Pearl Market Blog

The last day of the summer Market was a beautiful day!  Farmers still had large assortments of vegetables.  We got some tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and squash and it was all fantastic!  We sampled fudge and cupcakes and bread.  We said goodbye to new friends we had met this summer, but it wasn’t too sad because the indoor winter version of the Pearl Market starts Tuesday.  Quite a few of the same vendors will be there along with some new vendors.  It will be located on the west side of Third Street just north of Lynn Alley.

Thanks to everyone who helped to make the summer season a success and here’s hoping the Winter Pearl Market will be a great success too!

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!

Last week at the Market we were treated to the musical stylings of The Shaw Brothers.  Those boys can sing!  Andy and Chris each play a number of instruments quite well, like guitar, violin, ukulele and djembes.  They both would switch instruments so seamlessly that it seemed there were many more people playing.  It was great music for a day at the Market!

Last week was also a Taste of Fall at the Market.  That means it was a sample day, everyone’s favorite.  Sweet potato bread pudding was amazing, especially with the praline sauce.  I must have the wrong idea about bread pudding because I expected it to be, well, pudding-like.  It was more like a bit of cake or donut and it was delicious.  The maple apple ginger cake was just as good as it sounds.  And the one I was very intrigued with was pumpkin dip.  Fabulous, and perfect for fall or Halloween parties.  For the recipes, just click here.

There are only two weeks left of the summer Market.  Make sure you come visit us before it’s over and get the lowdown on the upcoming winter Pearl Market!

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!

I love that my three-year-old son now wakes up on Tuesdays and screams, “Market!  We do to market today!”  At the beginning of the summer, it was a bit harder to entice him to want to go.  But now he has learned the beauty of samples, fresh tomatoes, live music we can dance to, and friendly Market staff who are always up for playtime.  Andy played his guitar and sang for us at the Market last week and it was lovely!  He had all sorts of people singing along with him and dancing down the street, which got me just a bit closer to my dream of living in a musical.

As we near the end of the summer Market, I’ve noticed some vendors having clearance sales.  One of them is Salon D’Art.  Her prices are already extremely reasonable and her jewelry is gorgeous!  Her things are more like pieces of art than jewelry.  This is definitely the place to find one-of-a-kind pieces.

My favorite vendor from last summer was definitely Sugardaddy’s, probably owing to my serious brownie addiction.  They have since moved into a store right around the corner from the Market.  Last week, in another sign of the changing seasons, Tom stood out in the Market with pumpkin brownie samples for Sugardaddy’s.  They were cooked perfectly and utterly delicious!

See you at the Market!

LAUNCH INTO DOWNTOWN

Have you seen all the big heavy duty trucks and bulldozers moving dirt around the site where the new Bishop’s Walk condos will soon be?  It’s enough to put five-year-old boys with their Tonka trucks into a deep trance, but soon it will be dreamy for those who want to make downtown a lifestyle.

Phase Two of Neighborhood Launch is officially underway and 14 additional residential units will be available before long.  In case you were teetering on that beautiful wrought iron fence out front of the first phase, we wanted to give you the Top Ten Reasons to Consider Making the Plunge with Bishop’s Walk.

10.  You can grab your witches brew and head to the Neighborhood’s very own Halloween Party and solve the Clue Mystery Murder.

9.  Plan your own grand celebration next to the fountain in the courtyard… or toss your significant other in if he/she is getting on your nerves.

8.  Rumor has it that you might even find Sugardaddy’s connections close by, and who couldn’t manage with a little more of those scrumptious pieces of heaven?

7.  Live and play and maybe even work downtown.  You’ll be one of the cool kids now.

6.  You are a mere 53 seconds away from the best cup of coffee in the Midwest, maybe the world.  Repeat after us… Café Brioso.

5.  When you want to unwind Monday after work, Due Amici fills Gay Street with live jazz music and the wine is nothing to sneeze at either.

4.  Ditch your keys – everything is in walking (or biking) distance.  Think of the money you can save on car insurance, which leaves more change jingling in your pockets for drinks at Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails.

3.  Impress your partner when you arrange for a horse-drawn carriage to pick you both up for a night on the town.

2.  Save tons of time and support local businesses when you buy farm-fresh produce from area farmers in Pearl Market.

And the number one reason you should consider the cool digs at Neighborhood Launch – you can roll out of bed a half hour before you need to be at work downtown, throw some gel in your hair and still get to your desk with time to spare.

Gorgeous weather at the Market!  Fall is what Ohio does best, in my opinion.  In case you missed it, Tuesday was Squash Day.  The Market Sample Booth had all sorts of goodies out, including lemon and yellow squash cupcakes, chilled squash soup and little acorn squash cakes.  It was fabulous and you can find the recipes here!  The next special day at the Market is September 28 when Barrio’s chef cooks for shoppers in the Ohio Proud Mobile Kitchen.  If you haven’t been to one yet, you should definitely come out to this one.

Tuesday we were also treated to the musical styling of The Willie Phoenix Band.  I’ve seen his name around town and finally got the chance to listen.  They are fantastic!  They play all over town and are worth the night out to go see them play somewhere.  You can also find them on iTunes.

I ended up spending more money than I had budgeted out for this week because a new vendor arrived.  Aboxa Fudge claims to be the best fudge you will ever eat, and I think they are right about that.  This Dublin-based company doesn’t use preservatives, artificial colors or sweeteners in their fudge.  Your fudge comes in this cute little box that you can bring back for a discount on your next box.  And if you try it once, there will be another box.

Come down to the Market every Tuesday and Friday!  Support your local economy!

We knew it!  Cupcakes can be healthy!!!  Don’t believe us?  Susan Quinn, the genius behind Let Us Eat Cupcakes explains why you can find her cupcakes at a farmer’s market.

During the fall, as the produce morphs from sweet corn to squash and apples, Buckeye Fridays return to Pearl Market.  We enthusiastically get our game on to help you get on yours.  Stop by for tailgating essentials, fun gifts and a celebratory atmosphere.  Don’t believe us?  Check out the footage shot just last week as the Bucks prepared to take on the U!