At The Arlington Farmers Market- What Market?
Although upon my last visit to the Arlington market I was a bit depressed and longing for the vibrancy of Spring, I wished for the handful of vendors this past Saturday. I drove to Courthouse about 11:45 am and found an empty parking lot. “I swear they’re open year-round” I thought aloud. “Did I miss an email or something?” Apparently I did. The hard working folks at the Arlington market took a much deserved day off for the Holidays. They should be returning to business as usual after the New Year.
Speaking of the New Year, I went to the market in search of a couple ingredients for a dish I was making to post on DC Foodies. I needed Savoy cabbage and scallions for a braise called “Braised Savoy Cabbage Gratin with Saint-Marcellin” by Molly Stevens from her terrific book “All About Braising”. Since the market was closed, we wound up at the Arlington Whole PaycheckWhole Foods Market. It’s an older WFM and is rather small. Shopping there was like playing bumper cars with shopping carts. But, we got what we needed in addition to duck rillettes pate, a nice bottle of pinot noir and a Paisan baguette from Firehook Bakery.
Earlier in the day, we visited Cheesetique to pick up the Saint-Marcellin cheese for the gratin dish. I was in the mood to try a different cheese for snacking, and boldly ordered 1/4 pound of Stinking Bishop (it was just taunting me to try it) when our helper looked at me askance and said “Uh…have you tried Stinking Bishop before?”. “No” I said shyly, “but I like epoisse” as if that gave me some gravitas. “Here, try some” she said. What can I say about the taste of this pungent cheese? I’ll say dirty socks in a non-ventilated hamper for about a week, that’s what I’d say! Yeah, this cheese is for serious stinky cheese lovers…who won’t be kissing anyone anytime soon. A burp 10 minutes after sampling the malodorous morsel recreated the experience vividly. Not for me. To those who love it and it’s funky friends, more power to you!
Instead, I picked up a piece of Chimay, a Belgium cheese made by those same Trappist monks who make the beer. Chimay is creamy with an assertive nutty flavor and yes, can be a bit pungent. It paired nicely with a Drambuie brand Spicy Apricot Mustard and the Pinot, and made for a relaxing afternoon of braising and noshing.
Wow, that’s a lot of traveling for one dish. Like, beam me into a small French village where all those ingredients could be had on the main square.
I also wanted to shop at Atwaters and Eco Friendly in Arlington. We often travel early on Sat or Sun morning to get to either Arlington or Dupont market.
With winter the the hiatus of my local markets (Kingstowne and Del Ray, sometimes Old Town) it takes a bit more effort. If I’d have known the Arlington market was off last week, I would have just gone to My Organic Market or Whole Foods near me on Duke St. Alexandria.
The upshot is that I also purchased some cool new dishes to plate food for photographing at Crate and Barrel right there in Arlington across from WFM.
Out of curiosity, how often do you pick stuff up just for plating? I’m always so tempted…
Hi Tanya,
This was the first time I bought plates for photos. So far, I’ve used the tableware I have at home, which is actually several collection. But, I didn’t have the more modern pieces which are so popular now and really to show off presentation better. I also plan to get myself to a fabric store to have more of a selection of backgrounds.