Division Street outdoor market info?

Hi friends!

I was wondering if you could help me out with some info. I went to the Green City Market in Lincoln Park this past Saturday and I absolutely loved it! On my bus ride back southwards, I saw another outdoor event that looked somewhat like a farmer's market on Division and Clark/Dearborn. I tried googling it but to no avail. Does any of you know what it is and when it's held? Thanks y'all!

maria~

The Near North Farmer's Market, weekly on Saturday from 7 to 2.

I also have a farmer's market question. Last Saturday I rode my bike to Green City Market and passed the market in Lincoln Park (on Armitage in the LPHS parking lot). Did I miss something great? I've been to the Sunday Wicker Park market, and it has far less variety than others, but enough on the occasions where I just can't make it to a Saturday market. And I know the Evanston and Oak Park markets are good. How are the other city Saturday markets?

Thanks for the info, Bob.

Leek, I personally enjoyed the Green City market when I went there. As you probably already know, summer is the peak season for berries, cherries and peaches, of which there is an abundance this past Saturday. Most of the farmers do not use herbicides or pesticides to grow their stuff, which is cool because I'm getting to be a tad paranoid about exposure to these agents due to recent media coverage. I purchased a pint each of strawberries and raspberries. They were so plump and vibrantly-colored that I just had to pop a few into my mouth after I paid up. The raspberries were delicious but I couldn't taste a difference between the naturally-grown one and a "normal" one. However, the strawberries were a different story. Although naturally-grown strawberries are significantly smaller than a "normal" strawberry, they really pack a punch in terms of flavor! Also, "natural" strawberries are much more deeply-colored and just tasted better.

Besides fruits, farmers also sell an assortment of veggies including lettuce, spinach and green beans (which I bought a pound of). There were also cheap bunches of fresh, fragrant herbs. I just couldn't resist a big bunch of basil for $2! There were also stands selling baked goods, such as a variety of breads, tantalizing cookies and some really beautiful galettes! I had a blueberry-peach crepe when I was there and truly enjoyed it although they definitely should've given me more fruit filling for a whopping $6.

The Saturday I was at the market, there was to be a cooking demonstration around noon. I don't know if this is held every time the market is there. There were also a few plastic chairs strewn around the park for when you just have to sit down while eating the heavenly cookies. Overall, I enjoyed my weekend of splurging on delicious fruits and vegetables. This market is not suitable for people on a budget thuogh.

Since I live in the neighborhood, I hit the Division/Clark market virtually every Saturday. I prefer it to the "zoo" market...ever notice the same purveyors jack up the price on the same wares there?...I've got stories I could tell vis a vis that specific market being
supposedly all organic.

It's best, of course, to get to the Division St. one early before the s/m, SUV babystroller, dog-as-accessory, fratpacking hordes descend. I like the cheesecurd girl, the one veg. stand right at the Clark/Division stop with the heirloom fingerlings, I used to like the herb girls until they stopped carrying marjoram, the two flower sellers usually have something pretty---thank god the one "hawker" guy who kept his lackluster wares in pots on the macadam is gone this year. Even with all the extraneous soap, salsa, breads, pickles, suspicious spices, and the Sun-Times booth(pish) it's still a fairly large and varied market. It took them awhile to get going(the first few weeks were...eh...), but here at the end of July they're pretty much in full swing.

Green City has a bit of a loophole in organic or sustainable.

The Lincoln Park farmers market is probably the largest one in Chicago outside the downtown area.

The North Center market on Saturdays has two good fruit growers and one middling vegetable grower. They lost their previous vegetable grower, who was from Lynwood. I suspect that he sold out to a developer as development is rampant in that area and I got a wry smile last fall when I made a crack about the pace of development there.

The Lincoln Square market on Tuesdays is pretty good but nowhere near the assortment of Lincoln Park on Saturday. So far this year I have not been to any other neighborhood markets regardless of day of week.

So Lincoln Park has more or better than Green City on Saturday?

Try La Unica and Devon Mkt, across from eachother on Devon east of Clark.

leek wrote:So Lincoln Park has more or better than Green City on Saturday?

I haven't actually bought anything from the LP market, but just from passing by I noticed some overlap between the purveyors at both markets. My sense was that Green City had more stands and meat and cheese purveyors. I only saw fruit and veggie stands at LP, but I may be wrong. So, in my mind, it's not as good. I also don't think that the LP market has the same focus on organic produce that Green City has, in case that matters. The overlapping purveyors were also the larger ones. If there's some small farmer that you like to buy things from at Green City, he or she is not likely to be at LP as well.

