We mostly went to meet up with our goat farmers to stock up on a months worth of milk.
The layout is a little uneven - many of the vendors were set against the street. Also, the ground was totally uneven everywhere. Most people probably wouldn't even notice that but I was waddling around in my broken foot boot.
But I would say there was a great selection and variety! Plus as with any Austin event - there was great energy. A mix of hipster, hippies, lots of dad's strapped with babies, dogs and littles everywhere.
Okra was a hot item this week! We also got a large rump roast and some tasty veggies at Johnson's.
At the end of our trip, we stopped by Swede farm to stock up on a months worth of milk. The 2 gallons made for very heavy bags - this was also the day we hit 112 degrees so we had to book it back to the car after the milk score. Husband was looking very cute and happy with his lil fin Mohawk and lots of tasty goats milk! These are the great things in life! ;)
Over the past 2 months, we have visited :
This market - Downtown
The Triangle Farmers Market
Sunset Valley Farmers Market
Burnet Rd Thurs Farmers Market
Barton Creek Farmers Market
and of course, our backyard Market - Cedar Park
We have been for many reasons. Mostly because we needed some variety. Its been almost 1 year and 6 months since we ditched the grocery store for local and organic. The great thing about any of these markets is they completely change with the season so there is already a built in variety. But - it is really fun to go check out our other options. Another big reason we have ventured out is that we have become rather faithful to some of our vendors who for different reasons are no longer available at Cedar Park.
We really miss 6J Ranch - we liked them as people and they had an amazing variety of meats.
We miss Thunderheart Bison - they have had herd issues and are unable to sell a lot of places, not just CPFM. A good note is that they are still at the Downtown market so you can still get it. We got a lb of ground bison as well as some bison jerky.
We miss Swede Farm for sure. Their goats milk has become almost a medicine to help my husbands blood sugar issues and his hypoglycemia. As I mentioned they had to pull back how many markets they could handle and now can be found at the Downtown and Sunset Valley Markets. We plan on going to visit them at least once a month and freezing the half gallons as we go.
We miss Texas Yaks! We totally got hooked on Yak meat - the only meat you mention and everyone says Yak?? But yes,we love it and word is they aren't coming to any market any time soon. The good news is that they have a new Facebook page and they are accepting orders. I think they even had free delivery. Just search for TEXAS YAK and they should pop up.
That being said, for all the vendors who I miss, you really cant beat CPFM. The layout, the amount of vendors, the quality of the vendors, the great music set up, the community feel of it, Carla running around with water bottles, beautiful girls with their head shaved showing yoga to an 8 year old - these are the weekly things that really make the CPFM superior in my eyes. I like shopping other places for fun but my money and my favorite is right in my backyard and for that, I couldn't be more grateful!
.
