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Eating Local in DelMarVa


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I was at the Dupont Circle market last weekend. I have to say that, as someone who, that particular day, was not there to stock a week's worth of stuff but rather to gain fodder for something that I am writing, I was mightily impressed by the variety and the quality that I saw.

Sure, it was not all cheap, but, in reality, that's the farmer's choice. As I understood it before I went (and this was confirmed by several sellers that I talked to) many of them could choose to sell everything that they have at the wholesale level directly to restaurants. The issue, for them, is that they can mark the product up a bit more (and reasonably, I thought, based on the prices that I saw last weekend) and make more money at the markets. This is good business-not gouging, in my opinion, anyway. There also seemed to be an opinion among the farmers that it was better for them, businesswise, to develop a relationship with individual customers than with restaurants where, in most cases, their wares are going to be sold somewhat anonymously-brand building on a small scale, I suppose.

The quality that I saw, generally, was nothing short of top notch and it seemed that most of the people selling the stuff were either the growers themselves or people who worked on the farms where the stuff was grown. This is, believe me, markedly different from what I have been finding at many markets around the Southeast and deep South (I've been to a bunch this year). In many places I find that there are basically (not in the majority, by any means-happily) people who are reselling things that are, in fact, artisinally grown but not really by them. Now, really, I don't have a problem with that as I am usually just looking for something good to eat, but I find that I am much more willing to pay top dollar to someone who is actually the grower of the product. It's much more fun (to me) to eat things that I know the story behind than things that, well, are pretty anonymous.

Another nice thing about the Dupont Market was that bakery (name escapes me-but it was a bunch of French guys) that sells there. I had a number (a large number :wink: ) of their wares and they were really, really good. It was nice having that as a breakfast option while shopping. There was an apple tarte that had creme fraiche kind of glopped in it that was one of the best pastries that I have had in years. It wasn't the prettiest by any means, but it was surely tasty.

The sour cherries were outstanding (as were the regular ones) and I had a number of cheeses that I really enjoyed. I also reconfirmed that white peaches are not as good as regular peaches. Kind of, well, white tasting IMO. There were beautiful, though picked over, haricots vertes, nice little local artichokes (I had no clue that those things were grown up there), beautiful beets of several varieties, and some really nice tomatoes of several varieties as well.

Everyone that I talked to, though very busy, was extremely friendly and forthcoming with detailed info about what they were selling and generally about how their business was doing. I enjoyed it thoroughly and look forward to going back later next month.

We should be so lucky down here.

Brooks Hamaker, aka "Mayhaw Man"

There's a train everyday, leaving either way...

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Hey Brooks, thanks for lending us your perspective. If you're writing a piece that mentions your trip, would you post a link here if possible?

I agree that it's so much better to know your farmer. I find myself hitting the Wirth's stall at the Annapolis FM more than anyone else. I did a piece on his farm last year, so I got to know the family (who basically all live and work on the farm still) a bit.

Bridget Avila

My Blog

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Hey Brooks, thanks for lending us your perspective.  If you're writing a piece that mentions your trip, would you post a link here if possible?

I agree that it's so much better to know your farmer.  I find myself hitting the Wirth's stall at the Annapolis FM more than anyone else.  I did a piece on his farm last year, so I got to know the family (who basically all live and work on the farm still) a bit.

I am writing one for a national mag, but it won't appear until next Spring. It takes a while to hit these things and there are pretty small windows of time to get them when they are really full of stuff. I'll post it when the thing is scheduled or when it appears. It's a first appearance in this particular one for me.

Now, back to the subject-another thing that I really liked about that market is that, the one in Dupont anyway, didn't start at 6 or 7 in the morning. Who wants to get up at the crack of dawn and go buy produce. Who can for that matter? Many folks have to deal with the kids, ingest caffiene, read the paper, mash on their blackberrys (it is DC, after all-business 1st!), or do whatever else you people do. Mainly, just not get out of the house at 6 to get the good stuff. Much better at 9, I think. Easier on the farmers coming in from wherever and easier on the shoppers. Very civilized (as I think DC tends to be in general-it's a highly underrated place. You have "courtesy tows" for God's sake! Whoever thought that up deserves to be Canonized, in my book. What a concept).

Brooks Hamaker, aka "Mayhaw Man"

There's a train everyday, leaving either way...

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I am an ex-DelMarVa-ite. Russ made a quick trip to Delaware recently and as usual, brought back some of my local favorites: fresh clams from the Indian River, Rapa Scrapple, and Lewes Dairy cream (which is not ultra-pasteurized!), among other goodies.

Life is short; eat the cheese course first.

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  • 1 month later...

Last Saturday I picked up my first order from Polyface. We had their hot dogs (no nitrites or nitrates) that night, and they were quite tasty grilled. But the lack of curing will take some getting used to. Funny, isn't it, how we can miss preservatives and junk when we're accustomed to them? I'll be roasting one of their beautiful broilers tonight. And if I get motivated this weekend I'll make some stock with the 5 lb of chicken backs I bought from them.

Between reading Nina Planck's "Real Food" and "Holy Cows and Hog Heaven" by Joel Salatin (Polyface farmer), I've decided I want to try baking my own bread. Anyone happen to know of local or regional grain producers?

Bridget Avila

My Blog

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Between reading Nina Planck's "Real Food" and "Holy Cows and Hog Heaven" by Joel Salatin (Polyface farmer), I've decided I want to try baking my own bread.  Anyone happen to know of local or regional grain producers?

Other than corn? I don't think the Delmarva area has much grain production, but I could be wrong.

Heather Johnson

In Good Thyme

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