Hopefully someone else can help you sort out the differences.

aschie30 wrote:

leek wrote:So Lincoln Park has more or better than Green City on Saturday?

I haven't actually bought anything from the LP market, but just from passing by I noticed some overlap between the purveyors at both markets. My sense was that Green City had more stands and meat and cheese purveyors. I only saw fruit and veggie stands at LP, but I may be wrong. So, in my mind, it's not as good. I also don't think that the LP market has the same focus on organic produce that Green City has, in case that matters. The overlapping purveyors were also the larger ones. If there's some small farmer that you like to buy things from at Green City, he or she is not likely to be at LP as well.

Hopefully someone else can help you sort out the differences.

Which "lincoln park" market are talking about, here? If it's the one (Saturdays-clark/division) I speak of in my post---that I've been attending for at least 3-4 years---...just to iterate...they are at least 1/4 meat/cheese/flowers/spices/salsas/breads/soap...yadda yadda yadda. Green City(Wed./Sat.? near the zoo) also has a smaller selection of sundries beyond the produce. All Chicago markets have overlapping purveyors and some purveyors only work certain markets or certain days. No, Lincoln Park isn't all-organic...but, it's not intended to be...that's the raison d'etre of Green City(but, even there...caveat emptor).

Christopher Gordon wrote:
Which "lincoln park" market are talking about, here? If it's the one (Saturdays-clark/division) I speak of in my post...

No, as I mentioned, it's on ARMITAGE in the LINCOLN PARK HIGH SCHOOL parking lot

Isn't Clark and Division the Gold Coast?

leek wrote:

Christopher Gordon wrote:
Which "lincoln park" market are talking about, here? If it's the one (Saturdays-clark/division) I speak of in my post...

No, as I mentioned, it's on ARMITAGE in the LINCOLN PARK HIGH SCHOOL parking lot

Isn't Clark and Division the Gold Coast?

Of course it's the Gold Coast. Chicago's territories being so malleable these days you'd be surprised where some people place the boundaries.

Christopher Gordon wrote:

aschie30 wrote:

leek wrote:So Lincoln Park has more or better than Green City on Saturday?

I haven't actually bought anything from the LP market, but just from passing by I noticed some overlap between the purveyors at both markets. My sense was that Green City had more stands and meat and cheese purveyors. I only saw fruit and veggie stands at LP, but I may be wrong. So, in my mind, it's not as good. I also don't think that the LP market has the same focus on organic produce that Green City has, in case that matters. The overlapping purveyors were also the larger ones. If there's some small farmer that you like to buy things from at Green City, he or she is not likely to be at LP as well.

Hopefully someone else can help you sort out the differences.

Which "lincoln park" market are talking about, here? If it's the one (Saturdays-clark/division) I speak of in my post---that I've been attending for at least 3-4 years---...just to iterate...they are at least 1/4 meat/cheese/flowers/spices/salsas/breads/soap...yadda yadda yadda. Green City(Wed./Sat.? near the zoo) also has a smaller selection of sundries beyond the produce. All Chicago markets have overlapping purveyors and some purveyors only work certain markets or certain days. No, Lincoln Park isn't all-organic...but, it's not intended to be...that's the raison d'etre of Green City(but, even there...caveat emptor).

Clark & Division is the Gold Coast. But if I understood Leek's question right, she was wondering whether there was some particular reason why she should go to the LP market (@ Armitage & Halsted) over Green Market, either because there was more or better offerings at LP.

If there are overlapping purveyors, then that would NOT be one reason to go to LP market over Green City either because LP does not have "more" or is "better."

If you'd rather have organic, then that would also NOT be one reason to go to LP market over Green City because LP would not be "better" (assuming you value organic produce more).

If you're looking for more diversity amongst the products offered, then that, too, would NOT be a reason to go to LP over Green City because LP would not have "more" or be "better" (assuming you think more diverse products is better).

But again, if someone is a regular at the LP market and has a reason why it is indeed better, or has "more," than the Green City market, then, by all means, chime in.

aschie30 wrote:

Christopher Gordon wrote:

aschie30 wrote:

leek wrote:So Lincoln Park has more or better than Green City on Saturday?

I haven't actually bought anything from the LP market, but just from passing by I noticed some overlap between the purveyors at both markets. My sense was that Green City had more stands and meat and cheese purveyors. I only saw fruit and veggie stands at LP, but I may be wrong. So, in my mind, it's not as good. I also don't think that the LP market has the same focus on organic produce that Green City has, in case that matters. The overlapping purveyors were also the larger ones. If there's some small farmer that you like to buy things from at Green City, he or she is not likely to be at LP as well.

