A few years ago I moved to Dubuque and last year discovered Dubuque's market. This place is amazing! The inside streets of FOUR city blocks are lined with almost 100 vendors selling not only wonderfully fresh (and sometimes organic) seasonal produce, but also homemade baked goods, foods to eat on the spot, dip and soup mixes, canned items, honey, salsas, potted plants and home goods like towels, potholders and microwave potato pouches! (I've seen knife sharpening during the Winter market too!) I've enjoyed meeting some of the producers and learning more about things like beef production, CSAs and honey, and trying new-to-me varieties of apples and onions, among others.
This past Saturday I went with my husband and little boy. The atmosphere was friendly as we walked along, "window-shopping," but saying hi to the vendors. A quick glance around and I could see the hottest items were strawberries, snap peas, and crisp lettuces. We stopped to buy warm, freshly made organic veggie egg rolls, and then again to buy strawberries. I couldn't resist giving my 17 month old a strawberry right there and it was so red and juicy we made quite a wonderful mess from that one little berry. Why have I been buying the big brand in the grocery store? My husband and little one run ahead and I stop to sample some salsa and guacamole, and then of course HAVE to buy said guacamole (so good!). The vendor next door is taking down his table and we overhear him say he sold out of all 200 pounds he brought, which gives me a sense that all those stories I hear about a tomato not being worth it unless it's fresh are true, even if the seeds had to be started indoors for them to be ready in June. By now my husband and son are with me again and we see friends from church. After catching up, we finish our stroll, stopping to buy peas and homemade zucchini, pear, and parmesan bread.
This place is an absolute blessing to my little family. We've been encouraged to try new things and we've learned what quality really means. It makes so much sense for us to buy some food from the market and then build the rest of our shopping around those initial purchases. Ideally, I'd go every week!