It’s not very often that Glenn and I escape from the farm these days and if we do it is usually at the most an overnight. However, one of my nearest and dearest friends got married over the weekend inBurlington,VT and since we were both in the wedding we trotted off toLake Champlainfor a few days. (Glenn’s parents held down the fort while we were gone.)
Despite an extremely busy schedule, we made an effort to get downtown on Saturday morning for the Burlington Farmer’s Market. Before I met Glenn, I lived in Burlington for several years and always enjoyed the Saturday market. It has only improved and expanded over the years.
The market boasts 70 full time vendors with another 20 or so that come on rotating or seasonal schedule. The market is full of vegetables, fruits, eggs, meats, baked goods, sweets, honey, syrup, wines, cheeses, flowers, preserves, beverages, granola, herbal beauty products, sauces, plants, roasted nuts… the list goes on and on. There are also a smattering of prepared ethnic foods as well as crafts, local artists and musicians.
Scoping out how other farms do things is always interesting to us and there were lots of beautiful and interesting displays. We were surprised at how expensive eggs were (averaging $4/dz, not always organic). It also made us very pleased with our two markets where we have access to electricity. While all of the meat vendors had their frozen meat in coolers/on ice, none of them had freezers plugged in and running like we do at market.
I’ll admit, despite all the fantastic produce and local meats, my favorite part of the Burlington Farmer’s Market is eating at Samosaman Natural Foods. A trip to the market is incomplete without one of their many different types of Samosas. Glenn got spicy potato and I got garlic broccoli. (They had about 8 types this weekend, both vegetarian and ones with meat!) So very tasty.
Needless to say, it is a fantastic market, one of the best I’ve ever been to. If you happen to be in the Burlington area on a Saturday (May – October) take a trip to City Hall Park for the market – you won’t be disappointed.
