Elite Farmers Market -- Danbury Fair Mall

[alexinct]

It's been operating for about a week and a half now. Has anyone else been? I picked up some French country bread from Wave Hill Bakery (based out of Norwalk, I believe) and another round bread from a vendor whose name I unfortunately don't remember (it was a younger woman running the stand). Both had a taste similar to the bread in southern Italy many times I've had while on vacation with family. Sampled some toma cheese which was fantastic, and also bought coconut-ginger cookies and kettle corn (which was INCREDIBLY addictive...it didn't have that sickly sweet taste that makes me nauseous). Produce looked good, would imagine it will get significantly better as the weather gets better. A few farms that I recognized from the Union Square Greenmarket like Migliorelli were there, and their greens looked great, although I didn't pick any up. It seems like a very promising addition to the area, I just wish it operated longer than it does (10-2 Wednesday and Saturday).

[Pipenta]

You might find some of the same vendors at other farmers markets. They tend to travel in order to have enough business to keep going.

Here's a link to the state site:

http://www.ct.gov/doag/cwp/view.asp?a=3260&q=398996

Some interesting reading if you download the regulation pdf.
http://www.ct.gov/doag/cwp/view.asp?a...

[TrishUntrapped]

There's a Farmers Market on Saturdays in Weston, Ct. I just preferred the one in Danbury as it was very close by. Miss it.

[MisterBill2]

it appears that this market will not reopen for 2012, according to a vendor I ran into at another farmer's market. I saw that they were doing an indoor market during the winter. Does anyone know what happened? They had a great selection. Fortunately, my local town in Westchester (Yorktown) finally has its own farmer's market that I can shop at.

[TrishUntrapped]

Oh that's too bad! I was really getting into it!

[luv2eatct]

I'm not sure what happened. It looks as though Danbury will be scalling back to a farmers market in town. I guess to try to attract crowds into a underwhelming downtown area.6/29-10/26 every friday from 10-4pm in Kennedy Park. But if you do go ,I reccommend Nico's Pizza on Main Street.. That is the only reason I travel down that street.

[MisterBill2]

I doubt that the town would have had anything to do with this market closing.

[saturngrrl]

Word I heard about a week ago is that it was rather expensive to put on that market and the city was getting, uh, overzealous with permit fees, etc., so the company that had been doing it decided it was no longer worth it! I guess they've moved on to some sort of social media venture, purportedly "connecting farmers and artisans with their customers" online...

www.freshnation.com

[LorenV]

Shame...as they do this with many businesses in town, both new and existing, looking to keep and/or add new employees.

Not too smart of a business plan for a town if you ask me.

2 cents.

[MisterBill2]

We went a few weeks ago and it was great. Much better than the one I go to in Peekskill. Be sure to sign up for their mailing list because they have private sales that they send out the code for prior to each market.

[TrishUntrapped]

Thanks for that tip Mister Bill. I went there a couple weeks ago, was very impressed with the caliber of the produce. Some pix:

[CTeater]

Wave Hill = Wilton until June 25th, then Norwalk; excellent bread

[alexinct]

Ah, thanks for the correction. I really enjoyed it...it was great alongside a tomato salad.

[saturngrrl]

I haven't been yet, but plan to check it out soon. We were going to go today, but somebody slept in late and doesn't feel like going now. So, maybe next week. The list of vendors certainly sounds interesting and I will report back if/when I make it over there. Top of my list is tomatoes, but it might be a little early for those yet. I have a problem (as in addiction, not aversion) with kettle corn, especially fresh kettle corn, so I may need to steer clear of that vendor, LOL!

[alexinct]

I feel like I saw a few (at the absolute most) cartons of tomatoes the Saturday I went, but it's better to wait on those.

And yes, the kettle corn was really fantastic. Granted I'm not a huge popcorn eater, but I liked this kettle corn because it was well balanced between sweet and salty (whether or not that is how it's "supposed" to be, I'm not sure, but it tastes great and that's what matters). It stayed very crispy and airy for the day or two the bag lasted. Didn't have that tough, almost rubbery feel popcorn gets if it's not very fresh. They had an espresso flavor that I did not like, but I've had two or three cups of espresso in my entire life.