PrintMarket Scene: The Absolute Best of Union Square Greenmarket
Inspired by a recent Talk thread, in this week’s Market Scene we present you with our official Absolute Best of Union Square Greenmarket list. (Please note that we have by no means tried every single item at the farmer’s market, and we’re a bit biased towards smaller stands and anything involving cheese; but an awful lot of eating was done in the name of picking our favorites.)
Without further ado, the winners.
Best Drink
Iced Tea from Tweefontein Herb Farm. Flavors like basil mint and lemongrass chamomile seem more Union Square Café than Union Square market. Vendor Sarah makes the iced tea with herbs from her teeny farm in New Paltz, NY.
Best Goodies
We were too embarrassed to even approach the Hawthorne Valley stand this week, as we’ve already interviewed them about these cookies for no less than three other posts. Crispy, oaty perfection.
Best Milk
Milk Thistle Dairy. Somehow, even the nonfat here is thick, rich, and creamy. The best milk we’ve ever tried.
Best Preserves
Rhubarb jam from Beth’s Farm Kitchen. The perfect tart-to-sweet ratio, and good with cheese, peanut butter, or plain. Beth has been with Greenmarket since the beginning and sources all of her fruit locally.
Best Vegetables
Gorzynski Ornery Farm. John Gorzynski’s vegetables far exceed national standards for organic—the only ingredients, he says, are sun, seed, soil and water. This time of year, he recommends early riser beans for their “gorgeous, meaty texture.”
Best Bread
Wild Hives Farm. One of the only Greenmarket bakeries that actually mills its own flour. Their breads are of the dense, healthy variety.
Best Cheese
Lynn Haven Farm
Cow’s milk: Daryane from Cato Corners
Sheep Milk: Ricotta from Valley Shepherd Creamery
Goat’s milk: Fresh goat cheese with herbs from Lynn Haven
The Daryane is nutty and complex without being sharp or stinky. Valley Shepherd’s ricotta is ridiculously sweet and creamy. And Lynn Haven’s cheese, wrapped in a thick layer of fragrant rosemary, tarragon, and thyme, puts other herb cheeses to shame.
Best Fruit
Raspberries at Terhune Farms. This category definitely varies from item to item and season to season. But Terhune’s scarlet berries were blindingly beautiful this week.
Best Meat
Fresh belly from Flying Pigs Farm. Melt-in-your-mouth pork belly, made from happy, heritage breed pigs.
What did we miss out on, and what did we get wrong? Do your local Greenmarkets have any spectacular vendors who don’t attend Union Square? And has anyone done a comprehensive Greenmarket pie sampling?
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14 Comments:
ooo! this is super-helpful! thank you.... i have a soft spot for ronnybrook dairy for delicious milk and ice cream! last night i had strawberry. mmm -
oh! also for jarred stuff i like rick's picks. i'm addicted to the corn. the okra's good too.
kristin314 at 11:41AM on 08/10/09
Best fruit for me: Fantasy Fruit Farm-- they have strawberries and blueberries that are to die for.
jd500 at 11:52AM on 08/10/09
Rick's Picks have awesome asparagus, too, but only for a brief period of time each year.
For fruit, I also like the strawberries from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm and the raspberries from Berried Treasures. I'm surprised there's nothing in this entry about cherries, peaches, tomatoes, eggs, honey, or herbs.
kathryn at 12:11PM on 08/10/09
Quattro's for smoked pheasants, ducks, and all kinds of poultry eggs.
Grazing Acres for 100% grass fed beef.
simon at 12:27PM on 08/10/09
Quattro's for the best chicken I've ever had!
AvrilB at 12:35PM on 08/10/09
Hooligan cheese from Cato Corner.
ESNY1077 at 12:42PM on 08/10/09
Three Corner Field Farm for sheep's milk yogurt and all sorts of lamb.
Keith's Farm for rocambole garlic.
Northshire Farms for unusual Italian heirloom produce.
Eckerton Hill for tomatoes and, a bit later in the season, peppers, although this year's been pretty rough on the tomatoes.
craig_g at 4:51PM on 08/10/09
ooh, who has the best eggs?
Grace Kang at 6:44PM on 08/10/09
I'd go with Tello's or Knollkrest's eggs, although NY Mag thinks Flying Pigs has better ones.
kathryn at 11:25PM on 08/10/09
Love it when people like John Gorzynski use meaty to describe vegetables. Notice how nobody even attempts to call a cut of steak eggplanty?
Erin Zimmer at 4:58PM on 08/11/09
I have not been in love with the Knoll Krest eggs, although they do have quite a following, including some big-time chefs. (Note that I believe the farm changed hands a couple of years ago, and my experience predates that.) Flying Pigs Farm and Northshire both have excellent eggs.
craig_g at 5:54PM on 08/11/09
Seconded for Cato Farms' Hooligan.
patrickamory at 10:46PM on 08/11/09
There are so many good stands in the Greenmarket that I am hard pressed to pick the "Best" in almost all categories, which is why I post about many on my web site, Lucy's Greenmarket Report, on every Union Square greenmarket day. Things change all the time, so that Locust Grove may have the most succulent raspberries today and Norwich may have the most intensely flavorful on Saturday. I know it's a temptation to do Best lists, but in the case of the Greenmarket, it really is too little.
lwollin at 9:38AM on 08/14/09
Yes, I definitely want to hear about herbs - plants too. There is some cheese you may have missed because its only sold at a bakery (with granola and breads) not a dairy farmstand. It is supremely amazing.
eeichholz at 9:53AM on 08/14/09