This past weekend I had a hankering for some specialty food items. Our city of Moreno Valley doesn’t really offer that much in terms of quality specialty ingredients, so Mr. O and I boogeyd down to Temecula. It turns out that they have a TON of specialty shops that serve products of the finest quality. Without further ado – here they are:
Temecula Farmer’s Market
41952 6th Street
Temecula, California 92590
On Saturday from 8am to 12:30pm Old Town Temecula puts on the Old Town Temecula Farmer’s Market. This market is great not only because it’s got a bounty of produce, meat, and egg vendors, but they also pepper in a plethora of food and craft stands to delight all of your senses. Besides some totally awesome cremini mushrooms, we also picked up some hand-made cracked pepper linguine pasta, and gluten free rainbow pasta. From one of the garden vendors, we picked up these cute pony-tail plants that were in barrel planters. We’re sucker’s for everything barrel related – beer(barrel-aged), decor, planters… you name it. You can get literally everything you need for the week at this farmer’s market. By the way, they have an African food stand that sells these pastry pockets made with beef, spinach, coconut milk, and many other fillings. They are TO DIE FOR!
Old Town Spice Merchants
41925 5th Street, Suite 101
Temecula, California 92590
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Spice Merchants is one of my “must go” places whenever I find myself in Temecula, even if I don’t need any spices! They always have some weird and interesting blends of things. You name it, they’ve got it, and if they don’t, they’ll have something equally interesting and new for you to try. This week we stocked up on some smoked black peppercorns, wild cherry chipotle rub, raspberry chipotle blend, pomegranate oolong tea, and some wild porcini sea salt. It’s outrageous!!! They also host classes sometimes, so make sure to check their blog for the details!
Olivedipity
42072 5th Street, Suite 104
Temecula, California 92590
Olivedipity is absolutely AMAZING! It’s an olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting bar. If you like what you taste, you can buy bottles of the stuff! Mr. O and I went straight for the heat in their jalapeño olive oil, and worked our way up to the habañero. Our host warned us that it takes about 15 seconds for the heat to kick in, and it did just that! You get the beautiful flavor of the chiles and olive oil first, and then, all of a sudden, you take a karate-kick to the back of the throat. Call me a glutton for punishment, but I love this shit.
Temecula Valley Cheese Company
42072 5th Street, Suite 101
Temecula, California 92590
Well, well, well, here we are at our final stop for today – the Temecula Valley Cheese Company. As with the Spice Merchants, this place is a must visit. Every time I go, they always, ALWAYS have something different in their cheese case. This time we stocked up on some OG Parmigiano Reggiano from Parma,Italy, Black Mountain Cheddar with garlic, wine and herbs, Mimolette from Lille, France, Prosciutto di Parma from Siena, Italy, and some Rosemary & Olive Oil foccacia from a local bakery.
Ya don’t need much more in life, I tell ya. Stupendously quality cheeses, meats, breads, olive oils, balsamic vinegars, and fresh produce. Not more does one need in life! If you ever find yourself in Temecula, especially on a Saturday, patronize these good folks! You won’t regret it, and rest assured that they will appreciate it!
Cheers to Glorious Foodstuffs,
There’s nothing like wandering a food market. I’d have went straight for the spicy too, sounds amazing!
Can’t wait to go to the Spice Merchants when I come down for #BTP2! Thanks for the insider info 🙂