| rev:text
| - I love the West Side Market but I can't stand the crowds, the parking, and the general gentrified douchery that seems to accompany the entire process. For me, it's just not worth it. Enter the Food Peddler Farmer's Market. I don't know whose idea it was to plop down a produce-centric farmer's market style grocery store in the heart of Cleveland's Old Brooklyn neighborhood, but I'd like to shake their hand. It's just what the doctor ordered.
Imagine, if you will, a bright, airy open market full of colorful fruit and vegetables from farms around the region, rows of farm fresh eggs, coolers filled with Amish chicken and local ground beef...yeah, right. No, really, it's true. I'm not saying this place is perfect, but for an area of Cleveland more known for it's shady strip mall bars and giant cemeteries it's a breath of fresh air. It does what Cleveland and the rest of the nation needs, it encourages consumption of fresh, local foods. So what do they have to offer?
-Fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables with everything from plump bing cherries to more exotic fare like chayote and California avocados.
-A bakery with Cleveland favorites like kugel and kolaczki and a deli stocked to overflowing with meats and cheeses from all over Ohio and Pennsylvania.
-A bulk section with plenty of flour, rice, pie fillings, nuts, seeds, and other goodies.
-Giant bags of peanuts, onions, apples, and carrots.
-A wall of bulk candy packaged in little containers perfect for hiding in your cupboard behind the quinoa and flax seeds.
-Reasonable prices. It's not as cheap as fast food, no. But if you're gonna spend your money somewhere why not make it your health.
I could go on and on about all of the products they've managed to cram into this place and about how friendly the staff was but I want to leave something for you to find out on your first visit. I know, it's not the West Side Market and it doesn't have nearly the sheer volume of items of this venerable food mecca but it's worth paying them a visit anyway. What it does have is a neighborhood feel, more parking, and a more intimate experience. Support a local business, eat local foods and give something back.
|