Haymarket: it's not organic. it's not fair trade. it's not always fresh. But it is cheap and boisterous, making it completely and totally Boston. Nestled behind the Haymarket mbta station where the orange line and green line intersects, people from all over the city elbow through the throng in search of two things: produce and deals.
Only at Haymarket can you find pounds of produce for dollars. Vendors are all ages, races and generations and they haggle for your business. But don't try to haggle prices or quality--what you see is what you get, and when you can get 10 baby artichokes for $1, so what if half of them are moldy? Pick off the bad parts and throw the rest in a pot of boiling water. And don't even think about picking out your own oranges, your hand may get slapped and your dollar returned.
Shoppers check their manners at the door and don't be afraid of being pushed or pushing back. Watch your toes for suitcases and grocery baskets, as people navigate the crowd and the narrow streets. But the abuse is well worth the heavy bags full of deals that laden your arms as you walk home.
The best time to go to Haymarket is around noon on Fridays. If you are searching for the good stuff, that's when the produce still looks the best and the crowd is thinner. If you are searching for deals, check it out on Saturdays around 4pm, because by then the are giving the raspberries away by the box. Don't wait until Sunday because the tents, the vendors and the produce will all be gone.
And when you get home, stick it all in the fridge--it will last longer.
An ode to you, Haymarket,
with your rude attitudes,
bent tents and
boxes of berry...
no where else can you buy like that
for 10 bucks all you can carry
Ingredients for life
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Oh, Mae. How I had nearly forgotten about the Haymarket artichoke heart incident, and then I stop by here. :-)
ReplyDeleteNice ode, by the way.