Right Now Downtown

The Winter Pearl Market is in full swing at its indoor location at 33 N. Third Street.  Stop by on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and check out all there is to offer (but we won’t be there on Friday, November 26).  Here’s a quick video to show you what you’ve been missing.  With all the produce, food items and handmade offerings, you can find great holiday gifts and wonderful local produce to prepare for your holiday guests.

It’s getting cold at the Market!  With just one week left for this season’s Pearl Market, I’m trying to fit in all the things I kept telling myself I would try/buy/eat later.  I know that quite a few vendors will be at the Winter Pearl Market, but at this point, I don’t know who and I don’t want to miss anyone.

I don’t want to miss getting a last box of Aboxa Fudge.  I might need a couple more tubes of water beads to get me through the winter.  If I don’t buy that necklace from Salon D’art, I’m going to regret it.  If I don’t buy another bag of kettle corn, where else can I get it fresh?  And all this produce!  I know there won’t be this type of selection in the winter.  I definitely need some more green peppers and hot peppers.  And cucumbers to make cucumber water.  And apples picked from trees not bins.  And on and on and on.  So, before I start to get excited about the Winter Market, I’ve got one week left to make sure I get everything I need.  And so do you.  See you there!

The Market is getting a wee bit smaller as the weather turns cold, but there is still plenty to do and see.  Many vendors are adjusting their businesses accordingly.  One of the food carts is serving piping hot pea soup.  Delicious!  One of our favorite musicians, Bob Piascik, strolled the alley a bit as he played, encouraging a dance party among vendors and visitors alike.  Cupcake Susie made perfect fall cupcakes this week, spiced apple cider and pumpkin honey almond!  Café Brioso always brings plenty of hot coffee that smells so enticing you can’t pass it up.

If you have been down to enjoy the Market this season, then you have probably noticed our fantastic Market staff.  They are always on hand to help and have done a marvelous job with everything from directing traffic when a car has to pass to tents flying away in the wind to capturing it all in pictures.  They are also the reason the Market is continuing.  The Winter Pearl Market has found a location (33 N. Third Street) and is set to begin after the summer Market is over, but we need everyone to come and support it!  Hope to see you soon!

I love the chill in the air!  Especially with the Cafe Brioso coffee smell wafting down the street, along with pumpkin spice crepes!  It was a glorious fall day at the Market.  This week I stocked up on vegetable.  Everything is so ripe and looks fantastic!  I don’t know who found purple vegetables in the first place, but I love them, and more importantly, my kids love them.  We got purple bell peppers that taste just like the green variety but come in a color more appropriate for princesses.  Let’s face it; princesses can’t eat your average colored vegetables.  I also got arugula, spinach, tomatoes, banana peppers and zucchini.

I stopped by Zapico Foods this week to sample their sauces.  This place has it all!  Owner Mike tells of his grandmother making these recipes a hundred years ago for the family, and teaching him about growing his own vegetables to put in the recipes.  These sauces and dressings are all made and packaged at The Ohio State University.  He makes a rich tomato sauce, a balsamic dressing and a smoky barbeque sauce, all at a very reasonable price.

The Vintage Vamp has beautiful jewelry.  Her things have such an exquisite look about them, like you would belong in an old movie while wearing them.  If you like her style, she does custom work as well.  Definitely worth checking out while you are at the Market.

See you next time!

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!

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!

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.

Until next time. See you at the Market!

Tuesday at the Market was supposed to be ridiculously hot, but Pearl Street had such a lovely breeze that it felt like spring.  Usually I pick a couple of booths to check out and head straight for them, but this time I meandered slowly down the road to see everything.

Crimson Design Group has a store front on Pearl and they set out a Market booth as well, so you can see the amazing things that they have in their store.  I haven’t bought anything from them yet, but I always see the decor they sell and think, “Ooohhh, pretty!  Those are the people I want to make my living room pretty!”

Another booth I always like to see is The Sweater Lady.  Everything is so colorful and it always draws my kids over.  There are little hand-knit finger puppets that are so incredibly detailed that I just don’t understand how somebody can do that.  I also love the adorable kids’ sweaters that have scenes on knit into them, with suns and animals.

This week I also bought a good deal of produce from an array of farmers.  Some tomatoes from one guy, some zucchini from another, and English peas from a third.  I feel like I eat so much better in the summer when I get to spend so much time at the farmers’ market.

