Roseann M.
Yelp
Visiting Fresh Farms on Devon Avenue transports you to a fascinating and delicious world of South Asian and, especially, Indian, culinary delights. And it's inexpensive. Fresh Farms delivers quantity, quality, and price. It's like the Universe read my mind and turned my food dreams into reality.
What brought me here recently was the so-far-fruitless search for Indian Black Spice. None of the spice stores carry it. Rather than give up on a recipe I really wanted to try, I figured Devon Avenue was the place to find this particular spice.
Fresh Farms packs a lot of goods into a small space. The aisles are more narrow than you're used to, and the shelves seem like they're packed all the way to the ceiling. (Only some are.)
The produce section offers very reasonable prices for some of the standard goods you're used to seeing, but also more rare items. I saw fresh jackfruit for the first time in my life. I still have no idea what to do with it, but if I want to try, I know where to get it.
I wandered the spice aisles, looking for some kind of black spice. Finally, I asked a clerk, and he immediately directed me to Indian Black Spice. $1.99, for a 7-ounce bag. Really. All the other spices I looked at seemed to be similarly priced.
There are also mass quantities of dried rice, beans, and lentils. I had just purchased red lentils at Mariano's. Next time I will come to Fresh Fields.
If you want 10 or 20 pound bags of rice, you will find them in an aisle near the front.
There are more varieties of naan available here than I knew existed. And roti. And a few other breads new to me.
The freezer section has a wide variety of frozen Indian food. There are selections for omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans.
I cannot speak to the meat, seafood, or cheese sections, because I am a vegan. I just skipped merrily past those areas.
The only downside you will find here is parking and traffic. Devon Avenue has a well-deserved reputation for heavy traffic. Fresh Farms has a few free parking places behind the store, but only a few. The side streets on either side are permit parking for the first block. I actually parked on Arthur Street, more than a block away. I only had a couple items. If you are carrying heavy bags, this could really be inconvenient.
I will definitely visit Fresh Farms again.