FARMERS' MARKETS
Some of My Favorite Markets
I have visited many, many American farmers’ markets and while I like to think I’m impartial—after all, each one has something special about it—there are those that stand out as favorites. Some have no doubt changed since I’ve seen them last, but most likely for the better as markets continue to grow in popularity, becoming ever-more refined. Towns that thought it wasn’t possible, now have them, and seasons keep getting extended by farmers’ know-how, so that there are more and more markets open during the winter months. Many even have websites you can visit for details.
Here are a few markets that I’m especially fond of.
Cleveland’s North Union Farmers’ Market
A little street with wide, grassy borders runs through the center of Shaker Square, and this where the North Union farmers’ market is held. In contrast to other mid-western markets, such as Madison’s with its three hundred farmers, or St. Paul’s with it’s 160 farmers and continuous existence for nearly as many years, this market was little and just a few years old when I first visited it in 2000. I’ve been back a few times since then, and it’s always inspiring. I’ve come away from the North Union Farmers Market with the sense that the family farm was very much alive. Many of the farmers were families working their stands together—adults, children, cousins—and several even wore T-shirts with the names of their farms printed on them. The range of foods is not vast, but it’s continually growing and the quality is high.
St. Helena Farmers’ Market (in California’s wine country)
I didn’t find this market until after I wrote Local Flavors. I went there to film a pilot for a TV show and fell in love. It’s the perfect sized market; small, but not too small—about a block long, lined on one side by vineyards, the other by a grove of redwood trees, the beautiful coastal mountains just to the West. Held on Friday morning, it was a market for residents, not a tourist-driven market. One of my favorite producers, Steve Sando of Rancho Gordo (www.ranchogordo.com) was there with his gorgeous New World beans and chiles. Beef, wine, and olive oil were present, all from one farm which, the owner pointed out, could be seen on the flank of those western hills. Cheeses, the usual gorgeous variety of California vegetables, flowers, and a large array of dried fruits (flame raisins and pluots among them) filled stands. The tamales at one stand were utterly delicious. Students and their teacher from nearby Greystone were holding an informal class there, as were 30 first graders. Picnic tables under the redwood trees beg you to linger for a while with a cup of coffee and pastry, or maybe a lunch of local cheese, bread and plump, sweet tomatoes.
San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market
This is the grande dame farmers’ markets. She’s splendid indeed and in her new incarnation. The market is outside on a pier right on the bay, while its open-all-the-time public market is housed in the adjacent ferry building. Inside or out, the food and atmosphere are to swoon over. But if you want to do more than swoon, bring a lot of cash. Really a lot, for this is an expensive market, in fact, the most expensive market I’ve seen to date. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing or a good thing, but just be prepared because it’s all irresistible and you’ll want to shop until you can’t carry any more. The breads (and little polenta cakes) from della Fattoria in Petaluma are truly memorable. And so is pretty much everything else there, from apple-balsamic vinegar, Cow Girl Creamy cheeses and produce and flowers that are truly, well, awesome. Spending a few hours at the Ferry Plaza Market is pure joy.
Ferry Plaza Building, San Francisco, CA 94111
415.353.5650
Sat 8am-2pm, Tue 10am-2pm, Thu 3pm-7pm year-round
http://www.ferryplazafarmersmarket.com
Washington DC’s Freshfarm Market at Dupont Circle
The nation’s capital deserves a splendid showcase for some of America’s finest foods, and it can be found in this modest-sized but splendidly stocked market. The Dupont circle market began as an arm of American Farmland Trust, and then became an independent concern run by its founders, Ann Yonkers and Bernie Prince. Located in a grassy park, it offers the Sunday shopper some extremely beautiful foodstuffs and flowers. Free-range chicken, turkey, pheasant, quail, organic beef, and rabbit filled out the meat side of the market, while the dairy consisted of fresh mozzarella, ricotta, goat’s milk yogurt, and goat cheese. The fresh ricotta alone would make me a faithful shopper if I needed any prompting. Delicate, milky and pure, fresh ricotta cheese is, like a big Brandywine tomato, one of those market treasures that are impossible to find in your supermarket.
I especially like what they say on their website, a winter reminder we all need to hear now and then:
In the winter...
Farmers still farm.
Chickens still lay eggs.
Cows still make milk.
Bakers still bake.
Cheese makers still make cheese...
and we still eat!
The Dupont Market is in the Riggs Bank parking lot and the 1500 block of 20th Street, between Q Street and Massachusetts Avenue, NW.
See you at market!
