Strip District Shopping

One of the great things about living in a suburb of a big city is being able to take advantage of all it offers. Saturday morning I went to the Strip District. A friend of mine was to go along as well, but she was not feeling well and had to back out. I was too excited and decided to go alone.

The Strip District was once a very industrial part of the city. There are huge warehouses when driving through that are now the home of bars, clubs, and various shopping places. Saturday morning in the Strip is actually a very popular tourist destination as well, so the natives usually make sure they arrive by 9 am when it all opens. There are fresh produce markets and I wanted to see if I could take advantage of them and find some fresh strawberries because I wanted to make some strawberry jam.

I would say I was impressed and disappointed at the same time. There were several fresh farmers markets. The one was actually an organic certified market. Let me tell you, the prices came along with all those goodies. I did splurge and purchased one quart of home grown strawberries. They claimed they were organic, but not certified organic. I really didn't care either way. Aren't they pretty?

So how much does a quart of homegrown strawberries cost in the city...$7 a quart!!!  I thought that was a little steep, therefore the only 1 quart purchase, however, with the time to grow them and pick them, $7 may not be unreasonable if you are trying to make a profit. One lady next to me purchased an entire flat and acted like $56 was nothing for 8 quarts.

There were two other places that had fresh produce. I was able to get 3 avocados for $3 which is a good deal and some bananas for $.39 a lb which was not bad either. I did see another produce place and I was appalled. They had actually cut the bad spots out of the broccoli leaving just the stem and was selling them as though it was fresh. They even had cantaloupes for $1, but if you weren't paying attention, the one side was soft as though they have already gone bad. Note to self, will not buy from that location.

One of my favorite vendors on the street are the flower guys. They have 5 gallon buckets filled with water and an assortment of flowers. They always negotiate as well which is great when looking for a deal. Even though I always require blooms, I made an exception and purchased some Eucalyptus. Our house smells amazing. One bunch was $2, but then the guy said 2 bunches for $3. He tried to get me to purchase 3 bunches for $4, but I stopped at 2 bunches. All I can say is our house smells fantastic!

My big purchase of the day was this AMAZING balsamic vinegar. In the one warehouse is a Public Market place. They have numerous vendors selling pastries, oils and vinegars, soups, and then there is a brewery and winery giving out samples all at 9 a.m! There was even a free kitten adoption, but I managed to pass. There was a small Sassy in the cage, but I held on to my willpower of no pets!

The oil and balsamic vinegar stand had a young women with a baby in one of those Baby Bjourns sleeping. So of course I stopped to try the lime olive oil with coconut and mango when she offered. She had me drink a little bit and it was heavenly. After walking around, I decided I would really splurge and buy a bottle. I had asked earlier and a bottle was $18. I normally would not ever spend that kind of money, but it was so good. I was a little disappointed to find out she had mixed a lime olive oil with Coconut Mango Balsamic vinegar, which meant two bottles at $18. Definitely was not happening! I tried each one separately and decided on the Coconut Mango Balsalmic Vinegar. I could use it instead of salad dressing on my salads for lunch as a treat maybe one day a week!

I went into the usual places to visit such as the Pennsylvania Macaroni Co. They sell fresh cheeses, meats, pasta, oils, and more. I didn't go into Wholey's Fish Market even though they were advertising 2 crab cakes for $5.98 and Maine Lobsters for $5.98. I went to the grocery store Friday night, so I had already spent the grocery budget for the week. This did make me think though. Some of the prices on the feta cheese were so much cheaper than the grocery store, that it might make sense to stop in the Strip once a month and stock up on some things such as cheeses, oils, and maybe even some seafood.

Overall it was a good morning, I did forget to mention that there were little bakery stands set up on the sidewalks as well. So how could it not be a good morning when I get to eat a fresh cannolli while shopping in the city!