Indianapolis Original Farmers' Market

We love markets we regularly shop at Bangsar's night market and have visited central markets, wet markets, fresh markets, and farmers markets in Vietnam, India, Malaysia, and the US. A piece of unintended good fortune was to buy a condo near Indiana's farmer markets. The Original Farmers' Market, open on Wednesdays May through October is two blocks away. We wandered over a 9 a.m. - a half hour before its 9:30 opening - which gave us a chance to peruse what was available.

We couldn't resist the "Pat's Philly Pretzels." Doug engaged Patrick in a conversation comparing Philadelphia pretzels to New York City pretzels. (Fortunately, neither is butter dipped a la Baltimore.) Doug planned to buy just one. Within seconds he decided on the row of three connected pretzels. Patrick is gregarious, a natural salesman. Good that he is selling pretzels and not shady financial instruments

Patrick with his tasty Philly pretzels

We had previously bought salad ingredients, but this lettuce display called out to us. The hard part was to decide which of the two varieties to buy. The lettuce was fresh and organic. The farmer reminded us that farm fresh products may require washing to assure that we don't get any overlooked grit. A small price for tasty lettuce.

Lettuce from Van Antwerp's Farm

The market has several vendors selling breads and pastries. We usually pass on the pastries, but this display of "right sized" pies was awesome. The size was right, the prices were reasonable, and there was a pie was for every taste. We settled on a black raspberry pie, but next week I'll buy a rhubarb pie and Doug can buy something else. You probably will find your favorite pie below - well, I didn't find a raisin pie, a Pennsylvania Dutch pie.

And here are the pie makers from Kun's Kountry Kitchen.

We were tempted by the flats, pots, and baskets of flowers. With only two weeks and only a balcony none seemed to practice. Instead we bought a herb garden. It has basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, and purple sage. We will dine on the leaves over the next two weeks and then turn the pot over to Brendan and Frank.

The row of herbs, plants, and flowers marks the entrance of the farmers' market. An easy, pleasant way to buy meat, produce, flora, pottery and other crafts.