As a City Boy, I don't make it out to Niles all that often, but since it was on the way back from Milwaukee Tool Repair-
I stopped in for some fresh cut up fruit for "lunch on the road".
WOW!
First off- I can not believe that no one has mention the FRESH JUICE vendor in the corner of the Produce section-
I had a mixture of Celery, Beet, Carrot, Ginger Root, Parsley that was so invigorating-
for $4.00- and it was a large sized "medium"!
Not to mention the fresh cane sugar squeezed juice (like on Devon) and the freshly squeezed Citrus Juicer, and
the huge assortment of freshly expelled Fruit juices available- from apple and pear to berries.
Oh- and Lassi's as well!
Overwhelming.
Kinda reminded me of the old school pre- Organic movement (the 1st time around- ) store in the Loop called KRAMERS!

Post Sensory Overload, induced by the produce section (and finally finding freshly cut up fruit for $3.99 for a large sized container/tray),
I had to return my eyeballs back in my skull after taking in the Fresh Fish Dept.
OMG!
Blue Marlin for $8.00lb ??
(Take That WHOLE PAYCHECK!)
Fresh Tuna at 7 a pound.
Shrimp from Equador- almost as cheap as Chicago Food Corp. on Kimball.
Just an amazing range from Grouper to "fresh" sardines!
WoW!
Then on to the Bakery Section- who knew they was a special section of Fillipino baked goods?
Who ever knew that a croissant could come in so many varieties?

I did find some rather comical encounters with the staff though- from asking a "demo" fella in produce,
busy ladling guac onto chips where they might have cut up fruit- he cocked his head in that universal method of
"come again"- so I repeated in proper Queens English my request for where I may find freshly cut up fruit-
and again- "No Kapish"/I wasn't speaking his native tongue.....
So after leaving mid-conversation to try some exploration on my own-
I finally found a section near the JUICE vendor corner.......
and in the SEAFOOD section the lady behind the fish, was gloved up & ready to sell me-
each and every fish I enquired about as to its country of origin, or whether or not the shrimp was from The Gulf
of Mexico- I guess pointing, implies a need to "buy"???
Anyways- I will definitely be back soon, if not for the seafood- to explore some of the other aisles that I skipped over.

(now- if they'd only open one in Logan Square or Humboldt Park!!!!....)

Forgot to mention this: they no longer have the refillable olive oil station. Made me sad. However, I bought some store brand olive oil and it looks pretty good, nice and thick and very dark.

Update on Fresh Farms Niles.
The veal and lamb have been very good and the prices are great. The butchers will cut what you want such as the 2" rib veal chops I grill and at $9.95, I can't find them anywhere less. Veal brains, tongue and kidney have all been good. Lamb breast for the grill is sually $2.95/# and is a treat! Bread is great.
Problem area is the fish. Although some of it looks good, on the whole I dont think I will purchase anymore. The bay scallops were tasteless and wet pack and the sea scallops we had last night were inedible, they were so salty from preservative. We did have some Marlin which I grilled, cubed and mixed with Kewpie(?) Mayo that was good but that's about it.-Dick

To Pie Lady:
Be very careful when you buy these cheap Greek olive oils at Fresh Farms in Niles, some of them are not fresh anymore.
As a matter of fact in the case of some of their cheapest recent "specials" in tin cases the oil had passed its younger and freshest days a long time ago according to the dates printed on the cans. Remember that a good Extra Virgin olive oil is at its best within its first year after harvest and O.K for 2 years in a closed tin . After that it deteriorates rapidly.

alain40 wrote:To Pie Lady:
Be very careful when you buy these cheap Greek olive oils at Fresh Farms in Niles, some of them are not fresh anymore.
As a matter of fact in the case of some of their cheapest recent "specials" in tin cases the oil had passed its younger and freshest days a long time ago according to the dates printed on the cans. Remember that a good Extra Virgin olive oil is at its best within its first year after harvest and O.K for 2 years in a closed tin . After that it deteriorates rapidly.

Thanks! I never buy the tins, they're too big for me. I just buy those skinny glass bottles...should I worry about those too, you think?

To Pie Lady,

Native from an olive oil producing area in South of France I'm very fussy about my olive oil, I use a lot of it daily.
I have been using various types of EV olive oils from different countries for the last 48 years, and I never bought oil from tins bigger than 1 liter myself. Generally I try to buy European oils with a clearly marked date of harvest, or at least of "best if used before.." engraved on the bottle or printed on the label.
That is why, besides the beautiful "novello" from Salvati that I buy from Graziano's when he has it, I prefer for daily use the very decent Greek Extra Virgin produced from 100% Kalamata olives sold under the brand name of Martini's at Trader Joe's for $ 8.99 a bottle. The date of harvest and "best before" is laser engraved on the bottle just under the neck, and their current shipment was probably bottled in eraly 2010 since the "best.." date is 2012.

Good luck
Alain

Has anybody had problems with their bananas and onions lately? The bananas have odd spots in them that are nearly liquified although the skins outside are completely unblemished, and sometimes even still green-ish yellow. The small yellow onions are often rotten and stinking in the centers, but the outer 2/3 are okay. Otherwise everything's been fine.

