Day Trip to the Pearl Farmers Market

I recently took a day trip to San Antonio to visit the Pearl Farmers Market and was delighted to see how much it has grown since my visit last fall.  You can really fill a market bag now with everything from fresh produce to proteins to olive oil to cheeses.  

I had just stocked up on veggies, so I focused on the non-produce booths.  I bought chevre from CKC Farms, a goat cheese vendor who has amazing products and is now coming to Austin for the Thursday Westlake market and the Downtown Austin Farmers Market. 

L&M Beef tempted me with soup bones at the bargain basement price of $2/lb - could not pass that up.  I bought a ham steak from Menzies Farm, who suggested that I pan fry it with salt and pepper, a great way to bring out the flavor of the lamb. 

I was a little stunned when I saw a booth with farm-raised tilapia.  R. Scott Enterprises, Inc operates an aquaponics farm where they grow lettuces hydroponically and raise healthy tilapia without antibiotics, something rarely accomplished for farm-raised fish.  For the second time that day, I was skeptical, so I did the only thing I could do, I bought some.  

The HGD Foods booth a few stalls down was selling Gourmet Gluten Free Fish Fry mix so I finished my purchases with all the supplies for a great fish fry.  I made the fish this week and it was fantastic - flaky, light and tasted great.  I never would have guessed that it was farm-raised. 

We had lunch at the Texas Farm to Table Cafe before we headed back to Austin. The cafe serves sandwiches, salads and breakfast items that are sourced from Texas farms whenever possible. The Deep Ellum Blue salad very tasty and a the cafe was a pleasant place to refuel before we headed home.

If you are looking for a fun day trip, the Pearl Farmers Market is definitely worth the drive.