Petworth Farmers Market

After moving to DC last weekend, I was very excited to find that the Petworth Market is located less than a mile from my apartment. That’s walking distance! Score!
The Petworth Market is quite small, but it still manages to offer just about everything I need. What excited me most about this market is that J & L Green Farms is a vendor here. One of the owners of the farm used to work over at Polyface, so their practices are outstanding. They raise cows, pigs, and chickens in a sustainable and humane manner. Supporting farmers who do so is a priority for me, and the health benefits that come along with eating meat from humanely raised animals cannot be beat.
Anyway, I digress…
There are about three or four vendors who sell fresh fruits and vegetables, one who sells baked goods (most breads, but also some sweets), another vendor who sells granola, cheesecake, and cookies (as another reviewer mentioned), a coffee vendor, and some local artists. That’s it. All in, fewer than ten vendors. Yet all offer high-​quality products at very reasonable prices. The only thing I found to be missing is a good, local dairy vendor offering raw milks and cheeses.
The market runs on Fridays from 4pm until 8pm from late May through late September. If you live in the area, it’s worth stopping by after work. Most vendors accept credit cards, although it seemed that they all had a $ 10 minimum. Alternately, you could stop by the main booth where they have an «ATM.» Basically, they’ll swipe your credit card and give you cash in return. They do charge $ 1 processing fee and they don’t give you real cash. They give you the Potamic local currency, which all of the vendors accept. Honestly, it’s probably easiest to come with cash in hand.

The good thing about the Petworth Farmer’s Market is that it is on Fridays so it does not compete with all the weekend markets. The bad thing about the Petworth Farmer’s Market is that it is on Friday’s so struggle to make it there after work before it closes. However I did make it there yesterday. I made a bee line for one place and one place only Lizzy Evelyn’s (
) stand. I like to call myself her groupie after I had my first deconstructed goat cheese cheesecake at Café St Ex and then discovered she make the desserts for Room 11… She has a stand and sells cookies, granola and individual little cheesecakes, no crust. Mmmmm. She does not disappoint. Needless to say the market has many other stands but I will have to check those out next time… (-:

For the past few Fridays a growing crowd has converged on Georgia Ave to enjoy the Petworth Farmers Market, and after several visits and purchases its become a regular stop for me. Even with my CSA I still need some specific fresh foods at times, and since this is on my ride home its more than convenient to jump off the bus, grab what I need, and catch the next one. I’ve scored some great cheap books, delicious hot sauce, and now that the Sweetgreen truck is making regular appearances even my sweet tooth is satisfied. AND, they have a DJ each week, and I’m not sure if its the same person each time but I always love what they play. Even when I’m not shopping I’ll walk through just to hear some tunes. Not sure when they will close for the season, but I am beyond happy with this neighborhood addition.
(Please note I am totally fudging the address – its technically 9^th between Taylor and Upshur). Easy to find and see from Georgia Ave!