Market Report: Santa Barbara market may be world's best

You'd be hard-pressed to find a farmers market anywhere on earth that is better than the Saturday market in Santa Barbara, California. To begin with, few if any other places can boast as staggering a diversity of year-round growing regions as can be found within a few hours' drive of this balmy town, which is squeezed between the beach and rugged mountains, with high plains, alpine heights and deserts beyond. It is also a very tightly-regulated market, which has kept out peddlers of second-rate wholesale produce, who threaten the integrity of far too many so-called farmers markets. The innovative farmers who come to this market are the real deal and are driven by the market's sophisticated customer base to offer extraordinary produce.

On a warm, sunny mid-winter Saturday in late February, there were more than 75 vendors on hand, selling countless dozens of varieties of fruits, nuts and vegetables. Cherimoyas were a great bargain, at prices ranging from $2.50 to as low as $1.25 per pound. I loaded up on those. I also picked up some unusual varieties of citrus fruits, including four types of oranges, limequats and some kaffir limes, which I'll use along with the lemon grass I also bought in some Thai chicken soup.

Here's the report on my Feb. 25, 2006 visit to the Santa Barbara farmers market.