Contrasting Farmer's Markets

A chef at Davidson Farmer's Market.

Went to a couple of farmer's markets today. The one in Mooresville is old school with a bit of a twist. By old school I mean the farmer's are just gardeners who are selling their stuff for extremely reasonable prices such as $1.00 per pound for tomatoes (hey, does an "e" go on there?). And the stuff is really grown in somebody's garden, probably not using much in the way of sophisticated methods. The "twist" is the fact that some folks from an Indian grocery show up in their van every other week and sell about everything you might find in an Indian grocery: Basmati rice, hot peppers of all kinds, eggplant, unripe mango, Indian cheese, you name it. And word is out as Indian people come from all around to buy their week's supply instead of having to drive in to Charlotte. I wish I knew what some of the stuff is and how to cook with it.

The Davidson farmer's market is a different scene. It carries the vibe of the bucolic college town and the feel of the influence of the "slow" food movement. Some of the farmers are probably gardeners but I get the sense some of the others are commercial operations who are targeting the upscale market. Though there may be 20 vendors, price fixing is in effect. Everybody was selling their tomatoes for $2.50 per pound (as opposed to $1.00 per pound in Mooresville). There were chefs and people selling free range pig meat and such. Always can get a good deal on basil from some Chinese folks who are there--$1.00 for a nice size fresh bunch. There are some Mennonites (kind of like liberal Amish--I saw one teenager messing with her digital camera) who sell some organize veggies and baked goods.

So the two markets are a little different and kind of the same. Not knocking either one. You about have to go to both to get the cross section of what you need. I bought some peaches and tomatoes from the locals in Mooresville and some eggplant from the Indian folks. In Davidson, I picked up some basil from the Chinese folks and some tomatoes from the Mennonites. I am just pointing out the ethnicity of these folks to kind of help you understand the interesting variety of people to be found at these markets. Oh, and the Davidson market has live music which is an added bonus. Hell, I might have written about this before, I am seeing the keywords pop up as I type them !