Just last year, or maybe two years ago, the Deer Isle Farmers' Market was a pretty pitiful operation with just two or three lonely vendors. My, how things have changed!
Wednesday mornings 9:30 - 11:30am, in the old elementary school parking lot next to the Town Offices, there are now close to 20 booths. The Stonington Farmers' Market, one of the largest in the state, probably has at least twice, maybe three times the booths, but it feels ten times as crowded and crazy. Give me the Deer Isle Market any day of the week. Well, Wednesday morning anyway.
We went last week, and there was such a nice feel, easy and pleasant to browse and shop. The only real line -- and probably the biggest reason for the sudden growth and success -- was for Elliott Coleman's Four Season Farm booth (that's me on the left talking to my friend Christine who really knows quality and value):
Anyone who has been around the area for very long knows about the Four Seasons Farm. I will probably write about them soon, but suffice it to say, Elliott has a very long and interesting history in the area and grows the best produce imaginable -- year around. A story in itself. The Four Seasons farm wagon goes only to two other Farmers' Markets, so Deer Isle is fortunate indeed to be one of them.
Using the task of buying a meal to organize our trip to this market, here is what we bought:
From the center, the half slab of BBQ ribs from Nostrano:
Owner Frank Pendola comes over from Town Hill on Mount Desert, pulling that very impressive smoker. I love it that the smoke is puffing out the chimney and there is something intgeresting to see as well as buy, a stylish operation. The ribs were absolutely delicious, very juicy (too dry can be a problem with ribs) and the sauce, well, I had never tasted anything like it. I asked Frank what made the mysterious vanilla or sweet grass under taste. Other than suggestion I read the ingredients on the label, he would not say. A full slab of ribs is $20. We buy a lot of ribs when we are in the south, so I know the price is reasonable, and the taste, well, perfect.
Cucumbers were from Four Seasons, $2.50. Anything from the Four Season cart would be the best, and these were. A little high, but always worth it.
The bag of Sesame Wheat Crackers and the loaf of focaccia were from the Bread Box Bakery:
This lady comes down from Orland with a slew of delicious baked stuff:
Her prices seemed very reasonable, particularly the crackers. In an earlier post, I wrote about some WAY overpriced crackers that would have been $30 for a pound. These crackers at $5 for 8 ounces were one third the price.
The curly green things at the top of "what we bought" photo are garlic scapes, a bag of them for $3 from the lovely couple at Living Roots Farm (also at the Brooksville market):
I had a nice discussion with co-owner Travis about prices. He and his partner Arika try to keep prices reasonable, and they seemed to be. Seems like I remember last year seeing scapes selling for $1 EACH. At that price, I got about $15 worth of scapes for $3.
For dessert, I bought a quart of strawberries for $5 from the Long Cove Farm stand. They were delish and I have not seen any cheaper than $5. $5.50 - $5.99 is more usual.
Wednesday mornings 9:30 - 11:30am, in the old elementary school parking lot next to the Town Offices, there are now close to 20 booths. The Stonington Farmers' Market, one of the largest in the state, probably has at least twice, maybe three times the booths, but it feels ten times as crowded and crazy. Give me the Deer Isle Market any day of the week. Well, Wednesday morning anyway.
We went last week, and there was such a nice feel, easy and pleasant to browse and shop. The only real line -- and probably the biggest reason for the sudden growth and success -- was for Elliott Coleman's Four Season Farm booth (that's me on the left talking to my friend Christine who really knows quality and value):
Anyone who has been around the area for very long knows about the Four Seasons Farm. I will probably write about them soon, but suffice it to say, Elliott has a very long and interesting history in the area and grows the best produce imaginable -- year around. A story in itself. The Four Seasons farm wagon goes only to two other Farmers' Markets, so Deer Isle is fortunate indeed to be one of them.
Using the task of buying a meal to organize our trip to this market, here is what we bought:
Cucumbers were from Four Seasons, $2.50. Anything from the Four Season cart would be the best, and these were. A little high, but always worth it.
The bag of Sesame Wheat Crackers and the loaf of focaccia were from the Bread Box Bakery:
Her prices seemed very reasonable, particularly the crackers. In an earlier post, I wrote about some WAY overpriced crackers that would have been $30 for a pound. These crackers at $5 for 8 ounces were one third the price.
The curly green things at the top of "what we bought" photo are garlic scapes, a bag of them for $3 from the lovely couple at Living Roots Farm (also at the Brooksville market):
For dessert, I bought a quart of strawberries for $5 from the Long Cove Farm stand. They were delish and I have not seen any cheaper than $5. $5.50 - $5.99 is more usual.
Total spent: $33.50. We had the results for dinner, and since there were leftovers of everything, let's say the real price of the meal was half the total: $16.75. All local, all fabulous. And the experience of the whole market, very nice. Can't beat the commute: it is the closest one to where we live in Sunset.
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