This year's cool wet spring slowed down tomato plants, which are only now beginning to bear ripe fruit. But it's been worth the wait for many gardeners who say the recent HOT spell has made their tomatoes taste better. City Pages Eater's Digest columnist Dara Moscowitz says gardeners have become much more discriminating about taste in recent years...and are no longer satisfied with the standard vine ripened fruit. These days, heirloom tomatoes are all the rage.