Not Just For Farmers Anymore: The CVILLE City Market
On Saturday mornings between the hours of 7 am and noon, the Water Street parking lot becomes a bustling market, the Charlottesville City Market to be exact. Local vendors with all types of products line the rows where cars normally reside, and the lot crowds with people jumping at the chance to taste the delicious samples, buy the health conscious products, or eat the scrumptious food.
“The market always has a lively atmosphere and represents the culture of Charlottesville,” said Scott Cast, a fellow PVCC student and market-goer. The culture of Charlottesville is indeed characterized by the City Market. Pet-friendly, green, health conscious, and delicious foods are all things that I have come to associate with Charlottesville during my stay here, and all of those facets are easily found at the City Market. Vendors focused on health conscious products that were organic, free-range, unprocessed, and home grown or made. Multiple stalls had juices that were made from only the necessary ingredients; such as, Caribé –an exotic juice company–the starfruit and passion fruit juices were especially tasty, or Wenger Grapes –a company that not only offered Concord and Niagara slipskin table grapes, but also juices and wine grapes. I personally preferred the white seedless, the best way to describe the taste is a burst of pure grape juice that overtakes your mouth.
Other vendors also provided health conscious choices. Greenheart Granola offered handmade batches of organic, preservative free, and gluten free granola. The crunch was excellent and the accompanying raw almond milk was very refreshing. Jam According to Daniel boasts of “one pound of local fruit in every jar, no pectin added,” and they honestly let you sample any flavor.
Interestingly, most vendors also have a comprehensive knowledge of their products and provide samples of the food as they discuss its benefits; some examples of this include the Everona Dairy vendor, who discussed the sheep cheeses that they had available and allowed me to try a sample of multiple varieties. The Everona Piedmont was delightful to the senses and was the first cheese they had produced; the FreshStart cheese was a mozzarella style and with a full flavor and bouncy texture.It was the only fresh cheese she had available to try at the time, though the website says that they also provide a pressed ricotta as another fresh selection and many more varieties of aged cheeses.
The stone ground corn tortilla stand had samples of fresh quesadillas available, and the vendor offered information about their fresh taste. Hungry Hill Farm offered various knowledge on their bees and honey to supplement the live beehive they had set up as well as their samples and selection of products. And last but not least, I would recommend a visit to the Great Harvest Bread Company stall in order to grab a taste of the spinach feta for our savory lovers or the cinnamon chip to satisfy a sweet tooth; they will also provide knowledge on their gluten-free varieties.
There were also handmade jewelry and other items. The Clockwitch offered handmade steampunk earrings, rings, and charms that are all made out of recycled materials, Inedible Jewelry offered tiny earrings, necklaces, and charms made to look exactly like the food they were representing, and another vendor even offered candles made inside of unexpected holders, such as a martini glass.
Food vendors were also a thriving sector of the city market. Through all the food variety to choose from, I had lunch at Pearl Island. They offered a delicious sampling of Caribbean foods and I chose to sample the cajun rice, the sous poulet chicken, the veggie creole beans, and the tostones with lemon aioli. The tostones were crunchy and the aioli supplemented them nicely, but the real deal breaker was the chicken that literally melted in my mouth and was succulent beyond description. I definitely recommend a stop at this stand. On an even more positive note, they take credit cards.
Payment at the City Market is made fairly simple. Most of the vendors accept credit or debit cards, along with cash–those that only accept cash will also take tokens. Tokens are available at the Market Central information stand and can be used for vendors to redeem cash. The information stand will only take a debit card as payment for the tokens, so just a credit card will not allow you to sample all of the stands.
If you like farmers’ markets too (or in this case city markets) then give them a chance; they have many scheduled slots in the Water street parking lot. Saturdays April through October, the hours will stay the same of 7 am to Noon; however, November 30th through December 21st, the hours will become 8 am-1 pm, and the Market will be renamed the Holiday Markets. Wednesdays, May through September, Farmer’s in the Park will happen from 3 pm-7 pm in Meade Park and be a grower’s only market. Tuesdays, May through September from 3 pm-7 pm, the Market at Pen Park will also be opened. Enjoy a few hours bustling around the stalls with our community and support our local vendors in the process.
