Evanston Farmers' Market expertise?

I'm heading up there on Sat. and wondering if anyone is very familiar with the vendors so as to offer pointers about who/what to look for in particular. I love just wandering around, but my 3 1/2 year old has liimited tolerance, so if there's a "don't miss" stand, I don't want to miss it.

I'm also not great on exactly what's in season when. Given the coolish weather so far, what should be looking good about now? Appreciate any hints.

(Did I already miss tart MI cherry season? I know it's a brief window of opportunity.)

Perhaps we'll cross paths on Saturday as my husband and frequently go there for our Saturday Farmer's Market jaunt. The two not-to-be-missed stands are Henry's and Nichols. BTW, both carry eggs. Green Acres is also there, though they typically have a smaller display in Evanston than they do at the Green City Market. If you're lucky, you might get to meet Eva, the owner's 6 mo. old daughter. Kinnikinick (sp?) also has a stand with fantastic greens, the micro arugula is really out of this world. There's a lot more, but those are my favorites.

Unless I blinked too long, the sour cherries have not yet arrived. The sweet cherries were quite abundant at the Green City Market this morning, both Bing and Ranier.

Hi,

Cherries are July.

Yup - no stone fruit yet. Strawberries are everywhere, though, and the cut perennials are fabulous and cheap due to the copious deep watering they've received so far this year. I got an armload (as in 42 stems!) of those dark-red peonies for a paltry 10 bucks.

See you all there Saturday.

MAG (or anyone else)-- when do you go to the Green City Mkt? Here's my dilemma. I have to take one of my sons to a day camp at 9. So, do I bolt at some ungodly early hour and hit it at 7 (a grim prospect to me), or do I risk going at 9:30-10ish and not finding much left? It's not that I want to beat Charlie T. to the good stuff, I just want there to be good stuff at all.

MAG (or anyone else)-- when do you go to the Green City Mkt

Before the little god of thunder struck, Mike and I would go promptly at 7:00am. This year, we've been going around 7:30-7:45. I recommend getting there early as it can get really crowded at least on nice days.

On the topic of weather, while the really good farmers, with the exception of Henry's, are pretty much all there, they are not too enamored with the crowd. One of my farmer friends told me that he much prefers the Evanston market because shoppers show up rain/shine/cold/hot whereas the weather greatly impacts the turnout at the Green City Market.

Another thing to think about if you are concerned with things running out is becoming a member of the market. Last year, they had a program in which you could pre-order your produce and pick it up later in the day. I'm assuming that it will be up and running again.

There were sweet cherries and raspberries at a few stands last week, and Theresa's herbs, next to Henry's will have some blueberries too (she's further south than all the others, I think)

I usually go by 7:30, depending on how early the dog gets me up I'll be wearing a black yin/yang Mickey Mouse baseball cap and carrying a travel coffee mug

Is Green Acres the transitional-to-organic place that is doing Italian stuff like Henry's does Asian?

I also like the cheese vendor guy way in the back, and for the little ones, Great Harvest is there giving away slices of bread.

I don't mean to sound dense, I just am....


Where are all the Michigan cherries coming from...the little farmers market at 311 Wacker (across from Sears Tower) have both sweet and tart "Michigan" cherries, are they lying to me?

pd

We'll look for you Lee as we will also be there around 7:30 with baby in bjorn. I don't think that Green Acres' is what you're thinking of. They do have a lot of unusual produce, but it isn't so much Italian. We just love them because they are from Mike's mom's hometown - they sit behind his Aunt Agnes in church.

Where are all the Michigan cherries coming from...the little farmers market at 311 Wacker (across from Sears Tower) have both sweet and tart "Michigan" cherries, are they lying to me?

Peter,

We saw plenty of sweet Michigan cherries at the Green City Market this week as well. What day is the 311 Wacker market? We should meet up for an early lunch there one of these weeks.

MAG

The 311 market is today, I only see about 6 stands this morning. I believe the market is every other Thursday.

Salads on the Go in the 311 mini-mart. In the lower level is Pazzo's and Mini Pazzo's (grilled chicken Panini and soup $5.50).

See Petra's post also.

pd

As this is morphing into a general farmer's market thread: Has anyone been to the MCA market on Tuesdays? I'm thinking of getting a half-share from the Tomato Mountain CSA (which delivers every other Sunday) and then supplementing it as needed with the Tuesday market.

I didn't see a more dedicated thread to the Evanston market (and it's not that dedicated).

I noticed for the first time to day that Blue Marble Dairy is now a vendor. Along with the handful of cheese places and Wettstein's meats, it seems like you see the gamut of proteins available now.

leek wrote:
Is Green Acres the transitional-to-organic place that is doing Italian stuff like Henry's does Asian?

I'm fairly sure you're describing Kinnikinnick Farm.

No, not Kinnickinic, which is also very nice by the way. There's one vendor that seems like it has many varieties of things, but they are all Italian, like Henry's farm has Asian. I can't remember the name, though - I thought it was Green Acres.

MAG wrote:The two not-to-be-missed stands are Henry's and Nichols. BTW, both carry eggs.

To continue to provide updated information on this thread, I don't think Henry's or Nichols carries eggs anymore. I know the Wettstein's stand has them as well as the farm across from Green Acres with zucchini and coolers on the table.

I frequently shop at Henry's, Nichols and Green Acres. For fruit, I've liked J.W Morlock & Girls for berries of all description. For stone fruit, apples, pears, etc., I like a stand on the western end of the lot. I've never gotten the name, but the farm is from Michigan and the stand is run by an older, friendly gentleman named Adolf who will cut up fruit for you to sample before you can even get the request out of your mouth.

leek wrote:No, not Kinnickinic, which is also very nice by the way. There's one vendor that seems like it has many varieties of things, but they are all Italian, like Henry's farm has Asian. I can't remember the name, though - I thought it was Green Acres.

I would not say Green Acres is all Italian, but I believe they are trending in a more Italian direction. My neighbor is the executive chef/co-owner of Picolo Sogno and uses a large number of Green Acres products; he told me that when he was executive chef at Coco Pazzo, he had the Green Acres folks start growing a number of Italian ingredients specifically for him, and Green Acres subsequently expanded them into their regular market offerings.

Incidentally, Green Acres also has an Asian focus to a certain extent, as there are a number of Asian squash and melon varieties later in the season. The wife of the couple that owns the farm is of Japanese descent, and the farm apparently started as a source of Asian produce for restaurants in Chicago.