While signs of fall are cropping up at the farmer's market, summer is still abundant. Sol Lee, the owner of hibi in Koreatown, picked up some late summer corn. It will appear on the menu as a small plate in a miso butter elote dish. Cooked on a binchotan grill, the Japanese oak gives the Mendoza Farm corn a smokey flavor before it's slathered with butter, mayo and shichimi, and is accompanied with two lime wedges.
One of the harbingers of fall are Barhi dates. Farmer Alvaro Bautista announces his return to the market with pale yellow sprays of dates. The fresh Barhi can only be enjoyed this time of year. The variety differs from the more familiar Medjool date, which needs to be incredibly ripe before being eaten. Bautista brings his Barhis to market in two stages — as liquid gold and when they are more crunchy, like an apple or a persimmon. This year, the change of weather slowed the season, so crunchy dates will be on the table at his stand longer than usual so you have about a month more to get your hands on the liquid gold consistency.