Thursday, August 20, 2009

Wrightstown Farmers Market

Hey there, Stu here.

So my wife and I have been bitten by the local bug, and we've been checking out these places on the weekend. The drive to the Wrightstown Farmer's Market was idyllic to say the least - that is after a local corrected Googlemap's wonky directions. (shakes fist at Googlemap)

When we got there, it literally was a square of stands stretched out over a field. Right off the side of the road! Emily and I decided with our paltry FM (farmer's market) budget this week, we'd window shop before plunking down.

Now me, I love peaches. Peaches (and pears too) have that fine line between sweet, juicy perfection, and feeling like a peach flavored apple. We'd been getting peaches downtown at the Headhouse Farmer's Market, and they had finished their season. Good thing there were plenty of peaches to pick from here.


The price was great! And those peaches were DELICIOUS. But it really is the end of the season; it was a race against time to eat those peaches and frankly, we lost. On a side note, one of those "there's two kinds of people in this world" things... Evidently, I eat peach skins and Emily doesn't. And we both think we're weird for not doing what the other does!

Miss Peach, as I'll call her, was very approachable and friendly, just like everybody here. I think that's part of the charm of the FM crowd - people know you're going out of your way to shop with them - you don't have to, you CHOOSE to. They know it, and so they make it worth your while. It's like night and day compared to the service you usually get at a supermarket. One of my biggest pet peeves is you'll get up to the register, and the entire time you're there, with your $100-$200 order, they are talking "shop" with their coworkers. There's been times where my eyes have not made contact with the cashier during the entire transaction! Not so here. Everyone was really friendly. Here, check this out:

You've gotta try these chips. It's funny to think about chips - you see potato chips as a salty, junk food snack. But a potato is a vegetable. They had Beet chips, um... other chips...

There were tomato and basil chips. It was great to taste flavors you normally don't get in a chip.

I don't think I got a picture of it, but next to Brad's was a bread guy. He made brownie bread! Is it bread? Is it a brownie? It was delicious either way. He'd slice off a bit and offer it up without a second thought.

Here's where we got a lot of our veggie produce. As Em will tell ya, I'm trying to shed a few pounds (who isn't?), and big, juicy salads are the way to go.















Hey, check out the "Ugly Tomatoes"! Calls em likes ya sees em! I've never been one to say a fruit has to LOOK good to taste good. (And yeah, tomato's a fruit.)




But I know that there's a wonderful feeling to seeing the ripe, vibrant colors of fresh fruit, all laid out before you. You can tell this produce hasn't been carted around across half the country, or globe! Check these out:




Isn't that beautiful?














The open field really added to the environment and ambiance. Some just came to enjoy the beautiful day.


































Now another thing I like to grab at the FMs is bread. I've always loved bread, and fresh local bread hits the spot like nothing other! When I was living in Castor Gardens, I would frequent the local bakeries for a good loaf of rye, or some Amaroso rolls. Now, I get my bread treats at places like this! And Wrightstown did not disappoint. This guy was selling tomato pie, and while I didn't have enough to grab one, I made sure to set some green aside for a loaf of Italian bread - seeds included please.



He was selling crab sauce too. Great guy, made friends right away!




















Then we ran into this vendor, who had some of the most colorful produce and flowers on the whole field:

Check out these eggplants and flowers!
Well, we'll definitely be back to the Wrightstown Farmer's Market. It screams summer and it's a fun spot for those seeking a simple pleasure on a beautiful day.

Eat up!!

Stu

4 comments:

  1. Wow! Super fantastic post Stu. For real, it really looks great. I love the pictures. Please continue to contribute to the Feed.

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  2. Will do! We enjoyed documenting our trip to the FM, so look forward to more when we hit the next one up!

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  3. Please do! Awesome. Totally awesome.

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  4. Holy local food Batman! STU!!! Awesome job and great pictures. This was a real treat to read. You are a fantastic writer. Thank you for sharing this with the loyal readers. I hope you write more and share here on the Philly Food Feed.

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