Farmers' Market Fairy Delivery - Santa Monica

The ideas usually start running through our head on Tuesday nights. A helicopter? A jet pack? Teleportation? Public transportation?

We're willing to try any method to avoid crawling west on the 10 to land at the Wednesday farmers' market in Santa Monica.

But last week there were no harebrained schemes; a fairy brought the market to us.

Linda Mark showed up at our door with a selection of produce and fruit (click here to see our haul) from such market favorites as Windrose, Schaner and McGrath. Mark's grocery delivery service, Farmers Market Fairy, does deliveries like ours throughout the week, shopping for clients at the Hollywood, Culver City and South Pasadena markets. The pay scale is simple, comprising the cost of the produce plus a $30 to $45 delivery fee, depending on your location.

Mark works with clients to develop a shopping list, taking into account dining predilections, family size, meal planning, etc., and dropping off the goods (meat, cheese, bread and other staples are also available) a few short hours after she picks them up at a given day's market.

We're not giving up on our own market-visiting habits, but the Fairy will surely triumph over such impossibilities as personal jet propulsion or the subway to the sea next Tuesday night.