Market Scene: A Look at Kakaako Farmers Market

Left: lettuces from Kozen Farms; right: carrots and tomatoes from North Shore Farms

Towards the end of last year, the Ala Moana Farmers Market moved to Kakaako, in the Ward Warehouse parking lot. A lot of the vendors made the move, such as MAO Organic Farms, which still anchors one end of the market. If you're looking to make good on your news year's resolution of eating more vegetables, make sure to get there early—MAO tends to sell out of its salad mixes and dark, leafy greens by 10 a.m. Also good for greens: Kozen Farms from Waimea on Big Island, offering red and green leaf lettuce, and seasonally, other produce such as tangerines, eggplant, broccoli and corn. This is the only place to get Kozen's beautiful produce in town. Standbys such as Otsuji Farm (great for Asian vegetables) and North Shore Farms (famous for its sweet cherry tomatoes and colored carrots) are also here.

Left: croissants from Baker Dudes; right: pineapple cotton candy from Spun Paradise

You might come for healthy produce, but it will be hard to pass up the smells of yeasted bread from Baker Dudes, which is a mobile bakery, oven and all. It offers a wide spread of loaves and sweets like sticky buns and lilikoi bread, but what always gets me are the croissants, rolled with asparagus and cheese, ham and cheese, or artichoke and brie.

New to the market is Spun Paradise, a cotton candy maker that infuses its spun sugar with tropical flavors such as lychee, pineapple, mango, and macadamia nut. Yes, it is still essentially just sugar, but the flavors are more vibrant and true than the usual carnival cotton candy.

Kakaako Farmers Market, Saturday 8 a.m. to noon, at Ward Warehouse, alamoanafarmersmarket.com/ala-moana.html