Wicker Park: From Golden Arm to Golden Beets
Crowds at outdoor market's opening in once-declining, now-bustling community
Algren Would Hardly Recognize Wicker Park
The season opener of the Wicker Park Farmers Market Sunday (May 7) drew the kind of big crowds that have become standard among virtually all of Chicago’s big, established markets.
The market is located within the actual Wicker Park, just south of the neighborhood’s hub, where North, Milwaukee and Damen avenues meet. And the market’s relatively upscale clientele is unsurprising in a North Side community that has evolved over recent decades into one of Chicago’s most prominent restaurant and shopping hubs.
Which would perplex a time traveler from the mid 20th century. It was the place made famous, or perhaps infamous, by Nelson Algren, author of books such as The Man with the Golden Arm and A Walk on the Wild Side that portrayed Wicker Park as populated by junkies, prostitutes and other rough traders. Algren wrote in the 1940s and 1950s mainly about Polish-Americans, then the predominant ethnic group. Later, as demographics changed, gang violence became a burden in Wicker Park.
It was not until the 1980s that artists starting gravitating to the community about three and a half miles northwest of downtown Chicago, signaling the beginning of an economic renaissance. And with the popularity of its farmers market, Wicker Park has come a long way from The Man with the Golden Arm to the farm with the golden beets.
These beets happen to be at the stand of Jacobson Family Farms (Antioch, Illinois). In Sunday’s Local Food Forum, I described how I’d visited the Jacobson stand Saturday at Green City Market and brought home what I thought were large radishes, only to discover that they were actually baby chioggia beets (they’re the red ones toward the right in the photo).
Today I guessed that the white roots on the left were hakurei turnips. I took them up to check out, and was informed that once again I was not square with my roots: They are, in fact, white beets. When I got them home, I again quickly prepped the big bunch of greens (as I did with Saturday’s purchase) and sautéed them in olive oil with a couple of chopped green garlic stalks.
Speaking of alliums, Iron Creek Organic Farm (La Porte, Indiana) may not have been first to market with green spring onions, but they’re certainly in the running for the biggest. Los Rodriguez Farm (Eau Claire, Michigan) had leeks (left in the photo) along with less super-sized green onions.
I was also happy to run into Bryan Greene and Alex Skrzypczyk, the couple (both chefs) who co-own Pickled Prince, maker of excellent pickles, giardiniera and hot sauces, on their first day selling at the Wicker Park market.
What markets will be open for your visits this week? More than last week. Keep scrolling.
This Week’s Regional Farmers Market Schedule
Big-name Chicago market openings this week include Andersonville Farmers Market on Wednesday, Daley Plaza City Market on Thursday, 61st Street Farmers Market on Saturday, and Logan Square Farmers Market on Sunday.
Tuesday, May 9
Lincoln Square Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., Lincoln & Leland Aves., Chicago
The Farmer at the Green, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., 320 S. Canal St., Chicago
Woodstock Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Historic Woodstock Square
Wednesday, May 10
Andersonville Farmers Market, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., 1500 W. Catalpa Ave., Chicago
Green City Wednesday Market, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1817 N. Clark St., Lincoln Park, Chicago
Uptown Farmers Market, 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Sunnyside Mall (betw. Magnolia & Beacon), Chicago
Thursday, May 11
Daley Plaza City Market, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., 50 W. Washington St., Chicago
Growing Home Englewood Farm Stand, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., 1844 W. 59th St., Chicago
LaGrange Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., 53 S. LaGrange Rd.
Lincoln Square Thursday Farmers Market, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., Lincoln & Leland Aves., Chicago
Friday, May 12
St. Charles Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Baker Memorial Church, 307 Cedar Ave.
Saturday, May 13
Division Street City Market, 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., 100 W. Division St., Chicago
Downers Grove Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Main St. Train Station
Downtown Evanston Farmers Market, 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., University Place and Oak Ave.
Grayslake Farmers Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 201 Center St.
Green City Market Lincoln Park, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1817 N. Clark St., Lincoln Park, Chicago
Green City Market West Loop, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., Mary Bartelme Park, 115\ S. Sangamon St.
Kankakee Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., S. Schuyler Ave. & Merchant St.
Park Forest Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., 152 Main St.
Palatine Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., Palatine Train Station
61st Street Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., 6100 S. Blackstone Ave., Chicago
The Lincoln Park Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., 2001 N. Orchard, Chicago
Woodstock Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Historic Woodstock Square
Sunday, May 14
Frankfort Country Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Breidert Green & 1 N. White St.
Logan Square Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., 3107 W. Logan Blvd., Chicago
95th Street Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1835 W. 95th St., Chicago
Wicker Park Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 1425 N. Damen Ave., Chicago
Introducing GardMo, a New Twist on CSA
Ben Herrera, a good friend of Local Food Forum, has launched a cottage food business that is a new wrinkle on the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) concept.
Ben describes Gard Mo as a CSA Club that aims to add a major element of convenience for its local food-loving subscribers. He is partnering with the CSA run by Nichols Farm and Orchard, the region’s biggest diversified produce farm, located in Marengo, Illinois. Ben is providing the extra step of taking Nichols produce and cleaning, prepping and packing it for pickup or delivery to GardMo’s CSA customers.
Here is how Gard Mo presents the concept:
Join the CSA Club!
Gard Mo is a cottage food kitchen with the mission of making eating local food easier, and we couldn't be more excited to introduce the pilot program of our CSA Club.
This season we will be following along with the Nichols Farm CSA. By joining the CSA Club, you will get all of the same produce from Nichols, but cleaned, prepped and packed by Gard Mo; sort of like a prep cook would in a restaurant. This way all the veggies are ready for you to cook with as soon as you get home.
Shares are every other week, with free pickup available, or delivery for select Chicago zip codes.
Check us out at gardmo.com and follow our Instagram @gard.mo
Check out the following flyer from Gard Mo.