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 !

Further out Central

Vietnamese coffee after a large bowl of pho.

As a teenager in the 1970's we liked to drive to Charlotte to Eastland Mall to go to the midnight movies. Eastland Mall at that time essentially anchored a longstanding middle class predominantly white neighborhood in East Charlotte. Upscale apartment complexes had sprung up catering to the 20 somethings who were beginning to be attracted to the city in the late 1970's. However, ultimately thirty years later Eastland Mall is all but closed and East Charlotte has transformed into a multi-ethnic enclave primarily consisting of apartment complexes filled with Mexicans, Salvadorans, Hondurans, Chinese, Vietnamese and the mainstay as the low man on the ladder, African-Americans. Though the neighborhoods are clearly poor and somewhat dangerous depending on the place and time of day, they have a flavor not really seen elsewhere in the Carolinas. There are numerous restaurants serving all of the ethnicities. And, if you are suburbanites who like to experience the real food of our many immigrants, Central Avenue can be a wonderland. Tonight we enjoyed a pho meal at Ben Thanh at 4900 Central Avenue. Other restaurants we enjoy out this way on Central are Dim Sum, serving, of course, dim sum as well as Pho Hoa, another Vietnamese place and the Landmark, a Greek owned place serving traditional American food like Italian (okay, that's supposed to be joke) and fantastic homemade desserts. Tonight, as we sat at the restaurant, we watched the locals as they struggled to cross busy Central Avenue to get their groceries or some takeout. We noticed how many people were walking everywhere, probably because not as many own cars as they do where we come from. After eating, we walked to the nearby strip center and visited Cedars, a middle eastern store. Here, I bought some lentils and some Moroccan sardines in olive oil. There were about seven five gallon buckets filled with olives at the front of the store and we brought some of those home also. We are fortunate to have such a place to go and experience other cultures. This type of change is not without controversy as it has certainly changed the way of life for long time residents of the area. Ultimately, however, a certain amount of acceptance allows one to witness and absorb from the various cultures and to perhaps be more open to other concepts about how life can be lived.

Tori Amos at Durham PAC

Dramatic Flair.
Reverence from the crowd.
Song stylist at work.

In the pivot position.

Tori Amos returned to her home turf in North Carolina to perform at the spanking new Durham Performing Arts Center on July 31, 2009. She emphasized material from her latest album, "Abnormally Attracted to Sin." The show featured Amos on piano, organ and a variety of other keyboards along with a drummer and a fellow who alternated between bass and guitar. A near capacity crowd listened reverently as she reeled through alot of her new album and threw in a classic like "Cornflake Girl" which she played as the third song. Amos exhibited her typical defiant and confident attitude for the interesting demographic that is often seen at her shows. Though most rock shows will attract a predominately straight male audience, Amos seems to draw alot of women in groups, more gay male couples than one would expect and alot of guys with their dates or wives. I won't try to analyze that any further. At many "middle aged" shows, the debate is often whether or not to stand up and dance or sit down and listen. This show was no different though the crowd seemed to easily settle into their seats until the encore when everybody got up and boogied a little. A good, solid show. Check out my youtube for some vids www.youtube.com/nosyfieldstone

Aquapalooza

View of the stage.
Down the row. Doesn't do the number justice.

Fire and rescue always available.

The Lancaster brothers have taken over the operations at Midway Marina and have added their special touch with their great food and their management style that makes for an environment where people want to be when they are relaxing. Mark is the owner of Lancaster Dock & Dredge and he brings his equipment and knowledge to the business to improve the docks and appearance of the operation. Jeff, owner of Lancaster's and Jeffrey's, adds the great food from his restaurants and the atmosphere that they are know for. And Freddy, owner of Big Daddy's brings the legendary influence of that great seafood restaurant to the site. Fittingly, the grand opening of the marina was Aquapalooza, sponsored by Sea Ray boats and Homesley, Goodman & Wingo, PLLC among others. This massive boat dock raft up featured a performance by the Spongetones, a longtime Charlotte band known for their flawless Beatles covers and for being "big in Japan". Mark had 3,000 pound concrete anchors spaced out towards the main channel that allowed a stable raft up for perhaps 2,000 boats. The massive crowd enjoyed the music and festivities at this well organized event. Kudos to all law enforcement and rescue that helped this event to be flawless. These organizations included the Catawba County Sheriff's Department, the State Highway Patrol and numerous volunteer fire departments and rescue squads. It was a great event that allowed folks to let down their hair a little.

