Sign up for 5280's weekly e-newsletters. Want the latest restaurant scoop? The latest happenings around town? Access to exclusive events and deals just for 5280 readers? Disclosure: I love farmers’ markets—the food and the strolling, the free samples of decadent pastries and cheeses. I am encouraged to eat on site, to listen to music, and to purchase food for future eating. What’s not to love?
I also know that sometimes a farmers’ market can serve more as a County Fair of fried food and slushy drinks than as a means of buying good, cheap, local produce. So, for the benefit of Denver’s cheap thrill seekers, I am hitting up the various farmers’ markets around town to rate them on their scene, offerings, and prices.
First stop: Old South Pearl Street. (1500 block of Old South Pearl Street, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Sunday June 7 to Oct 25.)
The scene: They nearly didn’t let me onto Old South Pearl Street without a stroller. This is the place for cute kids and adorable puppies. No one is in a hurry. People treat a walk down to the farmers’ market like a Sunday-morning outing.
The vendors: This is definitely a lifestyle market—with chair caning, handmade soaps, a winery, massage chairs, and stands of children’s clothing. It’s harder to find locally grown veggies and meats amidst the waffle stands, quesadilla grills, and Biker Jim’s gourmet dogs, but there are a few: two farm stands with produce, a stand selling only local eggs, and a table of Colorado lamb and bison.
The prices: Both farm stands offer incredible deals. I pick out peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, and plums and watch as they are tossed in a plastic bag, eyeballed, and proclaimed, “Eh, $10.” I stop to look at the pasture-grown eggs, however, and I’m surprised to see they were $4 for a dozen. I can buy local, cage-free eggs at Sunflower Market for 89 cents, thank you very much.
The stand-out splurge: Though I’m a rampant carnivore, I dig a stand called “The Beet Box,” which features local vegan food. The cucumber-apple sandwich is fantastic and a cool alternative to the fried offerings on a hot summer morning.
Posted 7/10/2009 at 11:15 am by Jennie Dorris
Bargains :: Permalink :: Comments (5)
Been there, love it. My favorite is the Mexican food and the local Pearl Street shops like The Crushery, Gaia (Italian Sandwich is heaven) and Murder by the Book, a mystery bookstore.
yeah i’ve tried the beet box too. they are amazing! their vegan pastries are outstanding. i hear they have a stand up at the highlands farmers market too.
i have the pleasure of being Beet Box’s neighbor at the Highland Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings… they bring the vegan funk with tons of heart and none of the pretense so common in other vegan/vegetarian eateries. way to rule BB!
I just came home from the farmer’s market and tried my first “Beet Box” beet black bean burger and also their sweet potato samosas! They were all so amazing I just came online to learn more about them…..I am already craving another beet burger and wondering where I could find them to buy another one. Looking forward to trying the cucumber-apple sandwich.
I must make a clarification to the writer’s comparison of pature fed eggs vs. “cage free” that you can buy at Sunflower. Pasture fed eggs, come from chickens who eat what chickens were meant to eat – grass and who typically are given access to roaming free vs. “cage free” eggs which come from chickens who are still fed antibiotic & chemical laden, corn and modified soy products, not exactly the same thing. As for the “cage-free” terminology that makes us yuppies feel better, do your research, it’s a marketing term, not an indication that happy little chickens are roaming free on the range.