The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway
Mother Nature wasn't fooling around for outdoor market kickoff
Opening Day Weather Warriors
I was excited that Green City Market’s April 1 kickoff of the region’s outdoor farmers market season coincided with the 2nd anniversary of the launch of Local Food Forum, this august little local food newsletter. Alas, what Mother Nature delivered wasn’t august, and it sure as heck wasn’t August.
Yep, just as predicted, a cold front — heralded by strong storms — blew through at the end of an unseasonably warm Friday.
So Saturday wasn’t the kind of day when you lingered at the market chatting with friends and making a few extra purchases that weren’t on your shopping list. It was a Farmers Market Sweep kind of morning — with gusty winds billowing the vendors’ tents, and you raced through to buy only the essentials and get back to your nice warm homes.
That’s me above, togged out for the occasion in a parka, sweatshirt, flannel shirt and t-shirt. I’m sure that the vendors and market staff, who had to endure hours of this unfortunate weather, wore even more layers.
Fortunately, quite a few people showed up to honor the new outdoor season, support our local farmers and take home some delicious local food.
My outing actually started about a mile north at Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, where Jake’s Country Meats was doing its final winter drop. That’s my friend Daryn Pobanz holding the items I purchased.
Jake’s is a longtime Green City Market vendor. This is only the second year that Green City has gotten a jump on the region’s markets by opening outdoors on the first Saturday of April, and Jake’s is opting out of the April markets (as do a number of vendors). They will be joining the fun on the traditional start date of the first Saturday in May.
A closeup of my Jake’s buy: applewood-smoked bacon, Porterhouse pork chops, and bulk Italian sausage.
Despite the cold, Green City opening day drew a celebrity. That’s U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley getting a tour from Taylor Choy, Green City Market’s operations manager.
This is one of those occasions when my worlds collide. I crossed paths with Quigley toward the tail end of my first career as a political journalist in Washington, D.C. He has been my congressman since Barb and I moved to Chicago in 2011.
Hayden Holbert (right in photo above) is founder/owner of Wisconsin’s Avrom Farm, an established Green City vendor. He was dispensing fried chicken plates that looked delicious and which I will sample as soon as it’s warm enough to eat with my gloves off.
Hayden was joined by Christian Ebersol, CEO and co-founder of 99 Counties (left in the photo). 99 Counties is an Iowa-based company that aggregates meat from regenerative livestock farms for home delivery throughout Chicagoland and Iowa.. Hayden, along with his Avrom Farm work, holds the title of Manager of Customer Experience and Business Development with 99 Counties.
A reminder that 99 Counties is holding its first Chicago farm dinner on Sunday, April 16 at Guild Row in the Avondale neighborhood. Scroll below for more details.
And… drum roll, please… my first outdoor market haul of 2023. From left, scallions from Jacobson Family Farms (Antioch, Illinois); potatoes and rainbow carrots from Nichols Farm and Orchard (Marengo, Illinois); onions and garlic from Froggy Meadow Farm (Beloit, Wisconsin); eggs from Finn’s Ranch (Buchanan, Michigan); cremini mushrooms from River Valley Ranch (Burlington, Wisconsin); and Italian parsley from Smits Farms (Chicago Heights, Illinois).
The other item is a coconut scone from Elaine’s Last Call, located across Clark St. from the market, which I ducked into to grab a hot coffee to thaw out my hands during the trip home.
More About the 99 Counties Farm Dinner
Here’s the scoop on the 99 Counties farm dinner. The event takes place on Sunday, April 16, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Guild Row, 3130 N. Rockwell St. in the Avondale neighborhood. If you’ve been to Green City’s indoor winter market, Guild Row is just a couple of blocks north on Rockwell.
The menu of the four-course meal is curated by Chicago’s Brasserie by C&C, and it sounds delicious.
Here’s the sumptuous-sounding menu: