Princeton Plaza Farmer Market - CHAMP - San Jose

My favorite farmers market of all time! Friendly vendors whom I have gotten to chat up with almost every Sunday for the last many years!

Small, good selection, good prices, plenty of parking, friendly service

Overall it is a very nice small market and the fellow who runs the market is also very kind and knowledgeable. He has been running farmers markets for 26 years! 🤩 He told me that the Asian farmer is a longtime valued vendor here and I am not surprised. He has absolutely exceptional off-the-beaten-track produce. 😂😇🏆 He sells crisp quality bittergourd, peppers, okra, and green/runner beans. The bittergourd is what gets me up in the morning to come to this farmers market. He’s also very generous with his farming knowledge for all you amateur vegetable gardeners. He will literally save seeds for you! 🤠 Go see that guy for sure and you will have a great experience at this market! 🤩

I love this small farmer's market! There's breads, pastries, kettle corn, veggies, fruits, mushrooms, and super hot Salvadoran pupusas cooked fresh off the grill. I love getting my pomelos and citrus fruits here. The vendors are honest, welcoming and kind.

I love this little farmer's market! Great mix of farmers with good quality and variety of produce. Also has Beckman's Bakery, kettle corn and other vendors. I love this market is open both Wednesdays and Sundays.

Absolutely love this farmers market, I get all my fresh fruits, vegetables, succulents, plants and Hummus here on Sunday. Live music, arts & crafts, prepared food stands. Always something for everyone.

Love it... I go here every Wednesday as possible to get my fruit and veggies. Fresh flowers and eggs. People here are so friendly and great customer service. I will continue coming here.

Small but vibrant Farmers Market produce, plants, juices, fish, flowers, and fresh to go food. Open Wednesday mornings and Sunday mornings until 1

This is a smaller farmers market. But this does not mean lesser quality. The vendors are more concentrated on fruit and vegetables. What's missing are the bakeries((although there are at least two), the jewelry vendors, the beekeepers, prepared foods, refilling stations for lotions, potions, detergents. No cheeses, knife sharpening services, tea vendors, butchers, fish mongers... But the heart of the farmers market is strong and I didn't miss the larger farmers markets. I ended up buying some crisp Asian pears which are crunchy like a just picked apple but with mild sweet pear flavor. These fruits are also very juicy. They store for a long time. I also purchased some persimmons. These are the variety that you can eat while they are still firm. They were sweet, juicy and mildly crunchy. There is another variety that is unpleasant when firm but are sweet when fully ripe. So be careful about your persimmon purchase! Overall, I like this farmers market just as much as any other farmers market. They have lots of produce including organic,which is the major reason why I frequent farmers markets. Bake goods are difficult for me to eat. I can't eat honey at all. I like hummus, but I already have a preferred vendor. I didn't notice the social services kiosks which you find in the larger farmers market. But since I'm traveling, I can't use the services anyway. So it's just as well that they are not present. Like all the farmers markets that I have attended, the vendors have time to talk to you and explain about their more exotic produce. I showed up on a rather cool day, which is ideal for preserving produce outdoors. Of course, all the vendors had their little tents to shield the produce from the hot sun. The autumnal products were out in force. Not too many pumpkins and the ones for sale are better for cooking not Jack O lanterns. Pumpkin pies, pumpkin bread, pomegranates. There are still strawberries and grapes. The crispy Asian pears were a big hit. I paired with some English cucumber and a bit of mayonnaise for the dressing and it made the most refreshing salad. I also sliced it into turkey sandwich and a smear of mayo. It paired well with turkey. Basically the very mild sweetness makes it exceedingly versatile, able to mix with savory or sweet.

Really small farmers' markets and a bunch of the stands aren't produce (multiple flower stands, random hair clips, a couple places selling what looks like jewelry, etc.). There's a Beckmann's and California Bakeshop, so you can get your bread fix. One strawberry stand. Everything is pretty spread out -- maybe not all the vendors were there the day I visited? There is a decent selection of produce stands, if you don't care about having a bunch to pick and choose what you like from. Parking is easy, which is a HUGE plus. Farmers' market parking usually stresses me out-- I have poor driving skills and don't enjoy street parking

As far as farmer's markets go, well, I don't have a ton of experience. I think there was a heyday for these 10-15 years ago where you could get quality produce for cheap, but those days seem to have passed. Anyway, farmer's markets these days are not really just for produce, they are more like outdoor food events. And just like any event, the prices are higher than normal. So don't come here looking to save money. I've been to this particular farmer's market, oh, maybe 20 times? Maybe more? I don't know, it's in a very convenient location. The strip mall it's in houses a Walgreens, Outdoor Supply Hardware, Starbucks, McDonalds, Michaels, and many smaller businesses. So there's lots of stuff you can do outside of the farmer's market itself. Now regarding the farmer's market, it's important to note that you need to come here before 1 pm if you don't want the various sellers' wares to look a bit picked over. I think ideally you want to come between 9 am and 11 if you want the full selection from everyone. When it comes to selections, this place is fantastic. You can find pretty much any vegetable or fruit you want, ripe, and in large quantities. Bring cash because not all vendors take credit cards (although many do). One of the vendors always has a great selection of high quality and gigantic mushrooms, which are so fantastic grilled/ Additionally, this farmer's market typically has non-produce items like meat, seafood, eggs, honey, flowers, knick-knacks, plants, and ready-to-eat items. So far I've really enjoyed the grilled fish tacos, tamales, and the coffee from Strait. Overall, while not the biggest, the selection of vendors here is very nicely curated and you can easily spend an hour getting high quality groceries and some snacks. There's also sometimes live music, and lots of people bring dogs, so if you have little ones they will have stuff to enjoy (just remember it's in a parking lot so you're never that far away from moving vehicles). Parking is almost always easy and they even have spots to charge electric cars. De Anza Park is across the street, so there's definitely opportunities to put together a nice picnic if you're so inclined.

The vendors are always ready by 9am with fresh picks.. Glad it's an all season market..