Today, we returned to the realm of Bay Area farmers markets and ventured into Campbell’s local, open-air mart. We were both thoroughly impressed by the stretch of the market street and the variety of stands. Unlike our earlier adventure, this market boasted produce, clothing, and jewelry stands, adding to its charm. Each vendor offered their own distinct specialty to the market, allowing market-goers to experience unique tastes wherever they perused.

Delicious Crepes’s nutella banana crepe (7/10)

At the Los Gatos farmers market, we tried a nutella banana crepe and had a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Naturally, we had to try another nutella banana crepe for the most accurate comparison (and because it’s our favorite). With high standards to live up to, this crepe crumbled under the pressure. Filled with what seemed like ten bananas and merely a lick of nutella under a fairly well done crepe, we were stuffed only half way through. It’s definitely an easy way to increase your potassium intake, but if you don’t want to stain the reputation of what should be your most favorite food, we’d recommend passing on this stand.

Marinko’s vegan dessert (6/10)

We later stumbled upon a stand that advertised a wide variety of vegan desserts. The vendors were wonderfully passionate, enthusiastically offering samples of each and every dessert. Although the taste of each cake was rather subdued, we couldn’t help but fall victim to the vendors’ charm. We were coaxed into buying the chocolate pecan dessert, which was sweetened naturally by medjool dates and maple syrup. It was advertised as: “A guilt-free delight for every chocolate lover.” Unfortunately, while guilt-free, we couldn’t help but feel that the chocolate was rather bitter and that the texture was overly slimy. While the dessert wasn’t exactly disgusting, it is definitely not worth pulling $12 out of your wallet.

Small Bees honey sticks (8/10 and 6/10)

Desperate to get the previous dessert’s taste out of our mouths, we decided to drop by the honey stand and have a go at some of their unique flavors. We tried the blueberry and raspberry honey sticks solely based on their appearance, with a bright blue and a deep purple color, respectively. These two honey flavors were incredibly sweet but offered a nice blend of the classic honey taste and the natural flavors of blueberry and raspberry. For these reasons, these two honey flavors were awarded an 8/10.

The cinnamon and watermelon flavors, extremely unique for honey, were up next. The cinnamon complemented the natural honey surprisingly well, with only a hint of its flavor adding to the overall experience, we would highly recommend it! 9/10. 

The watermelon, however, fell short, perhaps a bit too different to blend nicely with the honey. 6/10.

Small Bees lip balm (10/10)

Because the lovely woman running the honey stand refused to let us pay only a few dollars for our honey sticks, we decided to try out the beeswax honey-flavored lip balm also sitting on the table. And aren’t we glad we did! We will be using this lip balm every day for the rest of our lives and will be buried with its sweet flavor eternally glossing our lips. Not only is it delicious and very soothing, but it also acts almost as a lip gloss, shiny in addition to helping chapped lips.

Delicia’s Falafel’s Falafel burger (8/10)

As we made our way down East Campbell Avenue, a Mediterranean-American fusion stand caught our eyes. An array of classic Mediterranean foods and flavors were artfully paired with quintessential American cuisine. Garlic fries were paired with gyros, hotdogs encased in pita bread, and falafel stuffed inside burgers. We couldn’t help but feel curious to experience the taste of a falafel patty between lettuce, tomato, and sourdough bread. We gave into this craving, and splurged on this state-of-the-art burger. Upon our first few bites, we were greeted by an abundance of sriracha mayo, pickles, onions, peppers, lettuce, tomato, and large pieces of falafel; it was delectable. As we came near to completing the burger we noticed that the buns had become soggy with the sauce and that the falafel was dry with the absence of the other flavors. This caused the burger to lose two points. Overall, the falafel burger was an enjoyable experience, and deserved a solid 8 on our rating scale.

All in all, the Campbell farmers market, while not our favorite, was quaint and adorable, and it gave us a nice start to the morning, with full bellies and rosy cheeks. There was a wider variety of vendors, and an even wider variety of dogs, both of which made the experience all the more enjoyable. It was definitely worth the visit if you’re ever in town; just make sure to dress warm!