To start the new year, we visited the Mountain View Farmers’ Market. In order to learn about the venue’s history, we visited the market’s information desk. An associate there informed us that having worked for a separate farmers’ market association in the past, he can attest that the Mountain View market is an extremely well-run event. Even more than that, the market has stood the test of time; he said that since 1994, it has hosted the most vendors out of all farmers’ markets in California.
Smiling Oranges
To begin, we visited the Smiling Oranges stand and spoke with one of their vendors. He told us that he had grown up around oranges, and his mother started the business about 15 years ago. Smiling Oranges grows, juices, and produces all of their products on-site in the Central Valley between Bakersfield and Fresno Exeter, an area he calls “the orange belt.” He also spoke about his vending experience in the Mountain View Farmers’ Market, which the business has been attending since August of 2025: “The vibe here is awesome, it’s a very consistent market, people know exactly what they want, it’s an overall friendly crowd.” His description certainly rang true throughout the market and at the Smiling Oranges stand, which boasted vibrant oranges and juice bottles, all hand-packaged with rainbow writing. We tried three juices: mandarin, navel, and blood orange. The vendor was nice enough to treat us to the navel and blood oranges juices for free as a thanks for the publicity!
Mandarin Orange Juice (7/10)
Mandarin oranges are the bite-sized, tangy citrus you may associate with a school lunch. However, this juice wasn’t a standout to us and seemed largely indistinguishable from any other orange juice you might find on the market. It was also extremely pulpy, not to our personal taste, but a great choice if you enjoy that raw, unstrained flavor punch. Overall, the mandarin orange juice earns a 7/10.
Navel Orange Juice (10/10)
The navel orange is named for its unique bottom-half resembling a human belly button. Resulting from a natural mutation, the fruit can only be grown by grafting or cloning part of a mature tree to produce an asexual fruit, a five-year-long process, in the navel orange’s case. The orange juice was fresh, highly sweet yet not acidic, and it had the perfect combination of sugar and a touch of tanginess. Perhaps its laborious growing process is worth it, because this juice earns a 10/10.
Blood Orange Juice (8/10)
Blood oranges are easily recognizable for their bright red inner coloring, the result of anthocyanins, antioxidant pigments rarely found in other citrus fruits. This pigment gave the juice a bright raspberry color, which was complemented by a tart and almost floral flavor, earning it an 8/10.
Laundromat Bagels
Next up, Laundromat Bagels! A quaint hand-drawn chalk sign outlining the day’s bagel offerings caught our eye as we walked through the market. We knew we had to try a few bagels as they make for a quintessential breakfast.
Salt Bagel (7.5/10)
The salt bagel was exactly as it sounds, a plain bagel crusted with… salt. Unsurprisingly, this somewhat bizarre combination made for a bitter, almost briny taste. However, the bagel’s pillowy texture prevailed and this savory treat still earned a 7.5/10.
Vegan Scallion Cream Cheese (5/10)
The salt bagel’s rating may have been dragged down by its condiment: vegan scallion cream cheese. Mollie, an infrequent dairy-eater, was our taste tester for this meal and she found the unfamiliar texture of the cream cheese off-putting, earning it a 5/10.
Roti
Roti is a family-run business, specializing in Pakistani cuisine. A true grassroots effort, the owner and her in-laws started the company 15 years ago saying, “we enjoy the food, so we thought we should share this with people here.” They have now grown Roti’s network to five farmers’ markets per week. The owner says the key to success is based on creating relationships with her clients and securing regular customers.
Lemon chips (9/10)
To start, we tried Roti’s lemon chips. Made with wheat flour, lemon, citric acid, parsley, black pepper, onion, garlic, celery seed, salt, and soybean oil, the chips are entirely organic and independently produced. The love behind their creation shows as they have a tangy taste complemented with a crispy texture. These chips easily earn a 9/10.
Chicken Samosas (9/10)
Roti’s chicken samosas are made with chicken, wheat flour, onion, mango powder, soybean oil, salt, and a variety of spices. When the samosas were served at room temperature, we were initially hesitant, but their flavor was undeniable. Paired with a mango and ginger chutney, these samosas earned a 9/10.
Dumpling Queen
As we walked past Dumpling Queen’s stand, we eyed a delectable array of dishes and knew we had to stop for a taste. Mollie had been craving dumplings all morning, so it seemed like fate to run into this stand!
Vegetable potstickers (8/10)
Filled with spinach and carrot and served with a complementary soy ginger sauce, Dumpling Queen’s vegetable potstickers made for a delicious morning treat. The sauce was tangy and worked in tandem with the dumplings, earning the dish an 8/10.
Hamlow Farms
Hamlow Farms has been distributing citrus, nuts, stone fruits (fruits with a single seed), and more to roughly sixty California farmers’ markets since 1960. A third-generation family business, the farm is based in Turlock, California. They have been providing produce to the Mountain View Farmers’ Market since it began over thirty years ago.
Sweet potatoes (8.5/10)
Firm and fresh, the sweet potatoes were everything you would expect from these autumn vegetables. Unfortunately, their expensive pricing brought their rating down to an 8.5/10.
The Mountain View Farmers’ Market is held every Sunday. With plenty of parking, fairly priced goods (for the most part), and a wide array of vendors, we would recommend it to anyone in the mood for a peaceful and stomach-filling start to their week.
