Grow Up, Eat Your Veggies

Imagine, for a moment, a 7 year old boy shuffling behind his mother.  He’s carrying a double bagged container of tomatoes.  They shuffle through a crowd as if they were salmon looking for the next bag to carry.  She is acting as his linebacker, deflecting off the swarm of people as he reluctantly hopes for an end to this drive.  He’s got a glazed look about him, bored beyond belief.  He’s wondering why can’t put this food in a cart and get a free cookie, like at the local supermarket.  But no this little fella is at a public market and by the way this obedient son is me. 

 

I had no idea what a gem public markets are.  I am in love with the Downtown Public Market in Rochester NY (incase you are reading this from somewhere else).  When I got out of college I moved to the city and ventured there every Saturday, I still trek it there since I moved to the outskirts of suburbia.  It’s an adventure, a time of tranquility for me, and the cheapest place to buy a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

 

Don’t let me limit your view to this grand place.  There are many things to buy at Rochester’s Downtown Public Market.  There are covered vendor areas and an indoor area.  In this poorly named “shed” there are fish, red meat, incense, paste, coffee, and herbs sold.  Also around are purses and livestock, cheese and deli meat, plants and flowers, jewelry and crafts, specialty foods and ethnic delicacies.  Also at times there are utensils and clothing and if you want to treat yourself there usually is a table of Amish homemade desserts and breads that will surpass most of what your mother can whip up.

 

As for entertainment value you can always look up special events at the market, they have cooking demonstrations, tastings, garage sales, Flower days, performing artist grace the area with their talent from time to time, and if you are lucky an unfortunate individual will be reminded that he illegally parked by the “wry” market office announcer. 

 

I could go into all the social conscious reasons you should go, buying locally, buying green, supporting the city, but really I enjoy it for all the benefits it gives me, the most powerful is bargains, I can’t find it cheaper.  I usually go alone, but I get very excited when I can introduce this to other people. 

 

Friends come in handy when you want to make a killing in buying items for cheep.  Sure you may not need 14 oranges but you and a few friends can split that and then buy a few other variety of fruit.  People watching is fun and in our fast pace texting society isn’t it nice to know you can go to a place where people are buying and selling items the same way as they have been doing for hundreds of years, without commercials, without fancy signs.

 

For a date, there is no better place to get comfortable with someone, you can take a stroll, observe colorful things.  If conversation is lacking you can easily talk about food.  There is less pressure to be interesting, you have the interesting all around you, just react.  If things are going well, there are flower vendors to top off the day.  If you want a bite you can enjoy many different inexpensive restaurants: Scott’s, The Empanada Stop (my personal favorite), Cherry’s European, Boulder Coffee.

 

 

This is a great place to bring kids.  For those who have little exposure to different cultures this is a great opportunity to see a rainbow of different people.  A child’s imagination can go wild.  Keep in mind the economy in the United States created the super market only about 50 years ago, before that there was the local grocery store.  What do you think the rest of the world does?  For years I would shop with friends who were refugees from Sudan, this was a place they got, with Wegmans there are too many rules too many things to consider- there are 11 brands of tomato soup! I’m all for convenience, but there is something to be said for simplicity.  Pick them up a honey stick (in the shed)  or some kettle when you get there.  Involved them here with conversation and choices about which foods to get. Get them to walk around, carry a bag or two, it build character.

 

 

Tips for going to the market

 

Arrive with time to spare:  This is not a “get in get out deal”, nor should it be. 

 

Find good parking:  The closest parking lot to the venders is off  Railroad Street.  You get there by driving on East Main by the corner of Goodman Street.  This parking lot can be crowded at times (peak hours between 10-1).  Crowded is an understatement, people are jockeying for position for a good amount of time.  If you are interested in saving time get creative with the parking.  I usually park on Hayward Street a neighboring street to the market.  There is also parking on North Union and paid parking (usually $2) on Railroad Street.  So you may have to walk a little more, in the sake of time it may save you a stitch or two.

 

Make a lap:  Unless you know exactly what you want and who to get it from you are gonna want to do a check of availability, quality and price (I do it every week to the dismay of my wife).  You may develop buyers regret when you pay one dollar for a head of lettuce when twenty yards away you could get it for 75 cents. 

 

Negotiate: Don’t be afraid to ask for a deal, but make sure it’s a deal you want.  Buying 2 bushels of apples may be cheaper than buying two individual ones but if your household won’t go through the amount in a week you are wasting money. (refer to friends paragraph)

 

Try going at different times of the day Rochester’s Public Market is open from 5-3 on Saturdays, and 6-1 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  And yes they are open all year around

 

Go early to beat the crowds and get the freshest items

 

Go late and get a deal.  Near the end of the day there are venders who will rather sell off their perishable items for a loss than get go home with a total lost.  But be aware that you may miss out on variety.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!