at the Little Italy Mercato, the farmer's market that everyone goes gaga over...
The Mercato is every Saturday at Date and India Streets. There are tons of vendors (food - snacks as well as artisanal *the magic word for food snobs*, crafts, and produce) as well as entertainment (Smilin' Jack anyone?).
Of course, I liked the name of this sauce...
We admired the succulents on display at this booth...
On the corner of Date and Columbia is the Italian Cultural Center where you can take classes on the Italian language and cooking.
We bumped into a friend who was visiting another friend who lives in the area in this general area...
Beautiful berries...
This booth was selling drinking glasses and jewelry fashioned from used craft beer bottles. Bert bought an Arrogant Bastard glass from them at the SD Public Market late last year. I like that they are recycling or repurposing discarded items.
That plate stand for Salty Sisters Candy could have used some actual samples to be on display. Actually, their samples were under glass and you had to ask to try one (or two). Their salted candy bits were pretty good; I had the dark chocolate while Bert had a different flavor.
We saw the Patisserie du Soleil both and I saw these macarons which were unceremoniously displayed on a plastic lid. Kinda ugly, but I was still curious to try it. The guy who makes these, Chef Michel, works for San Diego Cake and the aforementioned patisserie.
Chef Michel seemed a bit harried trying to help so many people in line at the booth and it was hard to understand him when I asked what the flavors were. I had to ask him to exlain one of the other flavors but he seemed quite rushed in his responses to the point where I just didn't care anymore. The macarons would have looked more appealing if they were on an actual plate or dessert server.
The dark green is supposed to be Speculoos flavor. Why it was green? I have no idea but this was my least favorite. I thought it was green tea until I asked. I regret ever getting this. It did not taste like Speculoos at all. Gosh, when I hear the word "Speculoos", I think of "speculum" (a gynecological instrument that opens up the inside of your vadge). TC thinks it sounds like a Marvel character.
The pink one was red velvet which was way too sweet.
The brown one was supposed to be ganache but it didn't seem dark enough.
I liked this one the best, but thought the sugar crystals were a bit too much. I know these look pretty with their multicolored sugary toppings and all, but that wasn't enough to overcome my disappointment with these macarons. At $2 a pop, which seems to be the going price, I felt let down by the flavor and quality.
Behind the booths were art installations scattered about like this one of artichoke hearts, strategically located next to Chef Deborah Scott's food truck, Chop Suey.
We were near Amici Park where one could relax and enjoy food or drinks from the mercato.
It was kind of nice strolling along and seeing everyone enjoying themselves. We didn't get too much of anything other than the salted candy samples and those not so good macarons.
More info here:
www.littleitalysd.com.mercato
Other bloggers posts on the Mercato:
Kirk of Mmm-Yoso
Kirbie of Kirbie's Cravings (includes cute dog photos!)
Our dessert so far was a dud, so I suggested to Bert going back near our car to try the elusive cupcake place hidden behind the row of cottages...
No comments:
Post a Comment