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| - I haven't reviewed the infamous West Side Market? Well, that can only be due to the fact that there's nothing more I can add. Go there. Be amazed, The ambiance alone is reason to go. I've actually gone to the the market before just to people-watch. You can grab a coffee and a crepe, go sit up in the balcony area and be surrounded by one-hundred years of fabulous, rich Cleveland history. I would in fact advise anyone to read the book "Cleveland's West Side Market: 100 years and still cooking" for insights into the people and hard times that made -- and makes -- the market so terrific.
I can say that so far as shopping - your first time at the market, take a full wallet. You're going to likely be overwhelmed and want to buy a little (or a lot) of everything! On subsequent visits, the best practice is to know what you want ahead of time, then take a stroll among the vendor's stalls to see who's offering the best price on that item. Many times I've seen one thing $2 cheaper 4 stalls down. Also, if you go to the market about 45 min to an hour before closing time, you can often get even better deals, because the vendors don't want to haul their stuff to storage.
Best to avoid the obvious mad shopping days: Before Easter, Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc. There have been times when I as a local thought oh hey, I'll pop into the market for this or that --- and taken one look at the wall-to-wall people on those pre-holiday sprees, and said uh, forget it.
Overall - there's only one thing to be said about our beloved, magnificent WSM.
GO THERE - you won't regret it.
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