Mesa Farm Market
For travelers on wide-open roads lined with red rock and beautifully stark landscapes, Mesa Farm Market is very much an oasis in the wildness of Utah's Colorado Plateau region.
The humble Mesa Farm Market sits on the edge of a 50-acre sustainable farming operation near Caineville, Utah, and operates cyclically to ensure the best returns from the land and their livestock. The result of this effort is a variety of delicious whole foods, offered roadside throughout the growing season. For travelers on wide-open roads lined with red rock and beautifully stark landscapes, Mesa Farm Market is very much an oasis in the wildness of Utah's Colorado Plateau region.
Inside the purple store of Mesa Farm Market, you’ll find a simple menu: salad made from freshly picked vegetables, fresh artisan breads (baked daily in the wood-fired stone oven), goat cheeses, yogurt, juices and smoothies made from fruits grown on-site, and fresh brewed coffee and iced teas. A popular lunch choice is the Big Salad, made up of a bed of mixed greens, topped with whatever items are prime for the picking. Crumble goat feta on top, dress with oil and vinegar, and enjoy with a slice of their artisan bread. If you only need a snack, pick and choose from the ripe produce available, then add cheese, bread, and a drizzle of purple basil vinegar, and you’ve got yourself a delicious and refreshing summer treat.
You can also purchase any of the produce that they are currently harvesting, so depending on the season you can get anything from apples to peaches, eggplant to melons, or okra to turnips.
Besides growing fruits and vegetables, the farmers here also raise livestock. Chickens and a herd of goats help with maintaining the land, as well as contributing to the dairy. Mesa Farm is a Grade A Dairy and licensed farmstead creamery, with cheeses and yogurt made at the farm from start to finish. It’s also well-known for it’s three varieties of cheeses — chevre, goat feta and goat tomme. Chevre is the French name for goat cheese, and is soft cheese with tart and earthy flavors and a spreadable consistency. Feta is a soft crumbling cheese made with enzymes and salts that is a delicious additions to salads. Tomme is a semi-hard alpine cheese with a rind, made from either cow or goat milk, and is commonly found in the French and Swiss Alps. Pair this with your snack or salad and it’s guaranteed to make it better.
Mesa Farm Market is a great place to stop on your way to or from Capitol Reef National Park for a healthy, refreshing meal or snack—you can’t go wrong. “It’s cyclical, it’s sustainable, it’s natural, and it’s basic.”
Plan Your Trip
The Mesa Farm Market is located on the east side of Caineville, Utah, 13 miles west of Hanksville at mile marker 102 on Highway 24, and 24 miles east of the visitor center at Capitol Reef National Park. It is open seven days a week, from the end of March to the beginning of November, and is closed November through March.
GPS Coordinates: 38.35149, -110.95322
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