White Crane Springs Ranch

They have wonderfully esoteric herbs and flowers which they meticulously pick and clean and trim of waste. Their products are inspiring, and the care they take makes using the products convenient.
On the other hand, Joseph can be a very curmudgeonly fellow. If he doesn’t recognize you, you’re likely to get a very nasty look if you traipse up and start munching his wares the way you do at any other booth. It took me a little while to break in but once you’ve purchased from him once or twice and struck up a conversation every now and then, he magically transforms into the nicest, most thoughtful guy.

For sure, intriguing goodies to temp you here — BUT — that man is so darned attitudinal I’m afraid that if I eat his tempting goodies that :
Abra Cadabra! wave of the wand:
I’ve become snarky too !

This is one of my favorite stalls at the Saturday Market. Presiding over his goods with a little spring of thyme or marjoram sticking out from behind his ear, Joseph Minocchi and has wife have a wide variety of the most gorgeous biodynamic herbs I have ever seen. In addition to some standards like basil and parsley, you can also find less common varieties like pineapple sage, epazote, sorrel.
I usually show up to the market with no idea of what I want and wait for an ingredient to inspire me. White Crane Springs seems to provide that magic ingredient more than any other vendor. Some little sprig of something beautiful will call out to me and suddenly a meal evolves in my head. Mr. Minocchi and his wife show an obvious love of their herbs and always have advice on how to use them.
This is one of those Bay Area things that makes me realize how lucky I am to live here. The good fortune to not only have these ingredients available but also to interact to the people who grow them is one of the pure joys of life.