Good Eats on the Outside of Eastern Market (New School)

The work of being an artist is never done. It started in Germany. I was there back in 2000, just before the Euro. Ya'll were told I was showing my work in a gallery in Dusseldorf, but in fact I was spying. It was so hard, for weeks the same routine. I am just horrified thinking about my actions. Daily, in front of the counter asking in bad German, "may I have a Berliner?" Yikes. I went up and down the Rhine River from Frankfurt, Cologne, Darmstadt and even Hessen Park, eating Berliners. Just call me Kennedy, because I too was a Berliner.

And at Eastern Market, well...the sacrifice continues.

Women all over the world love this man's nuts.

(Steve Adams, Sweet Nuthouse)

They are salty and sweet. But in reality they belong to his wife Heidi. Heidi and Steve Adams have been at Eastern Market selling sweetened almonds and pecans as Sweet Nuthouse for seven years. These treats are wonderful and I have seen many a bag of nuts pass by my stands in the guise of "gifts" for friends and family. Yeah, sure, right.

(Heidi Adams, Sweet Nuthouse)

As I traveled across Western Europe, I worked tirelessly to be sure the pastry shops, bakeries and other establishments of this ilk served items worthy of you, my friends, family , clients, Americans et. al. Why, in Paris alone I went from arrondissement to arrondissement searching for the perfect croissant. Many times I was sidetracked in the search by a cute mille-feuilles, a saucy pain aux raisons or a religieuse (much more sinful than it sounds.) And then there is the heart stopper, the tarte au citron. I have to tell ya'll ,maintaining focus when entering a French pastry shop where everything is "fait a la maison" is daunting work, but I tried again, and again and...(the spirit is strong. but the taste buds...the taste buds are greedy).

(Sweet Nuthouse, nuts)

But speaking of things French, now at Eastern Market a taste of France "es chez nous." Mitch Sallen (Crepes at the Market) is a former baker who for three years has been tempting us with mouth-watering crepes. But then the question arises: are they as good as what I had in France? I am still deep in research over this question. For a solid year I tried and failed to taste every crepe on his menu. But I was foiled by my own creative impulses. Unlike French creperies, Mitch allows us to create our own! Worse yet, many of his ingredients come from local farmers so they change seasonally, local peaches, and local veggies. Thus, the possible combinations are vast. And the taste, you ask? Well, imagine fresh apples, butter, and Nutella for the sweet crepe, or chives, fresh spinach, onions, Gruyere and turkey for the savory crepe. I can smell the combinations just sitting in my studio. (Mitch, you should do home deliveries.)

(Mitch Sallen, Crepes at the Market)

Mais, comme quand j'etais en France, je non arrete pas. Mitch has a partner in food now at the Market. Miguel Palacios will greet you on Sundays in the schoolyard with his Latin charm. I hesitate to say more, because...Migue's Magnificent Mini-Donuts are addictive. Don't read on! Stop now! For the good of your waistline, the pictures alone might make you start attacking your computer. Keep your eyes closed tight. Thank God, you can't smell them hot just out of the cooker. Covered in...

(Miguel Palacios)

...brown sugar and cinnamon, sprinkles, powdered sugar, honey, Nutella...aah, or all of the above. I did it once in a moment of weakness (ladies, you know when.)

(Migue's Magnificent Mini Donuts)

Now, have ya'll ever noticed how many cultures have fried sweet breads? For example, one or two groups of indigenous peoples of North America have fry bread that is traditionally covered with honey, France has the beignet, Spain has churros, Germany has Berliners, Tunis and Algeria have cornes de gazelle and makhrouts , and now, thanks to Miguel, Eastern Market has mini-doughnuts. If y'all subscribed to The Flea Market at Eastern Market Newsletter, like I do, you would have received a one dollar coupon good towards good eats in the school yard on Sundays. Now, I am not saying that I am going to use it to buy some mini-donuts, but hum, uh, well .... You know in the "Good Book" there is much talk about loaves of bread, breaking bread together, and so on. I wonder if any of that bread was fried and covered in a sweet substance... if so, I bet it was popular.

In that book, it was always bread and wine. But, wine with a sweet crepe, nuts or a mini-donut

does not work for me at 8 a.m. But... to each his /her own. Perhaps one could try Bailey's Irish Cream, grappa, Limoncello, port, muscat or my favorite Jamaican rum (Gosling). After that, selling and shoping would be soooo easy. However, we don't as yet have a wine merchant at the Market. But we do have Tea & Company, owned by brand-newcomer to the Market, Myra Caesar, and we have Hondo Coffee owned by Arondo Holmes. I have heard that coffee and tea are also good morning drinks.

(Tea & Company)

(Hondo Coffee)

And for more savory treats, try Wisteria Gardens hummus or salsas. Owned by Tyler Caudle, Wisteria Gardens has been at the Market for five years. However, be assured, this is not the hummus of Misha's (the small Russian Deli that was across from the market for a decade). Misha's hummus had so much garlic in it that vampires from Arlington crawled back into their lairs every time someone opened up a container outside Eastern Market. No, Wisteria Garden's hummus are good but much milder: think, "if I eat this I can still go back to work and talk to my boss without curling his/her hair." And, now we are In a Pickle, because we have homemade pickles. In a pickle is owed by newcomer Jason Gallant. I love the pickles--especially the spicy ones in the winter, they just warm me up. But I hear tell there are more goods eats...alas, work for ya'll just never ends, thank goodness.

(Wisteria Gardens)

(In a Pickle)

Witnessing,

Sonda T. Allen