Can you recommend any good farmers markets near Joliet?

Hi all

I was recently excited that the Joliet farmers market was soon to open. Last year I always seemed to forget that the market was on Fridays until Saturday . Well, this year I finally made it! But what a disappointment. There were only two vendors selling fruits and vegetables, neither of which were too impressive.

But the biggest disappointment was the single guy selling fresh beef, pork, chicken, cheese and eggs. I talked to him for a fairly long time and things really sounded promising. It was all his own beef, pork, chicken, eggs etc. He even talked about how he was up all night cleaning eggs last night. Things were sounding quite good!

So I bought one dozen fresh farm eggs and a couple of pounds of pork chops. Now I've had fresh farm raised pork before and the flavor is really unmatched by anything in the grocery store. Same with farm fresh eggs. I do have two places that I get fresh eggs from...but I can't get them often enough to have all the time. So I was really excited to have a possible new supplier of fresh eggs, meat and cheese To my disappointment the pork had very little flavor but was fairly tender. The eggs had a decent yolk with a nice deep burnt orange color and good flavor. But the whites spread all over the pan worse than the eggs you get at the grocery store, they just didn't hold together at all. I had a dozen of REAL farm fresh eggs in the fridge which were a bit over two weeks old. I cracked my 2 week old real farm fresh egg side by side with the ones from the Joliet farmers market and there was no comparison. The 2 week old eggs were SOOOOO much fresher than the ones that I bought from the Joliet farmers market. $5.00 a dozen for old eggs and also very average pork...I am SO disappointed!

I don't mind paying more money for good food...but this was NOt a farmers market that I would purchase from again. I've been to a couple of farmers markets in Chicago that were quite impressive, but I don't want to make the drive all the time (especially with the traffic ). Are there any farmers markets that are nearby that I should try? or perhaps a local farm for fresh chicken, beef, pork, eggs and cheese?


thanks so much!

dan

The Naperville farmer's market seems to be just what your looking for. It takes place every Saturday morning from 7ish until 1 or 2 and is well worth the drive.

Thanks for the tip. I'll be giving it a try in the next couple of weeks

dan

This is not quite what you are asking for, but there is also a great food market in Naperville called Michael's Fresh market near Ogden and Rt. 59. A huge produce section and in general a very good and varied selection of ethinic foods and interesting brands you don't see elsewhere. I stop by every few weeks for a couple items and always leave with a cart full of new finds.

wak wrote:This is not quite what you are asking for, but there is also a great food market in Naperville called Michael's Fresh market near Ogden and Rt. 59. A huge produce section and in general a very good and varied selection of ethinic foods and interesting brands you don't see elsewhere. I stop by every few weeks for a couple items and always leave with a cart full of new finds.

Thanks wak!

I do shop occasionally at Michael's Fresh Market. I also drive to Caputo's, Whole Foods (off 83), H-Mart (on Ogden), Trader Joe's (near Ogden close to 83), Ambrosini's (in Shorewood) and Tischler's (in Plainfield).

I'll certainly be looking forward to my small garden starting to produce!

happy eats!

dan

I have been shopping at the Frankfort Farmer's Market on Sundays. It's along the bike path and has a nice mix of products.

Suzy

Thanks Suzy. I went to the Frankfort Farmers Market today. It wasn't that bad. Not huge but they had some nice fruits and vegetables. The one meat vendor had fresh (never frozen) farm raised chickens. I was really happy to see that...we'll see how they are

All in all. It appeared to be much better

thanks,
dan


now I still have to try the Naperville market