In Lincoln Park, Two Very Different Farmers Markets
In Lincoln Park, Two Very Different Farmers Markets
Plus, heirloom hothouse tomatoes and a saucy visit with Gindo's
You Say Tomato, I Say In Season
Another awaited spring arrival has occurred. Nichols Farm and Orchard (Marengo, Illinois) had their first hothouse-grown heirloom tomatoes of the season at Green City Market in Lincoln Park on Saturday.
The advent of truly delicious indoor-grown tomatoes is a fairly recent thing. For most of our lives, those desperate for fresh, local tomatoes had to wait until the late summer bonanza of field-grown tomatoes. I was skeptical about how good indoor-grown tomatoes could be.
But when I started buying these early-season heirlooms just a few years I was impressed. Maybe amazed. You should be able to find these love apples (yes, that is an old-timey nickname for tomatoes) over the next week as the outdoor market season starts rolling out in earnest. Local Food Forum will have this week’s schedule in Monday’s issue.
Nichols also had the first green garlic I’ve seen at the market this season (though I received a bunch earlier by delivery from Three Sisters Garden in Kankakee, Illinois).
Saturday also marked the first outdoor market of the season for Jake’s Country Meats (Cassopolis, Michigan), from whom I’ve bought delicious meats for more than a dozen years. It was great to see good friend Daryn Pobanz (photo above), Jake’s lead sales rep and, as he puts it, meatmonger.
A Mile Apart, On Two Different Planes
The personalities of farmers markets can be as different as their locations — even when the markets are located only a mile apart, as are Green City's flagship market and The Lincoln Park Farmers Market, which kicked off its 42nd season at Lincoln Park High School Saturday.
Green City Market was founded in 1999 by the late Abby Mandel and a coalition of chefs desiring to sell more delicious, fresh local food to their diners. It almost immediate reshaped the then-small community of Chicago farmers markets by declaring itself producer-only and accepting vendors only from a roughly 200-mile radius of Chicago.
Green City’s prominence (and its lovely tree-shaded location in the south end of the actual Lincoln Park) always drew a lot of shoppers and browsers. Since the pandemic restrictions lifted in 2021, though, Green City’s attendance blossomed. This year they gambled on Chicago’s sketchy early-season weather for the second straight year and opened on the first Saturday in April, and have been living out the catchphrase from the movie Field of Dreams: If you build it, they will come.
Below is a snapshot of Saturday’s market, and trust me as a longtime Green City Market shopper, these are the kind of crowds you’d normally see during mid-summer peak season just a few years ago. And this is while only about half of the full list of vendors have started their outdoor selling season.
[Note: This coming week brings two additional Green City options, their Wednesday morning market in Lincoln Park and their Saturday morning satellite market in the West Loop neighborhood.]
The scene was much more laid-back at The Lincoln Park Farmers Market a brisk walk west. As market manager Elsa Jacobson (photo below) puts it, Green City is a destination market and The Lincoln Park Farmers Market is a neighborhood market. It’s the kind of market where it’s easy to get on a first-name basis with the vendors and get a bit of face time with them, and to browse the tables without holding up the line.
A steady stream of locals, including many young couples, filtered in even though the market was a little light on vendors. There will be more next week, and hopefully the long range weather forecast (sunny, high of 61) will hold up and Elsa can doff her quilted jacket.
Saturday’s market haul (from left): a pretzel from pHlour bakery and a block of horseradish chive havarti from Stamper Cheese (both Chicago), purchased at The Lincoln Park Farmers Market; and from Green City Market, the inevitable asparagus from Mick Klug Farm (St. Joseph, Michigan), scallions from Jacobson Family Farms (Antioch, Illinois); a pork steak and half chicken from Jake’s Country Meats; two beautiful heads of green leaf lettuce from Wholesome Harvest (Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin); and eggs from Ellis Family Farm (Benton Harbor, Michigan).
Up Close and Personal with Those Gindo’s Sauces
Local Food Forum last Wednesday published an article about Gindo’s Spice of Life, a company in St. Charles, Illinois that produces an amazing variety of hot sauce flavors made with super-fresh, hyperlocal ingredients from nearby farms. The story was based on a Zoom interview with Mary and Chris Ginder, the married couple who founded Gindo’s in 2011 to expand upon Chris’ hot-sauce-making hobby.
I knew Gindo’s was exhibiting over the weekend at the spring One of a Kind Show, a sprawling craft fair held at The Merchandise Mart, so I stopped by to meet Chris in person. The company puts a new spin on the old saying “Variety is the spice of life,” as Chris has turned out a new recipe every week over the past seven years and has created more than 500 overall.
The Gindo’s stand had curb appeal, as marketers say, with tall and beautifully labeled bottles providing an ample sample of Chris’ craftwork. I came home with bottles of Jalapeño Poblano, Honey Habanero, Smoked Garlic Cilantro and Truffle Parmesan. I sampled them all and each has its own distinct flavor profile and expresses the freshness of the ingredients used.
They are also aptly named “hot sauce.” This is spicy stuff. But it is also thicker than most hot sauces and can be poured a drop at a time, making it less likely to accidentally drown your food and make it palatable only for the bravest eaters.
If you’re reading this on Sunday morning, you can head over to today’s One of a Kind Show and sample some Gindo’s yourself. You won’t be disappointed.