DuPont Circle Mkt--Washington D.C.

So Easter Weekend, my buddy Howie and I returned to the scene of the crime, namely, Our Nation's Capitol, to eat once more in some of our fave places. [see bottom of http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5734 for our latest update]. Saturday night we got to cook in a small hotel/large guesthouse in Embassy Row, and heard lots about the Sunday market in DuPont Circle. That was enough for us, so we got up on a crisp but sunny Easter morning, got on the metro, and came up the escalator at the DuPont Circle stop. As we were coming up, we noticed lots of folks coming down, most bearing food sacks and lots of flowers. At the head of the escalator, we were greeted with this sight:



And here's where the flowers were coming from:



Info about the market is posted at the corner:



One thing that got us crazy was the mushroom stand. There were things there that we'd only ever *heard* about, let alone seen in real life. And talk about smell good, yee-hah:






There were a zillion fruit and veg stalls, but this one, with its rollicking fields of green, not to mention glorious kale, most took our fancy:







There were several meat stalls, one specializing in all things buffalo,






and another in a nice variety of free range meats, whose prices were certainly reasonable.




And finally, as a last course, the cheese! There were several artisanal cheese makers, one, specializing in all sorts of good blue cheeses (one of which we bought), and these folks, whose chevre cheeses were absolutely bang on the money. Needless to say, we bought a roll--it was incredibly creamy.







There just isn't anything much more pleasant, not to mention entertaining and satisfying, than to go to a place like DuPont Circle Market, right in the center of a great city, on a bright sunny day in Spring. The food really was all local, it was great, and it was right there in front of you. If I were a denizen of that great town, I'd most certainly be a regular there.

Geo

Yep. I lived there for five years and that was our farmer's market. It's really heaven at the height of tomato and peach season.

Although I applause the idea of farmer's markets, much of their prices, especially on meats will limit their clientele to a very upscale group along with the true believers of the organic/slow food movement. Looking at the price sheet, I can't envision most families paying $6.95 lb for Italian Sausage.

Inspired by Geo's post, my boyfriend and I visited Dupont Circle Market on Sunday. We found parking a few blocks away. We turned the corner toward the market and were met with the very long line for Bonaparte Breads.



The main attraction seemed to be the croissants, but a range of fine looking pastries were for sale.







Hedging my bets on other goodies to be found at the market, I limited myself to a “four fruits” rustic loaf. The bread was good, though light on the fruits and nuts. I prefer such loaves to be more dense and heavy like the variety that Fox & Obel in Chicago sells. Once we got through the line at Bonaparte Breads, we met another crowd at the entrance of the main area of the market. I was too short to see for myself, but I learned that Lynne Rossetto Kasper of the “Splendid Table” was giving a demonstration. I caught a very small part of it—fish sauce was the secret ingredient.

It was bittersweet to be at the market on Sunday. It was a clear, sunny, warm day. The sights, sounds and smells of the market were the stuff of dreams.



















At the same time, it pained me to be at such a wonderful market on the day of my return to Chicago and not to be able to shop for a big, elaborate meal and go home and cook it. I would have loved to walk away with bags of greens, mushrooms, yogurts, goat cheese from Firefly Farms and lemon ricotta cardamom gelato from Dolcezza. Instead, we made away with a small bag of mixed apples, a jar of hot salsa (made with Scotch Bonnet peppers) from Toigo Farms, a jar of bourbon-soaked peaches also from Toigo and a jar of peach-ginger jam from Country Pleasures Farm. I didn't know Toigo Farms before, but their products are excellent. They work magic with tomatoes.

I think Dupont Circle is a very good market. The offerings are rich, and the scale of the market is very manageable. It's also nice that it's close to the Metro and that there's grass where one can sit and eat.

Tnx so much Happy Stomach for the lovely-memory recharge! And ohhhh, the morels at $15/box!! There weren't any the day Howie and I visited. Had there been, I bet a box each would have gone back to Sonoma and Montreal!

Nice report!

Geo