We're on the road, looking for Green Markets wherever we go. We've found some great ones - in West Palm Beach at the Satuday Green Market you can dine like a king on samples ranging from heirloom tomatoes and clam chowder to guacamole, goat cheese and juice concoctions! It is definitely THE PLACE to be on Saturday mornings! We scored some great pasta and found a terrific seafood connection. And if you're in the market for orchids - the West Palm Beach Green Market is your destination! www.wpb.org/greenmarket
And then there's the Oceanside Green Market - nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal in Lake Worth www.oceansidefarmersmarket.com. Here you'll find luscious pastries and breads, goat cheese creations that are out of this world (try the one with figs and almonds!) - and even a vendor from Vermont selling homemade chicken pot pies! The dogs who accompanied their owners were having a grand time with the dog biscuit vendor generously offering samples.
You'll have to wait for the update on the Delray Beach Farmers Market - rain and COLD temps prevented a visit - so today you'll get the report from one of Florida's hottest Markets - The Lincoln Road Farmers Market and Antiques Market - on the main drag in South Beach, Miami!
Every Sunday Lincoln Road boasts a Green Market, offering the region's most delectable produce and plants - yes, more orchids - www.themarketcompany.org. You can see their banner on the right, and if you look closely you'll also see something quite unusual for Florida - a winter coat! Florida is experiencing a real cold snap - yesterday's high in Miami Beach was a whopping 44 degrees - but that didn't stop the farmers from delivering the goods. Take a look at those papayas!!!
But there's more happening on Lincoln Road than vegetables & plants - several Sundays a month you can also catch the Lincoln Road Antiques Market! www.antiquecollectiblemarket.com. This Market is a real treasure - stretching for blocks through South Beach - with vendor stalls mixed in with the outdoor tables of some of South Beach's swankiest restaurants and boutique shops.
You can score jewelry, furniture, vintage clothing (this week the vintage furs were in demand!) decorative accessories - there's even a vendor selling Oriental rugs! For 16 years the Lincoln Road Market has been going strong, and it's no wonder. With an average of 125 vendors, set in the perfect environment for shopping, browsing, outdoor dining and soaking up some sun, the Lincoln Road Antiques Market is a real treasure.
There are vendors who are local, others from the north who migrate south to ply their trade and hawk their wares during the winter months. The result is a mix of multi-regional antiques and collectibles to delight every taste. From a 19th century cupboard (on the left in the photo below),
to the hippest Mid-Century Modern goods, you can find it here.
And the crowds do come to find it. Even on a windy, 44 degree day, they are out shopping and looking for treasures. (We found a terrific pair of little Italian Desimone Mid-Century pottery bowls!) Gives you a real sense of the devotion of the shoppers, not to mention the determination of the farmers and vendors, to be out doing business in an unexpectedly inhospitable environment.
But that, after all, is the thrill of the Markets. It is commerce being done as it has been done for centuries - in an outdoor marketplace where goods and services are offered by those who make their living doing so, snapped up by those eager to have them.
Our visit wouldn't be complete without a Cuban Coffee from David's Cuban Cafe - positively addictive!
We'll visit Lincoln Road again later this month, hopefully without our winter coats next time! But before that we'll report in from the Delray Beach Farmers Market as promised, and from one of the grandaddys of Green/Antiques Markets - Renningers - from their Mt. Dora location.
Meanwhile, plans for the 2010 season of the West Annapolis 2nd Sunday Neighborhood Green Market continue to evolve, with more vendors signing on and special events being planned. Stay tuned!
Til then, it looks like we'll ALL be wearing our gloves and hats!
