Spoils of Tour: Part 2

Everyone knows that the best Farmer’s Market in the country is in Ithaca. Well, anyone who knows me. Which is everyone reading this.

Where else can you get a Cambodian omelette, hard cider, a shitake inoculated log and macrobiotic tapioca pudding in the same place? Heaven.

Admittedly, finding a nice FarMar in a hippie town surrounded by educated farmers and fertile land is like shooting fish in a barrel. A small barrel, full of enormous fish. This is precisely why I like the Springfield, Missouri market so much. The Springfield market doesn’t seem like it should exist, and yet it does, and it’s great.

When comparing markets, one must take into account certain regional differences. For instance, the Ithaca market shares a postal code with Cornell University, which features degrees in both viticulture AND enology. In contrast, the Springfield market is just a stone’s throw from the Precious Moments factory. (And I do wish more stones were thrown in that direction.) It’s not exactly acai country.

Housed in a handsome, wooden structure, the Ithaca market is on the shore of Cayuga Lake, and many shoppers arrive by sail or paddle. The market in Springfield is in the parking lot of a mall. It looks like a refuge camp, or a dog who knows it’s not really supposed to be on the bed.

I have sampled delights there that I have seen nowhere else. In a nation that looks and tastes increasingly similar no matter where you are, that’s huge. Missouri is what “coasties” refer to as a “fly-over state,” but the local foods movement is just as alive in that mall parking lot as it is in Manhattan. Also, “coasty” is a really stupid name.

I sampled some incredible wild plums when I was in Springfield last Fall. A truly wild food, they are not grown but gathered, and the woman selling them told me it was a race between her and the deer. I didn’t see her or her plums this time around, so I’m afraid the deer ate them both.

If you do fly over Springfield, you’ll miss the opportunity to buy local buffalo jerky, lemon cucumbers, canary melons, and “chocolate” cherry tomatoes. For any coasties who don’t believe me, see the evidence below. Now that’s a precious moment.


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That was the thrilling conclusion to Spoils of Tour: Part 1!