Farmers Market Roundup - A Good Start to the Year

By Anthony Todd in Food on May 21, 2010 4:00PM

We've been lazy - the bad weather and lack of sleep kept us from the opening day of the farmers markets we frequent. But we managed to drag ourselves out of bed for yesterday's Daley Plaza market, and it was definitely worth the struggle. The fountain in Daley Plaza looks like something out of Dante's Inferno, unlike last week, and we were a bit scared of it, but it wasn't enough to keep us away. We met up with some old friends, saw some new faces and bought plenty of great local fare.

The produce in the market was still a bit limited in variety, but it was wonderful in price and quality. Asparagus everywhere in piles of green and purple, bundles of rhubarb and the early spring onions and fresh green garlic. A few booths had strawberries and one had kohlrabi, but we're still holding our breath for the real produce parade to get going. The fountain in Daley Plaza looks like something out of Dante's Inferno, and we were a bit scared of it, but it wasn't enough to keep us away.

A new development - every booth had a "We Accept Link" sign hanging prominently, with instructions for use. Shoppers would get a chit at each booth when they bought something and settle up at a central Link tent on one side of the plaza. Farmers markets have been eligible for various forms of public food assistance for years, but it's interesting to see such a push - hopefully it brings in some new faces and moves some fresh produce onto a few dinner tables.

New bakeries were the stars on Thursday - we encountered three, and we didn't even explore very hard. Everything from bite-sized cookies to huge foccacia loaves were being offered, including our personal favorite - huge home-made "Oreo" cookies from Ivy Pastry. Ivy also had an amazing personal-sized carrot cake, and anyone who works in the loop should run down and pay them a visit next Thursday.