Market Days in the fall are coming! That always means a change in produce, a change in the smells surrounding the Market. You can almost smell the cooler air coming. More farmers are bringing apples, which I love and so do the kids. I’ve been waiting for it to get cooler so I can make some warm cider with local apples. The miles that these apples travel are less than one hundred from tree to your table. The miles that apples from a typical super market travel can number closer to thousands and thousands. By coming down to the Market and buying our apples, you are saving the world from all that extra pollution. You are also single-handedly helping our local economy by keeping your money here. It’s just another reason why the Pearl Market is such an outstanding place.
Another thing that comes with fall, customers are starting to look for Christmas presents! I saw on Facebook recently that there are quite a few vendors at the Market that will take custom orders for their work. If you are looking at a vendor’s work and want something that you help control the design, ask them! We have been asked for quite a few pieces of custom work over the summer and we have obliged every order. It’s a wonderful option to mix your own creativity with someone else’s know-how, and it’s such a lovely idea for a gift.
Now that the days are gorgeous and cool, come help save the world and buy local with us!
We’re so excited about what the future of Pearl Market might be. Check out this video where Cleve Ricksecker dreams big and our vendors share what they love about selling their wares a the Market.
It was a fantastic day at the Market! Somewhere around the beginning of August, when it gets so unbearably hot and humid, the Market starts to drag a bit for the vendors. It gets stuffy and the new fall vendors haven’t started coming in yet. Tuesday had finally cooled down and it was a lovely day to stroll around looking for fresh produce and fancy little gifts. And (this is where I would insert a drum roll) we were blessed with a new food vendor!
The other food vendors at the Market are still delicious, but it is nice to have new options. And boy, what a new option! Leslie’s Creperie rolled their cart down the alley and everyone got excited. And I, being nosy, ran down immediately to see what they are all about. I ordered a spinach, egg and feta crepe. It was huge and amazing! They have all sorts of crepes, from savory to sweet. If you want to come and check them out, I suggest you come early because they had a line of people for three solid hours. They will be at the Market every Tuesday and Friday until the end of the season. Come on down and find out what all the fuss about!
There are so many delicious spots to pick up your lunch at Pearl Market. You really could eat your way right on through. Get the deets on what’s so good right from the vendor’s mouth. Then decide between the samosas, po’boys, corn, granola and bread. Or have one of each!
If you haven’t made dinner yet this summer using only fresh-from-the-farm treasures found in Pearl Market, you are missing out. But the good news is you still have time.
Grab some tomatoes, melons, peaches, corn, zucchini and meander on down Pearl Alley where you will discover savory meat and bread before heading home tonight. If that isn’t enough to fill you to the brim, stop by and pick up one of the yummo dessert options found in the Market. It’s all here, all fresh and all GOOD.
Here is a great video of last week’s Tasty Tuesday. When you’re done watching and your mouth is watering, click here for the recipes for the delicious goodies that were sampled. Let us know what you think.
Another tasty sample day at the Market! Seeing Adam, our Market Manager, strolling down the road in his chef hat always means good things are going to follow. Today we sampled some tomato bacon tart, which tasted like pizza and the kids loved it. My favorite was something I wouldn’t normally try because it’s weird and I’m still like a six-year-old as far as trying new things goes, but it was delicious! It was a watermelon and tomato salad with peaches and basil. The flavors were combined just right and it was refreshing at the same time. I can’t wait to go to a cookout and take this salad with me. You can find this and other recipes on the Pearl Market Website. The next sample day is August 31 when Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails will cook in the Ohio Proud Kitchen. I can’t wait!
I’ve been seeing this booth from afar all summer and I decided to make my way down to see what sorts of things they sell. Luxboheme has some gorgeous things! They are very green and organic. They had small handheld purses, shiny and cute, that upon further inspection were made from pop tabs! They make things out of recycled materials in a way that makes it seem brand new, which is something I love. I love recycling and being green, but sometimes it’s nice when things are brand new. And they have all sorts of things: shoes, clothes, jewelry, etc. Definitely worth checking them out. Although, really, it’s all worth checking out. Stop by on your lunch break and come have lunch with us!
Tuesday at the Market was a bit wet last week, but very pleasantly so. Everything cooled down for a bit and it was nice to walk around outside for the first day in awhile without all of that heat.
One (of many) of my favorite places at the Market is the Columbus Dispatch booth. My friend Marty is there most days and he passes out issues of The Dispatch along with great stories. I have a subscription for the weekends, but I like getting the paper from him on Tuesdays and stopping to chat for a bit. He also has some great gifts if you buy a subscription at the Market: namely the fantastic umbrellas that sure would have come in handy on Tuesday. If you come down, stop and say hi to Marty!
I have discovered a new gem for lunch at the Market. If you haven’t been to lunch at the Ringside Cafe, you are missing out! They have French fries that taste fresh and delicious, the sandwiches are amazing and they come with homemade chips. I love them!
This week my family thought we would have a taste test with tomatoes from different farms. I bought cherry tomatoes from one, heirloom from another and beefsteak from a third. We ended up all having different favorites, mainly because we like different types of tomatoes, but they were all great examples of fresh produce from Henson Farms, Honey Run Farms and Meadow Rise Farms. They were the perfect ripeness, the perfect color and cheaper than from a store.
