Real Food Market – Petrosino Square

This is one of two new «Real Food Markets» that were opened in mid-​June by Nina Planck, auther of «Real Food: What to Eat and Why». Nina is responsible for bringing farmers’ markets to London, England and at one time was in charge of the Union Square Greenmarket. Her book is a great read and will teach you the importance of eating natural, local and sustainable foods. She is a big supporter of meats and cheeses as well as fruits and vegetables and suggests «eating around the edges of the supermarket» and staying away from processed foods.
These are young, new markets and at the moment they’re small. The one at Petrosino Square has perhaps a few more vendors than the South Village market, but everything will change come September when people have returned from vacation and all that harvest produce starts rolling in. The market is in session from 10am — 2pm every Saturday until December 23^rd.
And these are not farmers’ markets in the true sense. They are «real food» markets and feature food from not just farmers, but also «food artisans», or people who make things like pickles, zucchini bread, yogourt, etc.
Last Saturday I picked up a delicious round of cheese bread and bag of pea shoots courtesy of Thanksgiving Farms, some unbelievable bacon from Cayuga Farms and a slice of delectably moist zucchini bread from Brooklyn’s very own Angie’s Exotic Bakery. Stone Ridge Orchards from the Catskills was in the process of unpacking big baskets of ripe produce and there was even a pickle stand going on with lots of free samples.
Shopping at one of the Real Food markets is a great way to get to know local farmers and purveyors of down home, natural, sustainably raised food. It’s healthy, it’s tasty and it’s fun!