FRESHFARM Market

Great farmers market! One of my favorites in DC. I work downtown and absolutely love taking a walk down here on my lunch break with coworkers. I’ve tried a lot of the vendors and have really grown to like a lot of them. Some are pricey but worth trying once every couple of weeks.
Be sure to check if certain vendors only accept cash. If they do, you need to purchase a token. To purchase a token, there’s a $ 2 fee for using a card.

This market has a number of farmer’s vegetable stands, offering a range of in-​season fruits & veggies. Plus, you can get sweet and savory pastries, sandwiches, frozen treats and meat.
Very reliable return vendors, so I can do my meal planning around local foods.

Crowd Alert for August 7, 2014
***********************************
On Thursday, August 7, you should anticipate larger than normal crowds due to the Postmaster General and Secretary of Agriculture unveiling a new stamp at the Market.
Additionally, a large number of senior citizens are expected to attend and participate in DC Department of Health Senior Wellness Activities.
And who knows? Maybe the Africa Summit participants will come for Capitol Caramel Corn?!

The White House Farmers’ Market is both completely awesome and «just OK»: awesome as a DC worker tired of the usual lunch hour options, but just OK when compared to exceptional farmers’ markets I’ve visited in other locales.
Unsurprisingly, and because of this farmers’ market, this time of year Thursday is my favorite weekday.
To me, the highlights are:
1) Chaia’s vegetable tacos
2) Chaia’s vegetable tacos
3) Chaia’s vegetable tacos
Here I must pause to wax poetic about Chaia’s magnificent tacos. First of all, they make their own, outstanding I might add, corn tortillas, and hand-​press and hand-​char them on site. They are probably the best tortillas in DC. Secondly, they make vegetables sing: creamy kale, cumin-​roasted carrots, pickled ramps, zucchini, potatoes (OK, maybe that one isn’t so hard, but still), whatever is in season. Atop these vegetables, they sprinkle photogenic microgreens, zesty homemade salsas and sauces, and local cheeses. $ 10 for three tacos (or $ 3.50 per) is a small price to pay for the highlight of my work week. Last year this «market trio» was a steal at $ 9, but the increase is understandable.
Arrive before noon to enjoy the shortest lines and waits at Chaia and elsewhere.
My highlights in no particular order after that: Soupergirl’s gazpachos (both the classic tomato and watermelon varieties; hopefully they’ll be back in season soon); Praline Bakery’s Parisian macarons ($ 10 for 6 almost-​too-​cute-​to-​eat sweets); Old Bay, Cajun, and Brown Sugar popcorns from Capital Kettle Corn; and fresh local peaches, when in season, from anywhere.
I’ve noticed the Pinch dumpling stall has garnered longer lines lately, and I’m looking forward to exploring the little packaged treats on a future visit. Ditto the green juice/​smoothie station, which has fantastic samples, and the Puddin’ comfort food stall, focused on New Orleans favorites like po’boys and gumbo. Surely one can eat tacos and a smattering of these options on the same visit, right?
The produce is a bit expensive (e.g. a vendor selling a quart of strawberries for $ 8?!), but it’s pretty impressive to see what this block of Vermont Street NW (between H & I) can pull off one weekly lunch hour period during the spring, summer, and fall months.

I hesitate to call this a farmers market so on that front I was a bit disappointed. Once I got over that, I grabbed some gazpacho and bread from Pepe’s and ate lunch. After lunch I walked around to the 4 vendors selling fruits and veggies and bought some produce. Prices weren’t bad and it wasn’t crowded. I could see this as a nice place to grab lunch in the summer.

This is a nice extension of the Fresh Farm markets. It’s a bit hidden, but it’s worth it to drop by. There are quite a few vendors to entice your appetite and of course everyone is very friendly. They are indeed only one block long, but it’s a nice area, very scenic and tucked away all nice and cozy-​like.
There were quite a few stands that I wanted to visit, but alas I was coming back from lunch at Farragut Square and needed to go back to the office, but I’ll definitely be back another Thursday to check them out and get a crabcake!
If this farmers market were to write a haiku about itself this is what it would be,
Fresh and Delicious
Foods to you by good peeps.
Come back and Eat me!

I LOVE farmer’s markets — seriously, I will travel to go to a really good one. So imagine my surprise as I’m walking back to my office from a meeting and I happen upon this little gem on Vermont Avenue between I Street and H Street just off the northeast corner of Lafayette Park! I squealed with delight :)
On my first visit I perused some of the vendors, but didn’t have much time to partake or buy. I got a Mexican Chocolate Pleasant Pop and loved it (see my review on Pleasant Pops).
On my second visit, I got the Bloody Mary Mix from Bigg Rigg’s Farm, which I’ve since tried and LOVE! They had a ton of different dressings, marinades and vinegars, but I wish they had samples out to taste as the bottles are a tad pricey. I don’t mind paying for a great product, but I’d like to sample them first.
There were some great looking produce at a variety of the tents. Spinach and tomatoes looked awesome!
I got a crawfish/​mango empanada and I don’t know where the mango OR the crawfish was! It was mostly full of rice. Not a fan.
Lastly, I got a «hot» dog from the Red Apron. Meh… this was a totally disappointing purchase. Seriously. First, the guy’s iphone reader couldn’t read my card when I know there was money on it and I just used it at another vendor at the market. Then, it took upwards of 10 minutes to get the «hot» dog because he told me the cook was having a hard time getting the «hot» dog HOT!!! WTF! The hot dog tasted more like a sausage, the BBQ pulled pork on top of the hot dog was COLD and the cole slaw was made with purple cabbage and I did not like the taste of it. The only good thing about this hot dog was the BREAD. I put it in the toaster oven when I got back to the office so it was nice & toasty, but that was the best thing about it…
I plan on going back to this farmers market at least one more time to give it another chance… but it’s highly unlikely i’d go back to the red apron or the empanada people… i’ll give the other vendors a chance…

VERY cute little market in front of the white house. Its just one short block but they pack a lot of merchandise: baked goods, cooked crab, poultry, beef, apples, cheeses, crab cakes. And on and on. I bought a few loaves of bread (black walnut, stuffed carrot cake, banana streudel) from the funny man at Rockahock bakery (no preservatives!). Apparently the cheesecakes are to die for — the two women in line ahead of me bought all 4 and would not shut up about how they freeze them and treat themselves to one slice at a time. Apparnetly the stuff keeps well despite no preservatives or chemicals.
i think the market is only once a week but it is well worth it.

This is an OK farmer’s market. Its very small and have not really seen it grow much as more foods come «in season». At only a couple blocks from my office, if I were limited in my options to get fresh fruits and vegetables nearer to home or I lived in the area, I would definitely be here more. There are some nice options for meats, cheese and bakery items in addition to the regular produce you’ll find. The farmers markets in Old Town and Del Rey are near to my home and have more selection and a bit better pricing.
It is however a nice stroll up from work on a Thursday afternoon to pick up a couple of items and have a picnic lunch in Lafayette Park, and really can we have too much access to fresh foods?