An Urban Farm in Goleta, California: Fairview Gardens
Just a few minutes walk from the green hush of the avocado grove at the farms’ center are tract homes, gas stations, fast food restaurants, and the other hallmarks—or detritus—of suburban life. The twelve acres that comprise this organic farm just north of Santa Barbara (home of another great farmers’ market) feed five hundred families a week through its CSA, farm stand, and participation at various farmers’ markets. Michael Ableman, Fairview’s founding farmer, has written eloquently on what it takes to work a 100-year-old farm in a time where pressure on scarce farmland is intense and often ugly. His book, On Good Land, shows that it’s not a miracle that has preserved this farm, but a lot of hard work, risk-taking, political savvy, and deep commitment on the part of many to see Fairview Gardens thrive. Residents along the borders may complain of cocks crowing and dust raised by the tractor, but a larger community is devoted to this urban farm. When Michael writes, “We cannot all go back to the land, but we can provide something of the land for everyone”, he is speaking for many in his community.
This is one of the few places I teach cooking classes, because it is the ideal situation to teach in, even if the kitchen is a farmhouse kitchen and not a state-of-the art cooking theater. The fruits, herbs and vegetables at Fairview Gardens are stunning, organic, and just delicious. (The farm also sells at The Ferry Plaza Market in San Francisco.) One buys from the farm stand right there on the farm. For the few classes offered each year, participants begin by touring the farm with Michael and the chef, and end by enjoying their meal at long tables under the avocado trees.
Boggy Creek Farm in Austin, Texas
I’ve been a huge fan of Boggy Creek Farm and its colorful owners, Carol Ann Sayle and her husband Larry Butler, for years. I’m hardly alone for this urban market with its twice-weekly farm stand is beloved by thousands of Austinites. Both Larry and Carol Ann left successful careers to begin this 5-acre organic farm in East Austin, a very short drive from the capital building of Texas. Boggy Creek is a thriving example of what every community needs—a truly local, urban farm. And this one includes chickens, too. Twice a week people come from all over Austin to the historic farmhouse and do their shopping, sometimes while their vegetables are being picked! (Talk about fresh!) There’s coffee, conversation, and a refrigerator full of local grass-fed beef, a soy substitute for the same, local Pure Luck goat cheese and other foods to round out one’s shopping, including Larry’s amazing smoke-dried tomatoes. The atmosphere is convivial and especially nice for children who love picking their own strawberries and seeing chickens scratch in the dust. Boggy Creek Farm is a national treasure.
Austin also has an excellent farmers' market in its Westlake district, which I visit whenever I’m there. It’s strong during those seasons when other markets are weak, so a March visit can be a lift of one’s spirits.
About Farmers' Markets
There may be more efficient ways to shop than going to the farmers' market. But the experience rewards us in so many ways that we somehow not only make time for our farmers’ markets, but we become very devoted to them. Farmers' markets have everything to do with our quality of life, from the experience of community that we find there, to the satisfaction of buying directly from those who grow our food. They also strengthen our local economies by keeping money turning within them, and they allow us to make a vital connection to our landscape, the season where we live, our local history and food traditions. Becoming devoted to our farmers' markets can deeply change us.
And, of course, there's the quality of what we find there to cook. The produce I find at the farmers' market, no matter how common, is what fuels my passion and makes my cooking come alive. Food this fresh is a rarity. It has that vibrant, vital snap that food from afar never manages to keep. Of course there will be some duds—like the plums the farmer picked too green so that he could be the first in the market to have them. But such upsets aside, the farmers' market is where we're going to find the freshest, most alive, and definitely the most interesting foods around.
CSAs and other Forms of Direct Marketing
Farmers' markets are not the only way to buy directly from the farm. In some parts of the country farm-stands and u-pick operations offer viable alternatives. And if you can't get to the market, you can turn to Community Supported Agriculture opportunities, referred to as CSAs.
The principle of a CSA is that the customer shares the risks and the rewards of the farmer by paying for a portion of the harvest months before it's even planted. This gives the farmer some cash flow for the stalled winter months when, outside of a few areas of the country like California, there are no crops. When the crops begin to come in, the participant receives a box of produce once or more each week. Its contents will of course change over the season, and depending on the farm, it might contain fruit, vegetables, herbs, eggs, a chicken perhaps, jams or jellies.
Except for signing up, you don't have to do the shopping or choosing. It just arrives, a sort of goody box. And if there's more than you can use, you can share it with a food bank, or with a neighbor and perhaps they'll become members as well.
Where to Find Farmers' Markets
Are you looking for a farmers' market where you live and can't find one? Or a CSA?
Ask me and I'll see if I can locate one near you. Or go to Links for site information. Alternatively, visit www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/map.htm, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's farmers' market locator.
