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Market Scene: New York

Posted by Blake Royer, June 9, 2008 at 11:45 AM

Strawberries and rhubarb.

At last, things are really starting to get exciting in New York's markets. The overtalked ramps are slowly disappearing, though for those still interested, their close cousins "green garlic" are a good, more garlicky substitute. Elsewhere, early summer's bounty is beginning to show. Strawberries are everywhere, deep red and spilling out of their cardboard containers/baskets; the berries tend to be smaller than the inflated red orbs we often see in grocery stores, but they're intensely sweet. Rhubarb is piled up like firewood next to towers of radishes and loose asparagus. Rainbows of chard—and rainbow chard itself—fill baskets and bins next to the sugar snap peas. Sprouts of all kinds, from radish to red clover, offer intriguing garnishes for salads. "Young" varieties of vegetable are everywhere—young onions, young garlic—and offer signs of what's to come.

Sprouts and radishes.

This past week I visited the the Wednesday-only Dag Hammarskjold market in East Midtown as well as the Union Square Market, Manhattan's largest. In East Midtown, where the stands are smaller, almost everyone had rhubarb and strawberries—it's no wonder they appear so often together in pies. Samascott Orchards also featured bulbous red radishes, while S&SO Produce Farms, one of the larger presences in New York's greenmarkets, showed off white and red "scallions," which were far larger than grocery store green onions and looked more like tiny bulb onions. They were also selling gorgeous red cippolini onions, a an Italian heirloom variety. Rex Croft farms, who I last encountered at the Fort Greene farmer's market and from whom I bought my blue eggs, were selling gorgeous bouquets of flowers. Ted told me that they'll soon have kale, but for now their hydroponic lettuces and tomatoes were the best bet.

Union Square and flowers.

In Union Square on Saturday, the aisles were packed even before nine in the morning. A stream of at least 50 people stretched down the east side of the square, in line for flowers from James Durr Wholesale Florist, who were also showing off the market's most beautiful asparagus. Just around the corner the Torrice Family was selling raspberries, the only to be found in the market.

Sugar snap peas.

Migliorelli farms from Tivoli, New York, had the most impressive spread of all—greens of all types, including spinach, escarole, kale, collards, mustard greens, arugula, and broccoli rabe. Their sugar snap peas were the largest in the market ($6/pound).

If you're still interested in a fire escape herb plant or two, many varieties are still to be found.

Broccoli sprouts.

Hudson Valley Organics showed off large, shallow bins of tiny sprouts, including spicy radish and antioxidant-rich broccoli.

Green and red bell peppers, and zucchini.

A month ago, Nine-Jay Nurseries were the only ones with tomatoes, which were grown in their all-greenhouse farm; this month, they're using their greenhouse advantage again: green and red bell peppers were shiny in the sunlight, next to a bounty of zucchini.

French Breakfast radishes.

Heirloom radishes came in all colors at Eckerton Hill Farm's stand, including whitish-red French Breakfast radishes (a milder flavor) and long, carrot-like Japanese radishes in orange and white.

As summer weather really begins, the next month is sure to see the appearance of outdoor tomatoes, more raspberries, blueberries, sweet and sour cherries, a bounty of fresh herbs, and even the beginning of corn season. We're off to a fantastic start.

In Season

Strawberries
Asparagus
Rhubarb
Young onions and garlic
Sprouts
Chard, Spinach, Kale
Wild arugula

Coming Soon

Tomatoes
Raspberries
Cherries
Blueberries
Corn

About the author: Blake Royer lives in Brooklyn and spends most of his free time cooking and writing about it here at Serious Eats and on The Paupered Chef. From 9 to 5 weekdays, he works as an assistant book editor in Manhattan.

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Tags: Market Scene, market scene, Midtown East, Union Square