Hope to see you at Pearl Market soon!

While it is usually sweltering around here this time of year, the last Market day was breezy and lovely and cool.  Loosely Strung played some old favorites, making the afternoon feel festive.

In search of new treasures this week, I cam across Green Handle Designs.  She has some fantastic jewelry, or rather wearable art.  She also has duct tape flowers that are bright and colorful, catching your eye from afar.  The flowers come as magnets, barrettes and ink pens, and I had to get one of each.  People that can make things out of duct tape besides patches for furniture amaze me.

I also finally stopped at the photography booth just down from mine, Phosegraphe, which means “light writing” in Greek.  His pictures are gorgeous!  The way that he plays with light and color make me want to start collecting his pictures.  If you are coming down this way, I strongly suggest you stop and take a look!

On my way out, I saw a farm stand that I hadn’t yet seen and couldn’t resist stopping for some green beans at Darby Farms.  They are from West Jefferson and I used to live there, so it felt like old friends.  Delicious green beans!  I hope they come back next week.

Counting down until the next market…  Hope to see you there!

Capital Crossroads kicked off its summer programming with the return of the ever-popular Pearl Market to the Pearl and Lynn Street alleys on May 18.  Sponsored by WCBE 90.5 and managed by Capital Crossroads, the Market runs on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., May through October.  This season of Pearl Market is bursting at the seams, with more farmers (27) participating than ever before and more than 40 merchants.

The farmers’ fantastic offerings, including asparagus, greens, herbs, peas, green beans, radishes, strawberries, plants, flowers and, later in the season, sweet corn, tomatoes, squash and apples, remain a big draw.

“People realize the importance of purchasing food that is locally grown,” explained Adam Schroeder, Pearl Market Manager.  “Shoppers get to know farmers who grow their food, they get to support area merchants and they really learn the benefits of buying local.”

The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission recently released the region’s first Central Ohio Local Food Assessment and Plan, which highlights the importance of having fresh, local, healthy food available to all neighborhoods in Central Ohio.  Executive Director of MORPC, Chester R. Jourdan, Jr., addressed the crowds on opening day of the Market, emphasizing that Pearl Market’s offerings fit right into this “locavore” movement.

Joining some returning vendor favorites, such as Great Harvest Bread Co., 3 Babes & a Baker, Sweet Thing Gourmet and Nellie’s Samosas, are some vendors making their Pearl Market debut, including Let Us Eat Cupcakes, J Squared Organics, Devour Cookie Co. and Afrikan Designs.

In addition, daily live entertainment and a public eating space will encourage visitors to pick up lunch from one of the food vendors or bring a packed lunch and enjoy the hustle and bustle.

There are some changes afoot.  Due to overwhelming requests from the farmers and merchants, the Market will now spill out of the alleys and expand on to both Broad Street and Gay Street.  The spill-over will include both farmers and merchants, with farmers setting up shop on the Gay Street end of the alley for the first time.

“This will give the Market more presence on those high-traffic thoroughfares,” added Schroeder.  “Especially on Gay Street, where folks are beating a path to new lunch spots like Plantain Cafe’, J. Gumbo’s and Sugardaddy’s.”

In addition, after a test run during the Winter Pearl Market, the summer Market now accepts credit cards and the Ohio Direction Card.  Customers just need to visit the Market tent located at the intersection of Lynn and Pearl to pick up red credit card or green Ohio Direction Card tokens.  All vendors that are accepting the tokens will display a special sticker on their vendor sign denoting which tokens they accept.  This change will allow those who may not be cash-carriers to make some must-have purchases.

As the summer progresses, fans of the Market should keep an eye out for special events.  The Ohio Department of Agriculture will bring their Ohio Proud Mobile Food Kitchen to the Market, where area chefs will shop the Market, do a live cooking demonstration and let visitors sample their dish.  Mark your calendars for June 29, August 31, September 28 and October 26.  Other special events include Strawberry Day on June 8, Sweet Corn Day on July 13, Kids’ Day on July 27, Tomato Day on August 10, Squash Day on September 14 and Apple Day on October 12.  The Market will be closed on Friday, July 2 in observance of Independence Day.

For a sneak peek at the beautiful sights of Pearl Market, take a look at our Opening Day Photo Album.