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Cukes and Cubism: Food Meets Art in Summer at Chicago's Daley Plaza
- Bob Benenson
- 23 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Plus, Bob Learns the Magic of Newly Picked Green Beans
There are nearly 9,000 farmers markets across the United States, 100 or so alone in my home Chicago region. But for the intersection of food and art, it would be hard to top the Thursday Daley Plaza Farmers Market, located in downtown Chicago's Loop, where vendors' tents surround a towering, world-famous steel sculpture by Pablo Picasso.
The piece, fabricated at a plant in nearly Gary, Indiana and unveiled in a 1967 ceremony, is untitled, and Picasso never revealed what it represents. So it is whatever you think it is.
The Picasso is familiar to me from my many visits over the years. The big news from my visit today (June 26) was that this old dog actually has some new food tricks to learn.
I always enjoy chatting with Steve Freeman, aka Steve the Market Guy for Nichols Farm and Orchard (Marengo, Illinois). Nichols is the region's largest diversified produce farm in the region and vends at a number of local markets, so I get to see him often.
Today, Steve pointed out that the Nichols stand had its first green beans of the season. Then he asked, "Do you know how you can tell if a green bean has been picked within the past 24 hours?" After I responded with a quizzical look, Steve picked up a bean, pressed it against his shirt... and it stuck!
Then he explained that just-harvested green beans have a light, fuzzy coating that acts like Velcro®. Now, green beans are among my favored veggies and I'm pretty certain I would have bought some anyway. But I also sensed a photo opp. The bean fuzz survived the trip home, and Barb obligingly took a pic of Bob and the Magic Bean.
The beans weren't the only new-in-season news. Nichols had also dug up its first new potatoes, both white and red.
D&S Farms of Berrien Springs, Michigan had the first blueberries that I've seen this year.
I was well-stocked for the week, so here's my small market haul: Nichols green beans and new potatoes, and D&S raspberries. Blueberries typically have a long season, so I put off my first 2025 purchase until this weekend.
Speaking of this weekend... click the button below to access Local Food Forum's Chicago region Farmers Market Tracker. Get delicious, nutritious locally and sustainably produced food, and support our local farmers.