Jeremy Current

Openers, the Twins.

Jeremy Current
Current and guitar man.

Current and band.

A young fellow and his young band on a free night at Neighborhood Theatre.

We went to Charlotte to see Gov't Mule and the show was sold out--for real. No extra tickets whatsoever. I have never been to any event in my life where I couldn't get tickets. But this was the one. Perhaps Charlotte's music fans are coming around when they can sell out an excellent yet somewhat underground act like the Mule. Saw Bill Diehl outside and he was looking good, legend that he is. I asked him to pull some strings and get us some tix and he said he would try but, alas, we never heard from Bill. So we headed on over to NoDa for free music night at the Neighborhood Theatre. Saw this boy called Jeremy Current. A nice looking young band with a velvet voice and good songwriting ability and a tight band. I say be on the lookout for this fellow. He could actually make it in the music "industry." Capped the night off with some sweets from Amelie's, a wonderful 24/7 bakery.

David Childers & Bill Noonan

Bill Noonan with Mark Lynch in the background.
David Kim on drums. Beth Chorneau giving an assist on vocals.

Randy Saxon.

David Childers and the Overmountain Boys.

Saw a great show July 11 at Snug Harbor. Two of the alt.country pioneers of the Charlotte scene, David Childers and Bill Noonan, showed why they have built loyal followings. Childers opened with his new band, the Overmountain Boys. The difference from his previous band, the Modern Don Juans is that Mark Lynch is no longer on bass, replaced instead by a keyboard player. Drummer is still son Robert Childers and phenomenal Randy Saxon on lead guitar. David anchors at rhythm guitar and a fiddle player brings kind of Neil Young circa Harvest but with a harder Crazy Horse sound to the music itself. Of course David's howling vocals are much different from those of Neil Young, but the emotion of the performer is similar as you sense the sincerity as he delivers each line. It is good to see David back on the scene after a hiatus. Bill Noonan released his new CD at this show and he showcased his precise songwriting chops. Amazingly, David Kim was on drums joined by Mark Lynch on bass. I came to the realization tonight that probably at least half of my almost 200 videos on youtube feature David Kim ("DK") on drums. This guy is a mainstay on the Charlotte scene and is at the heart of some of its most creative endeavors. Check out my vids at the bottom of the page or www.youtube.com/nosyfieldstone

Terra Firma

Shrimp and Scallop risotto.
Veal Ravioli.

Octopus (foreground) and frog legs.

Terra Restaurant in Charlotte is tucked away in the 500 block of Providence Road next to the Starbucks. Seating maybe 40 people, this little gem has a neighborhood atmosphere that belies its sophisticated food menu and wine list. The vibe is one of family and friends as proprietor Thierry Garconnet greets all diners with a warm smile and handshake and usually a look of personal recognition if you have dined there even only once. His face is familiar, I recognized him from his years at Toscana in the South Park area. Our waiter on this occasion was another fellow who had been at Toscana. One cool thing about Terra is seeing all of the folks come in who seemingly live in the surrounding neighborhood and treat it as their neighborhood place for culinary delight. Truth be known, there are few restaurants in this country who will provide the diner with such a strong dining experience. The service is excellent and the food interesting and tasty. I would say it is French with an Italian influence. There is a "carpaccio of the day". On this occasion it was octopus. The extremely thinly sliced octopus bathed in a slightly flavored olive oil film accompanied by escarole and croutons. A sublime but delicious dish. There were frog legs, cut so the entire hindquarter was still joined. Cooked enough to be cooked but cooked slightly enough to be tender in a garlic butter sauce. Then sweetbreads and kidneys lightly breaded and fried with a rich cream sauce. Some vichysoisse was good but lacked the presence of leeks and flavor. As entrees we had a veal ravioli that was beautifully displayed and featured fresh pasta. A risotto with fresh mushrooms and perfectly cooked shrimp and scallops was flawless. Desserts such as mousse and tiramisu rounded out the gluttony. It was simply a beautiful evening for F's birthday and was an indulgent meal. In that we have been eating healthily (low cholesterol and sugar), we found that the meal was a little hard on the stomach but this was no reflection on the quality of the food but moreso on our evolved stomachs. Highly recommended: www.terracharlotte.com