June 2009 Archives

If this Washington Post article about our friends at Local Sixfortyseven doesn’t stimulate your salivary glands, we don’t know what will.

On the day I visited, the menu included strawberry-apple cider ($2.50), which he made by macerating fresh strawberries and cloves in cider for 24 hours before straining. There was a shaved mixed-radish salad ($5) that included four kinds of lettuce, Thai basil, lemon catnip and nasturtium leaves from his garden. There was a trout ($12), caught by Amanda’s uncle, brushed with a little mayonnaise and grilled whole, and a country-fried pork chop ($14) that had been soaked in buttermilk and herbs for a day to make it plump and juicy. Both were served with skillet corn bread and a confit of Yukon Gold potatoes and spring garlic.

I ordered everything, plus a piece of strawberry-rhubarb pie ($5) that I am still dreaming about.

Visit the Luhowiaks and their mobile kitchen devoted to locally grown, freshly prepared meals at our Thursday market in Reston and Friday market in Centreville this week. Local Sixfortyseven will then be at our Friday Centreville market next week and every other week afterwards. They will also appear at our Reston market July 9 and every other following week.

Smart Markets and our vendors have been fortunate to get some coverage recently in local newspapers. Check out the articles below.

The Burke Connection wrote up our new market on the campus of George Mason University:

The market, organized in a collaborative effort by Smart Markets, Inc. and the university, is the first farmers’ market to be opened on a college campus in the state of Virginia. The market follows the Smart Markets theme of producer-only goods, with all produce and other products being grown, harvested and sold by local farmers, bakers, chefs and more.

“I view this campus as a great opportunity to do some of the things that I want to do,” said Jean Janssen, founder of Smart Markets, Inc. “I’m really excited about the diversity on this campus. I want to reach out to all of the diverse populations and have them shop at the markets.”

And the Reston Connection checked in with this article about our Reston market, which this year has moved to a more central location at the Reston Town Center’s Pavilion. Stop by if you haven’t yet — it’s a lively scene!

The market, which is open each Thursday through the end of October, from 3:30-6:30 p.m., includes 16 vendors this year. In addition to the usual dairy products, beef, fruits and vegetables, many prepared foods are offered, Janssen said, noting that busy Restonians don’t always cook their meals. Among these are to-go meals, homemade baked goods and others. Meat rubs, German sausages, jams, jellies and honey are also popular. Two wineries also alternate weeks.

Finally, the Fauquier Times-Democrat raves about the beef sold by Smart Markets vendor Angelic Beef.

Angelic Beef was every bit as delicious and tender as the partners promised. It tickled my taste buds with the real old-fashioned, full beef flavor that’s been missing from modern-day beltway dining. And since it’s local and extra healthy, it’s a winner any way you cook it.

Pick up some Angelic Beef at our Thursday afternoon market at Reston Town Center, and our Saturday morning market at the Unitarian church in Oakton.

We’re happy to have special guests making a debut appearance at our Reston market this Thursday, and we’d like you to come meet them. Derek and Amanda Luhowiak are the proprietors of Local Sixfortyseven, a traveling cafe that has been making the rounds at our markets. The Luhowiaks have committed themselves to a sustainable lifestyle, part of which involves their six-by-nine-foot stainless-steel trailer. The trailer is built out as a complete solar-powered gourmet kitchen, with hot and cold running water and everything else a good chef needs.

The Luhowiaks come to the markets, shop at them and then cook items from a menu written on a blackboard. Part of their mission is to teach others how easy it is to cook with what they can buy at a farmers’ market and also to demonstrate how easy it is to cook well.

As you can see from this post on the blog of Piedmont Virginian magazine, Local Sixfortyseven is already gaining a following. Unfortunately, Local Sixfortyseven ran into a contractual snag at our market at George Mason — read this Connect2Mason article for more information. Fans of the Luhowiaks’ food at Mason hope to see this problem resolved.

If you’re a member of Facebook, you can join the Local Sixfortyseven group. While you’re there, join the group for our Reston market or others — just search for “Smart Markets.”

Come to the Pavilion at Reston Town Center Thursday from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., and make the debut of Local Sixfortyseven a popular one!