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| - Your Neighborhood Farmer's Market ... On Miracle Grow!
Circling the State's Capital building are hundreds of merchants and thousands of customers (20,000 / day on average). This IS the place to be (especially considering Madison has only 200,000 population).
Since there are so many merchants and even more consumers, more than just the corn, cabbage and apples are available ... and at prices that rival neighborhood grocers.
Must haves at the Farmer's Market include cheese, flowers, herbs, cactus, pie, honey and meat. Cheese curds usually run about $4/lb, but come in a variety of flavors including Cajun and Garlic Dill; splurgers can feast on some of the world's best cheese (PBS actually made a documentary on the world-class cheese-makers featured at the Madison Farmer's Market. Also, of special note are the delicious pies offered by the Amish ... grab some vanilla bean and warm up a slice of their pie in the microwave ... and you'll be in your comfort food bliss zone. Meat vendors offer farm-raised cattle steaks at value; once a steak is cut into and savored, it will be near-impossible to return to Copps and attempt to eat one of their steaks.
The cons of the farmer's market are:
* Lack of parking - finding a parking spot downtown is near impossible on the 1st pass ... persistence and comfortable shoes pay off.
* Must have change - the metered parking is hungry and provides only 1.25 hours. After every rotation (usually takes one hour or so), it is best to chuck more change in the meter (and also gives you an opportunity to put goods in the trunk).
* Saturation - The crowd is saturated with people seeking deals, baby carriages, wagon pullers and etc. If you hate walking shoulder to shoulder in a crowd, it is advised you seek one of the other dozen or so Madison area farmer's markets on Saturday.
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