St Pete Saturday A.M. Market Shines

Yesterday was the season opener for the downtown St Petersburg, FL, Saturday Morning Market, a festive melange of crafts, food vendors, music, and not enough (organic) fresh fruit and veggie sellers. ( Regular readers of this Blog know my peeve with Florida...) The Market is a volunteer effort, unfunded by the city or state, and in just five years it is the largest and most visited in the Southeast, according to market manager Mark Johnson.

Caribbean smoothies made with generous amounts of fresh fruit and little ice, a fine selection of Italian artisanal breads and goodies,  superlative gelato that immediately dripped and melted on my running shorts, thus proving not only that I am a messy eater but that the gelato is the real deal, and corn-based pairs of waffles surrounding melted mozzarella cheese-what are they??-- all were being hawked at the market.

Johnson told us they like paying attention to the community-building details--all vendors wear name tags, for example. And the cafe tables that run down the center of the market all have small floral bouquets on them.

NB Good news on the fresh veggie front:  Sweetwater Organic Community Farm in Tampa is a CSA that also has an on-site farm market every Sunday from November through May. Yes!

( Happy market shoppers and fish monger courtesy http://www.saturdaymorningmarket.com/

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