Wednesday market the inaugural Dublin Farmer's Market. I had the day off and decided to hike up to the suburbs to check it out. If you are new to town or have never been to old Dublin, you should go up and check it out. It's really cute, and my old stomping grounds.
The Dublin Market is located at the Dublin Community Church, where there is plenty of parking. There were about 10 vendors, making it a smaller market, but I was still able to find plenty of great meats and vegetables. Sometimes I like these midweek markets for just this reason - you can pop in and out and get on with your day.
Let me see if I can recall the farmers there...Snowville was there passing out milk, and I was able to buy a half gallon of milk from cows who were milked that very morning! I immediately went out and purchased a box of Honey Nut Cheerios and have now consumed the greater part of both.
Wayward Seed Farm was there with the giant pile of beets I posted in my test post yesterday, along with lots of herbs, Iceberg lettuce (more on that later), and other nice veggies. I picked up some beets and spent awhile talking to farmer Adam about the state of local eating, getting chefs into buying locally and the obstacles there, and then I was off.
Next door to them were 2 farms whose names I don't remember! (I hate that - I meant to take a picture of each vendor). Once vendor had lots of carrots and other nice-looking vegetables, and there was a hydroponic vendor with lovely heads of lettuce and all sorts of heirloom tomatoes. My opinion of hydroponic is still up in the air - I love being able to buy things locally when they are out of season, but I also like to taste the earth. However, if we get tons of rain, we run the risk of having tasteless, watery vegetables (tomatoes are especially susceptible to this), so being able to control the environment eliminates uncertainty. I will say this: if you buy hydroponic lettuce, it won't be full of dirt and bugs. Take that for what it's worth. I bought a clamshell package of grape tomatoes and was on my way.
There was a gluten-free bakery there, whose name, again, I can't recall (especially irritating because I know I have a lot of gluten-free eaters out there).
Toad Hill Organics was there with lots of nice-looking lettuces, a few varieties of cucumbers, and some shelling peas. I picked up a spiny cucumber which was delicious, along with some great-looking rainbow chard and peas.
Blue Jacket Creamery was there with their great array of cheeses (everything there is great, but their newer feta and goat cheeses are great); I opted for a block of Gretna Grillin cheese.
Oink, Moo, Cluck was there with their yummy offerings, and I picked up a pound of bacon and a pack of hot Italian sausage.
Wishwell Farms was there with strawberries, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, and other veggies.
Also there were a few flower/potted plant vendors, and I am sure I am missing a few things.
I encourage everyone to patronize these smaller, weekday markets. For anyone who gets irritated or overwhelmed by the crowds at the Saturday markets, or doesn't like the dogs/tourists/line ditchers (never!!), or if your Saturday mornings involve carting your little ones to soccer practice, these smaller markets are a great alternative. They are typically more spacious, and for now some have lower attendance, making them easy and quick to navigate. Since there isn't as much repetition in the produce, you can make one round and get everything you need pretty quickly.
I got enough for several meals and only spent about 10 minutes shopping. The rest of the time was devoted to chatting with vendors. And of course, right around the corner is the newest Jeni's Ice Cream location, so you can reward yourself. I hopped over for a nice little scoop of Cherry Lambic. Yum!!
The new Dublin Farmers Market takes place Wednesday afternoons from 4:30-8pm throughout the summer, and takes place at the Dublin Community Church on 161 just west of Dublin Road.
