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Opening at Nettlehorst French Market: Pleasant, Not Much Food
- Bob Benenson
- Apr 20
- 2 min read
Hoping Some Local Farmers Join Lineup as Season Advances
As I have written earlier, I have added coverage of the Chicago region's French Markets to Local Food Forum this year.
I'd declined to do so for our first five years because the Bensidoun French Markets are hybrids, with some food and flower vendors, and sellers of crafts, clothing and other non-food items.
But some of my favorite farmers sell at one or more of these markets and I believe it's unfair to them not to inform readers about locations. In addition, an increasing number of regular farmers markets have sought to broaden their customer bases by admitting non-food craft vendors, also known as "makers," which makes excluding the French Markets a bit more dubious.
One of these, open in season on Saturdays, is located at Chicago's Nettlehorst School, a short walk from our apartment . I wandered over on Saturday (April 18) for the market's season opener, and here are my takeaways.
1) The small market was pleasant. Nothing bad to say about it. It has been around since 2009, which is two years longer than I've been in this Lakeview East neighborhood, so it obvious has customer appeal.
2) There was some food. I was especially grateful to see that Stamper Cheese — a Chicago-based cheese broker that specializes in Wisconsin-made cheese and has a major presence in the region's farmers market community — had a table there, enabling me to buy some horseradish havarti that is a favorite of Barb's and some three-year-old cheddar that I love. There were a couple of baked goods vendors...
... and a couple of prepared food vendors (Middle Eastern specialties such as hummus, olive oils and vinegars).
3) A lot of non-food items, and no produce or meat unless I somehow missed something. Hopefully this will change as we can farther into the season. It is only mid-April after all.
I'll be back to provide updates, and because the market is on my way to Bottles Up, a small, well-curated wine and spirits shop that's one of my favorite places. Gotta have priorities.
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