Enclosed year-round market; just a dream in Chicago.


May 31, 2009----

MILWAUKEE---The Milwaukee Public Market is open year-round, but the best time
to visit is during the annual Summerfest celebration that runs in late June along the lakefront.

After all, a market stop makes it SummerFeast.

The 25,000-square-foot downtown market is loosely based on Pike Place in Seattle and has been called a model for a potential Chicago market. The market is three blocks west of the Summerfest grounds.

During an early May visit to the Milwaukee market I picked up some smooth cheese curds at the West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shop and Point Nude Beach Summer Wheat beer (whose provocative bottles are banned in Michigan!) at Thief Wine Shop and Bar. A stranger looked at me, smiled and said, "Cheese curds and beer, that's all you need."

Welcome to Milwaukee.......

The end of the day at the Flint Farmers Market in Michigan, the "Most Loved Market in America."

March 22, 2009--

TORONTO-- The big deal on my travel plate this summer is to visit lots of
farmers markets. You can see a city through the eyes of vendors,
hear about area restaurants and learn about growing patterns unique
to the region.

I began checking out markets in 2004 while working on a book on the Farm Aid movement. I spent time in Seattle interviewing rocker Dave Matthews, a Farm Aid board member, and discovered much about the city while working the aisles at Pike Place Market (established in 1907), which is actually much more than a farmers market. You still can find out-of-town newspapers at Pike Place.

Toronto was a good place to start this season of tasty tourism.
The St. Lawrence Market is one of the oldest markets in North America. The market is just east of downtown.......