Low-Line Market

The 61st Street Farmer's Market is a mere toddler in the realm of Chicago's Farmer's Markets. In just its second year, this has quickly become one of my favorites though. Tucked away in a small section where Woodlawn meets the U of C campus, and therefore my 'hood Hyde Park, it is a location that is meant to be kept fairly small. Essentially this market has been placed along 61st, just east of Dorchester. It is a very short block and as a result has a small amount of space for stalls- but the organizers of this market (Experimental Station- also located right here) have done a terrific job of ensuring great variety of products and representation in such a small, yet comfortable space. This past week, from what I saw, there were: -two different stalls specializing in cheese (funny side story: when a fellow Yelper asked about the differences in the range of blue cheeses being sold- one of them was described as "tasting like your basement... but in the most delicious way possible!" Guess which blue cheese I bought?!?!?); -a farmer who sold free-range chicken eggs (and had the chickens there on display for the children to see) and all cuts of pork raised on her farm; -someone selling lamb, goat, and mutton; -a very popular crepe stand with a busy man cranking out crepes seemingly through the day; -the local bike shop had a space to fix bikes on the spot (I know what I will be doing next Saturday- drop my bike off for an annual "checkup" while I shop away); -a stall with fresh herbs, greens and other vegetables (still early in the season for a lot of variety at this point); -another stall selling veg; -two different stalls selling their own salsas, sauces, and salad dressings; -a community organizer spreading the word about the upcoming "Real Men Can Cook" event I am sure I am forgetting at least a couple of things- but the point is, there is a great amount of variety. They accept LINK, WIC, and food stamps- making it a market for everyone to enjoy! They are supposedly working on getting a POS credit card terminal too, which would be awesome.