all waiting for their order).

So how was the food? Pretty good. We got two tacos, the spicy pork and the BBQ short ribs, and the kimchee quesadilla.

Oh!  Parked along with the Kogi truck is the Get Shaved shaved ice truck, and they make mighty fine shaved ice. We're talking real shaved ice and not chunks. Flavorings could be a wee bit better, but oh well.

The Kogi Truck is in Altadena on Tuesday from 10:30pm - midnight on 2029 N. Lake Ave. Their full schedule is on their website.