Pie Lady wrote:Has anybody had problems with their bananas and onions lately? The bananas have odd spots in them that are nearly liquified although the skins outside are completely unblemished, and sometimes even still green-ish yellow. The small yellow onions are often rotten and stinking in the centers, but the outer 2/3 are okay. Otherwise everything's been fine.

I bought 3 regular yellow onions from there on Wednesday and used them for an awesome brisket. Served the brisket last night to friends. They were still alive this morning.

Pie Lady wrote:Has anybody had problems with their bananas and onions lately? The bananas have odd spots in them that are nearly liquified although the skins outside are completely unblemished, and sometimes even still green-ish yellow. The small yellow onions are often rotten and stinking in the centers, but the outer 2/3 are okay. Otherwise everything's been fine.

Yes on the onions. But at 5 lbs. for $1, I'm willing to throw out some parts of some onions.

Visited today for the first time; while I did like the very large in-house bakery and vast fresh fish department, I was not impressed enough to foresake Marketplace on Oakton, which I must maintain has better and more varied produce. The fresh juice concession was a *big* disappointment - no bottles of any kind available? Heck, there's more of a variety available at Treasure Island.

Pie Lady wrote:The small yellow onions are often rotten and stinking in the centers, but the outer 2/3 are okay.

I was desparate and tried the small yellow onions there once and they absolutely reeked and then rotted right away. I was happy to throw them out.

Fresh Farm sells boxes of chicory in the coffee section now. My last reason for going to the Jewel across the street has now disappeared.

grits wrote:

Pie Lady wrote:The small yellow onions are often rotten and stinking in the centers, but the outer 2/3 are okay.

I was desparate and tried the small yellow onions there once and they absolutely reeked and then rotted right away. I was happy to throw them out.

I love Fresh Farms, but one caveat to keep in mind when shopping there is to always check for freshness and expiration dates before buying anything.

How do you check so you know if the center is bad?

Usually the onions will not be firm if you squeeze them towards the top, and you can sometimes see the rot if you look down from the top of the stem.

Any fresh produce from anywhere has a certain chance of spoilage, especially if you buy in bulk. I've gotten bad onions at some point from every single place I have shopped.

Pie Lady wrote:How do you check so you know if the center is bad?

Give 'em a squeeze. If they're not firm, they're rotten in the middle.

Spotted today at Fresh Farms:

Live whole lobster @ $7.99lb
Soft shell crabs @ $3.99 each

Heads up: Fresh Farms seems to have noticed that their stock of Academia Barilla olive oil -- which they normally sell for $27.99 -- expires at the end of the year. Consequently, they have it marked down to $14.99 in a special display. This is a very nice oil from Liguria (D.O.P.) and quite a bargain. This being Fresh Farms, there is also a great selection of moldy packaged breads for dipping into your new olive oil.

Was at Fresh Farms today. Items that caught my eye...some purchased / some simply took mental note

Live lobsters at $7.99lb
Ho-Ka Turkeys can be ordered from the butcher for Thanksgiving
Turkey thighs were easily found (boneless, but there) this time around
Skate at $3.99lb
Interesting selection of pears, and I purchased a new variety that I have never seen/heard--Forelle. Cute, little green with dark red speckles. Will report back how they taste later.

I love the skate wing at FF.
They are always happy to filet them off the cartilage for me as well.

I was planning on getting Skate yesterday but was afraid to, as I never cooked it before. How do you do it, irisarbor?

Usually, skate is dusted with seasoned flour and pan-fried. That's how I've done it. There's also a classic preparation with brown butter and capers that you could probably google.

Pretty much the way rickster describes...
dredge it thru some flour seasones w/ s&P, paprika and a little hit of chipotle chili, & a few other whatever you like spices, (actually I have a blend by the stove I use that I have dubbed "Elaine's secret spices") LOL
kind of like GWiv's rub but not as hot and spicy...

then I saute it for about 2-4 min per side depending on the thickness in a non-stick pan with some butter for flavor.

Yummy yummy
even the kids that don't like like fish like this....

Fresh Farms is blowing out Costco organic 1% milk with expiration of 1/7. It's $3 at Costco for a half gallon. $0.99 for a half gallon at Fresh Farms.

Ronna

And it's tasty, too. Tastes richer than Deans or other brand-name 1%.

$10 for $20 Groupon deal today. http://www.groupon.com/deals/fresh-farm ... ?c=dnb&p=2

I just purchased mine....in fact I purchased 2 as I planned on going there this weekend to pick up seafood for dinner.

CM2772 wrote:I just purchased mine....in fact I purchased 2 as I planned on going there this weekend to pick up seafood for dinner.

It's not valid until 2/21.

Dave148 wrote:

CM2772 wrote:I just purchased mine....in fact I purchased 2 as I planned on going there this weekend to pick up seafood for dinner.

It's not valid until 2/21.

And I don't think you can use more than 1--pretty sure it said one per person and one extra as a gift (although I suppose there's nothing to stop you from bringing someone along with you to use the 2nd one.)

Nuts. But thanks for the clarification on how to use and when it can be used. I was multitasking and quickly purchased without looking at the details.

But we go to FF often, so not too concerned that I won't use the two. Just won't be able to use either this weekend.