New Jersey Dispatch: Trenton Farmers' Market at Christmas

Posted by BrianYarvin, December 19, 2008 at 2:15 PM

My search for the perfect farmers' market is never-ending and ever-changing. Sometimes I just want produce in a local parking lot; then again, I could go for a stand in some rural corner; other times, I look for something a bit more unique. At those moments, the Trenton Farmers' Market fits the bill. The place seems like a relic of another time with a mix of farmers, vendors, and old school snacks.

Why would you want to go to a New Jersey Farmers' market in December? The tomatoes and corn will be gone. The blueberries? Gone. Peppers? They're gone too. What's left are local winter and storage items, providing a relief in both price and taste from the supermarket and a reminder that we live in a state with a rich agricultural bounty. Trenton does something that's unique in New Jersey: It combines local farm produce, mini ethnic markets, gourmet shops, and snack bars under one roof—a concentrated zone of New Jersey food culture minus the Asian influences.

Eastern European is represented by Pulaski Meats with their rye breads, poppyseed cakes, pickles, sausages, and herring products. In fact, while I was waiting to pay for my own cake, the two ladies in front of me on line struck up a friendship while discussing how they both loved something they called "blood tongue," a kind of head cheese.

Vitella and Sons holds up the Italian end of things with the usual: a solid cheese selection, Manhattan Special sodas, panettone, and really fancy pasta. I don't know what it is about that stuff, but these ritzed-up packages from Italy draw me with some sort of evil power. At Everything Nice, a "gourmet" stall a few yards from Vitella, the woman behind the counter told me that those pastas were made with actual Italian wheat instead of wheat that´s exported from Canada to Italy. Her selection of high-end (but reasonably priced) items from around Europe almost hooked me in. Self-control and the power of frugality carried the day though and I didn't buy a spec of pasta.

There wasn't much fancy at El Tepeyaç, the Mexican stall, but if you're cooking real Mex rather than Tex or Cal Mex, this is a nice little place to pick up the ingredients. Of course, I used the money I saved by not buying pasta to buy hot sauce.

Farmers...farmers...oh yeah...this place is called "Farmers' Market." Unlike many other markets, farmers really do make up the majority of vendors here, even in December. At least five farm stands—some of whom don't sell anywhere else—were offering apples, yams, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, Brussels sprouts, romaine, and at least three varieties of potatoes.

Anything else? Snacks are an adventure. I haven't yet tried the pie shop at the main intersection (the place is laid out in an X shape) and some of the other snack shops are best described as "sad." Grim, rolling hot dogs, steam tables of brown stuff, and wax-y looking pastries didn't inspire confidence, but a good hot cup of coffee from Olsson's, a gourmet shop down in a far corner, kept me from starvin. When I got home, it was time to cook a feast.

The Trenton Farmers' Market

960 Spruce Street, Lawrence Twp., NJ 08648 (map)
thetrentonfarmersmarket.com
Christmas hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Sundays and Christmas Eve, 9 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Post a Comment Favorite this!  (0)

Tags: Christmas, farmers' markets, holidays, New Jersey, Trenton, Trenton Farmers' Market