Kids’ Day at the Market was a roaring success! Everything was so festive! Kids came, danced and sang, laughed and played. Policemen rode horses down to the Market to let the children pet them. Bob Piascik played guitar and sang, and had the kids hooked from the first verse of “Down by the Bay.” I’m always amazed at how kids can sing their hearts out.
Also entertaining the children was Luke the Juggler. Luke has all sorts of amazing talents, and on Kids’ Day he was Mr. Balloon. He wears an apron with what looks like 5,000 different types and colors of balloons. You know a balloon guy is good if he runs out breath while reciting the list of animals he can make. His Website also says he does fire juggling. Hmmm… that would be a blast for a birthday party.
COSI brought some kiosks down to the Market as well. Jonathan from COSI helped us make seed necklaces, which we can replant at home and have radish plants. My kids might actually eat radishes if they grew them themselves. There were also some challenges and brain teasers at their booth. COSI rocks!
Kids’ Day at the Market gets better every year. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next year. Until then, come visit us at the Market this week!
… Who’s your pal? Pearl Market has the perfect friendship all lined up and it won’t even be a drain on your social calendar.
Friends of Pearl Market was launched to support programming, like Kids’ Day (July 27), Ohio Proud Mobile Kitchen, Tasty Tuesdays and live weekly entertainment. Unlike those snooty girls in seventh grade or the alpha dogs of high school, Pearl Market promises to be your friend forever.
For a $25 contribution, $20 of which is tax-deductible, a Friend of the Market gets a groovy canvas shopping bag with original artwork designed just for Pearl Market. The tote holds an easy half-dozen ears of corn, fixin’s for a perfect salad or a couple cantaloupes.
Friends also get sneak peeks at the weekly Market videos and email updates, as well as cool Pearl Market postcards. And Friends support Pearl Market’s efforts to provide superior local products to everyone which in turn helps heat up the incubator for small business entrepreneurs as they test the downtown market.
The first five people to identify six of the 12 downtown spots featuring the Friends of the Market bag in this video will receive 50% off a Friends’ Membership. Email aeschroeder@sidservices.com with your answers.
Since I spend a good deal of time at the Market each week, I love it when new vendors pop up. And last week there were at least a couple that I had never seen before. Right next to us was a little gem called Cobenick Studios. They have all sorts of leather books and journals that I was astonished to learn are entirely handmade and bound. They are also quite affordable. The leather is hand-tooled and hand-dyed, or painted. The filler paper is also handmade; you can learn more about that at their Website. They also do wedding invitations that are stunning.
I stopped in to visit Ale’s House Peruvian this week as well. They have the cutest little things. And by little, I mean miniature. I’ve always loved miniature things; doesn’t everyone? There are little tiny houses made out of organic things like trees and gourds. There are tiny people in the tiny houses who are doing tiny things. It’s all just so magnificently tiny and cute.
I would tell you about the gorgeous cherry tomatoes that I got this week and how great they were, but I can’t because I didn’t get any! My kids ate them ALL while we were still at the Market. I would consider that a ringing endorsement, but I sure wish I could have had a couple. I guess I’ll have to try again next week.
Market Days in the fall are coming! That always means a change in produce, a change in the smells surrounding the Market. You can almost smell the cooler air coming. More farmers are bringing apples, which I love and so do the kids. I’ve been waiting for it to get cooler so I can make some warm cider with local apples. The miles that these apples travel are less than one hundred from tree to your table. The miles that apples from a typical super market travel can number closer to thousands and thousands. By coming down to the Market and buying our apples, you are saving the world from all that extra pollution. You are also single-handedly helping our local economy by keeping your money here. It’s just another reason why the Pearl Market is such an outstanding place.
It was a fantastic day at the Market! Somewhere around the beginning of August, when it gets so unbearably hot and humid, the Market starts to drag a bit for the vendors. It gets stuffy and the new fall vendors haven’t started coming in yet. Tuesday had finally cooled down and it was a lovely day to stroll around looking for fresh produce and fancy little gifts. And (this is where I would insert a drum roll) we were blessed with a new food vendor!
Another tasty sample day at the Market! Seeing Adam, our Market Manager, strolling down the road in his chef hat always means good things are going to follow. Today we sampled some tomato bacon tart, which tasted like pizza and the kids loved it. My favorite was something I wouldn’t normally try because it’s weird and I’m still like a six-year-old as far as trying new things goes, but it was delicious! It was a 
Tuesday at the Market was a bit wet last week, but very pleasantly so. Everything cooled down for a bit and it was nice to walk around outside for the first day in awhile without all of that heat.
Kids’ Day at the Market was a roaring success! Everything was so festive! Kids came, danced and sang, laughed and played. Policemen rode horses down to the Market to let the children pet them. 
WHO’S YOUR BUDDY…
Since I spend a good deal of time at the Market each week, I love it when new vendors pop up. And last week there were at least a couple that I had never seen before. Right next to us was a little gem called