Mike and I have a new obsession in our neighborhood: The Logan Square Farmers Market. We’ve been taking the fifteen minute walk from our apartment to the market for the past few weekends to do some grocery shopping and marvel over all the delicious goods. It’s a wonderland of organic fruits and vegetables, homemade cheeses, candles, and honey, fresh baked breads and pastries, and the prettiest fresh flowers you’ve ever seen.
We’ve been setting a budget of $20 and seeing what we can come up with from the lines of stalls. In case you’re wondering what you can buy with that kind of money, I’ll tell ya: a jalapeno, a zucchini, a pound of baby bella mushrooms, a beautiful bouquet of wildflowers, dog treats and a quart of blackberries. That’s what we came up with the first weekend, and I made the best pasta and ramen using those fresh vegetables.
On the second weekend we weren’t as practical, spending the money on donuts, cheese, an aloe plant and flowers. We also got the most perfect bulb of garlic and more of those baked dog treats for Brody. He loved them the first time around, so we figured we could spoil him again. The cheese was horseradish chive havarti and it was so dang good. The vendor let us try it first and we were instantly hooked. We might have to go back again next week to get more.
There’s so many amazing vendors that I think we’re going to have to go every week now so we can try everything. I’m especially excited to try more baked goods and cheese. I think next time we go we’ll have to have lunch there too; there’s quite a few vendors selling full on meals that looked so good.
The Logan Square Farmers Market is open every Sunday, year-round. From May to October, the outdoor market is located on Milwaukee Avenue and Logan Boulevard, and in the winter months, the market moves inside just a few blocks away on Milwaukee. It does get pretty crowded, so I would recommend going early to have your pick of the produce and to avoid the big crowds.
Have you been to the Logan Square Farmers Market? Which vendor is your favorite?
We always start with the apple picking. We enter through the end of the orchard where we are greeted by orchard workers who direct us to the Golden Delicious apples and supply us with the bags to contain them.
The trees are always full of apples, just ready to be plucked and taken home. They have an ingenious device to pick apples on the top branches scattered throughout the orchard. It’s a something like a broom handle with a wire covered in denim, fashioned to catch the apple as you pull it from the branch. It’s like hitting the jackpot any time you can find one hidden in the neat rows of trees.
After we fill our bags with apples, we head over to the smokehouse, paying for the apples as we exit the orchard.
The smokehouse is full of delicious meats and cheeses, specifically the best deli ham I have ever tasted. There is also summer sausage, apple butter, honey, pie filling, and all sorts of assorted goodies. The brat shop is just outside the smokehouse that sells hot dogs and brats to be enjoyed with a cold cup of cider.
The donut shop is next door, with a line that stretches past the patio and into the grass. The wait for the delectable fried dough was almost an hour, but oh so worth it. They make them to order and cover them in cinnamon sugar, coconut, frosting or sprinkles.
Once we had our share of Harvest Time, we went back to my parent’s house to feast on apples, cheese and charcuterie. We parted ways at the end of the evening, all toting our bags of apples and leftovers home with us.
Until next time, Harvest Time.
They patio and small shop next to the smokehouse were dotted with batches of pumpkins, squash and gourds. I am a sucker for tiny pumpkins, so I bought one for a dollar, such a bargain.
We walked by the Perry’s Stage, which features exclusively DJs, and dropped by long enough to feel too old to be there.
Then Tame Impala, who were so, so good. Their crowd was up and dancing and full of good vibes.
We heard there were metallic temporary tattoos at the XRT tent, and that’s just not something I could turn down.
We headed to the Sprint Stage for Brand New, making my 16 year old self’s dreams come true.
It was nearing the last few acts, so we ran over to the bar in preparation to see Metallica, a band I never thought I would enjoy as much as I did.
rebeccawanderlusting 