The Del Ray Farmers Market

We stayed back in Alexandria last weekend because I had some work deadlines – I’ve got that bi-annual trip to Las Vegas coming up and I needed to finish my presentation.  Despite missing out on all the Triathlon fun in Luray, we did manage to take in a couple of sites in Alexandria, including the Del Ray Farmers Market and Port City Brewery.  I figured I’d put up a couple of posts on these locations over the next couple of days.

The Del Ray Farmers Market takes place in a little lot over on Mount Vernon Avenue.  Seriously, the space allocated here is less than where we have the market set up in Luray.  It’s still a pretty charming thing to visit, with all the families walking up to it and the crowded stalls – though they are not as crowded as the stalls were in Mountain View, California. 

As I began writing this post, I realized that I have probably posted about Del Ray before.  But more than that, I think I have written about Farmers Markets in Mountain View, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, Arlington, and DC – in addition to the Shenandoah Valley Produce Auction in Dayton, VA and the Luray-Page Market.  So I’m going back through to put on a new label – “Farmers Markets” – which you’ll see at the end of this post and which will take you to the others.

At the market we picked up some of our typical summer fare, some sweet corn for grilling (I was making ribs on Sunday), eggplant, and two melons.  One of the melons was a sprite, which we used to see a lot of in Luray and I don’t remember seeing last year…we also took home a four pound cantaloupe, and we chose a focaccia with spinach, tomatoes, and leeks for lunch. 

   

I have the sense that the farms that attend this one are all larger than what we see at the market in Luray.  I say this because I’ve seen the same farms at the Clarendon Market in Arlington, which means they are making it into town a couple of times per week with adequate production to satisfy some densely populated neighborhoods. 

Still, it’s always a nice outing to get outside and check out what’s in season.  Someday I fancy we’ll get an old-fashioned green grocer in town somewhere, complete with seasonal produce displays right on the sidewalk.