Hopefully someone else can help you sort out the differences.

Which "lincoln park" market are talking about, here? If it's the one (Saturdays-clark/division) I speak of in my post---that I've been attending for at least 3-4 years---...just to iterate...they are at least 1/4 meat/cheese/flowers/spices/salsas/breads/soap...yadda yadda yadda. Green City(Wed./Sat.? near the zoo) also has a smaller selection of sundries beyond the produce. All Chicago markets have overlapping purveyors and some purveyors only work certain markets or certain days. No, Lincoln Park isn't all-organic...but, it's not intended to be...that's the raison d'etre of Green City(but, even there...caveat emptor).

Clark & Division is the Gold Coast. But if I understood Leek's question right, she was wondering whether there was some particular reason why she should go to the LP market (@ Armitage & Halsted) over Green Market, either because there was more or better offerings at LP.

If there are overlapping purveyors, then that would NOT be one reason to go to LP market over Green City either because LP does not have "more" or is "better."

If you'd rather have organic, then that would also NOT be one reason to go to LP market over Green City because LP would not be "better" (assuming you value organic produce more).

If you're looking for more diversity amongst the products offered, then that, too, would NOT be a reason to go to LP over Green City because LP would not have "more" or be "better" (assuming you think more diverse products is better).

But again, if someone is a regular at the LP market and has a reason why it is indeed better, or has "more," than the Green City market, then, by all means, chime in.

Rrrrreow! Throwdown at the farmers market! I lay this out: in my experience Green City is overpriced, dubiously/patronizingly organic, choked with chef groupies, and a litmus test as to what culinary ideologies a certain demographic of patrons is willing to swallow.

If you read closely, I didn't argue that Clark/Division is Lincoln Park...I opined *some* people do...I live in the Gold Coast and that intersection doesn't reflect my neighborhood...lemme tell ya...I avoid it at all possible.

Such passion over purveyors!

Christopher Gordon wrote:Rrrrreow! Throwdown at the farmers market! I lay this out: in my experience Green City is overpriced, dubiously/patronizingly organic, choked with chef groupies, and a litmus test as to what culinary ideologies a certain demographic of patrons is willing to swallow.

Overpriced: Perhaps.

Dubiously/patronizingly organic: Definitely.

A litmus test as to what culinary ideologies a certain demographic of patrons is willing to swallow. Not sure.

But I like it in spite of all of those things.

I'm not far from Green City, but I only go occasionally. I go to a different markets for different items and sellers.

Green City:
- unusual greens, organic berries, organically grown potted plants and cut flowers, organic lamb and eggs (also, occasionally, duck eggs)

Division:
- smoked Gouda and string cheese (husband loves both)
- Polish pastries
- reduced prices on everything (especially flowers) at closing time

French Market at Nettelhorst School on Broadway:
- pretzel rolls, fresh eggs, assorted produce, but also: Syrian tablecloths (from Akbik Inc. in Elmwood), local art, and a who knows what else might show up.

All of these markets have some stands where farmers sell their lettuce, tomatoes, peaches, cucumbers, beans, berries, and so on. The prices vary and I'm essentially paying extra in order not to get produce trucked in from Florida, California, or Chile. But then, some stands are also selling exactly the same trucked-in produce you'd get at the supermarket.

aschie30 wrote:

Christopher Gordon wrote:Rrrrreow! Throwdown at the farmers market! I lay this out: in my experience Green City is overpriced, dubiously/patronizingly organic, choked with chef groupies, and a litmus test as to what culinary ideologies a certain demographic of patrons is willing to swallow.

Overpriced: Perhaps.

Dubiously/patronizingly organic: Definitely.

A litmus test as to what culinary ideologies a certain demographic of patrons is willing to swallow. Not sure.

But I like it in spite of all of those things.

I've gotten some great stuff there...in particular there was this one stand(that was forthrightly not organic) that offered the most amazing varieties of heirloom tomatoes. Man, those were yummy.

But, then, beyond the groupies, you'd get chefs coming in and swiping up all the produce in one fell swoop. That's anyone's perogative, really. Kinda sucks when you have your eye on some beautiful whatever greens and by the time you make the circuit to see what else's is on offer...gone!

I stick to Clark/Division primarily, anyway. Though I seem to have missed it today.