They are the primary vendor at the Tuckahoe FM
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I agree with your premise, JMF. I have nicely asked administrators at various farmers markets about a certain produce purveyor or bakery etc. and they came up short on answers. Tuckahoe being the worst. So I do hope this one turns out better.
This is one particular thing (among a few others that folks may notices) that really bothers me. When fake farmers sell the same lousy produce as supermarkets, or supplements their produce from wholesalers.
I spent summers living on farms as a kid and teen, first in Iowa, then Maine, learning to do all aspects of farm life and chores. (I was a NY City boy, born in Harlem, raised in Brooklyn until end of elementary school, then to Westchester as a teen, and then all around the country and world as an adult.) When I was 39-40 I lived for awhile on a dairy farm on the NY/NJ border, as the farm assistant, making cheese and baking brick oven bread, and taking care of the livestock, plus running farmers markets.
Then through my 40ās spent half of it working with almost 50 farms up and down the East Coast between Maryland and Maine, and west into the Catskills (while I was also a NY state park ranger), as a food/beverage business consultant helping farmers create and market value added goods from their farms. Everything from bread and pastry, to yogurt and cheese, smoked meats and salumni, pot pies and prepared meals, preserves, candy and chocolate, etc. I respected the farmers and small cottage business folks, and we all were really pissed off by those who faked it, passing off shoddy goods as the real thing.
This led to me moving on to being partners in small wineries, breweries, restaurants, culinary schools, farm distilleries, etc. and now consulting to bars/restaurants and distilleries. Even today working with bars/restaurants I try to get them to grow something themselves, and purvey good, fresh, regional items, from family farms, and to try and avoid much of the dreck that is wholesale restaurant foods.
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Took my first run thru the Eastchester Farmers Market on Sunday and they have moved it to the front of Country Market. Caused visitors to visit the inside market too. I went inside for a walk thru as well. The operators are daughters of the founding Country Market family. Could be a win win for all concerned.
The parking was not aligned properly, so that will have to be adjustedā¦
Last week, the first time they had it in front, they used the other side of the front lot (south end) and it worked better than it did yesterday.
I like the market, they are doing a good job in selecting vendors. They do need a few more farms. The produce options were not great, but I expect they will grow and improve.
I know some of the farmers there, good people and real family run farms. I used to work with one of them back in my farm/food consulting and hard cider producer days.
They were on News 12 yesterday, so that should help attract more customers.
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I went to Pleasantville this past Saturday after many weeks away. Wow, wow, wow is all I can say. It is bursting at the seams with produce. I went wild at one of the fruit stands with fresh peaches, plums, sour cherries, and blueberries. At the risk of their being none left for me, let me share the tip that Cowberry Crossing has lamb in stock and it is glorious. Ground lamb burgers for dinner this week!
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San marzano and what they referred to as field tomatos 
from Deep Roots farm in Hudson the only produce vendor at the c town market in eastchester today, sweet and delicious . I also picked up their pickled beets,which are incredible and not overwhelming sweet and their kimchee which I havenāt tried yet.
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Has anyone gotten any local peaches worth mentioning? The last two weeks Iāve gotten a few from Migliorelli (I think) at pville and ossining and while they are ripe and juicy they are not very sweet. Not sure if this is their problem or a regional one.
Did anyone hit the markets this weekend? I was going to head up to Irvington but I was too lazy on Sunday morning! Just wondering whatās good right now - I am having some folks over for BBQ next Saturday and I was thinking of playing the sides by ear until Saturday morning, then hitting a market in the hopes of finding good tomatoes and corn at a minimum, maybe peaches as well.
On a related note, whatās your favorite of the Saturday market options? According to Lohud, Hastings, Ossining, Tarrytown and Peekskill are the Rivertown options. Hastings is by far the closest to me, but the one time I went last season we were there near closing time so all the good stuff was gone, Iām afraid. Bronxville and Hartsdale are pretty close, and even Pleasantville and Chappaqua arenāt TOO far, although Iād rather stay along the river unless thereās a truly compelling reason not to.
@biondanonima I highly recommend Pleasantville. Especially when Iām getting things for entertaining thatās the one I go to, hands down, and I really believe itās the best in Westchester. Youāll find a bounty of vegetable sides for sure and lots of other treats.
Ossining is my weekly market. Itās not a destination like Pville but it serves its purpose for my regular weekly shopping.
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Thank you! Pleasantville is only about 15 miles north up the Sawmill, so not too long a trip. Perhaps Iāll run by Hastings since itās right up the street, and if they donāt have anything of interest, hop on the Sawmill for Pleasantville. Now that I look at the map, Ossining is the same distance but would probably take quite a bit longer since 9 is the only truly direct route.
Donāt go out of your way to go to Ossining. Pleasantville, yes.
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Made it to Hastings yesterday and although itās not a huge market, I was able to find everything I needed and then some! Corn and tomatoes were excellent, peaches looked good but had little flavor. They were fine baked into pie, though. I also grabbed some very nice looking green beans. There were four or five produce vendors so I was able to browse and choose from the stands that looked best.
For bread my only options were Bien Cuit and Bread Alone. I wasnāt impressed with either, to be honest. I got a ciabatta and a baguette from Bread Alone, and both were pretty lackluster, especially the baguette - completely soft and squishy, no crust at all. I also bought a half miche at Bien Cuit - it was somewhat more interesting, but IMO overcooked (the crust was extremely thick and burnt tasting, and so tough you could barely bite through it) and at $8 for maybe 2 lbs, vastly overpriced.
There were several prepared food vendors but the only one who got my business was the dumpling guy - his thin-skinned pork dumplings were fantastic. I bought a dozen and immediately cooked and devoured them when I got home (DH helped).
Itās a decent little market and Iāll certainly go back, but I do want to check out Pleasantville next time.
Thanks for reporting back. Bobolinkās bread at pleasantville is worth trying and I think there is another bread vendor. Too bad the peaches have been such duds this season. Iāve been eating blueberries practically by the bushel instead.
I had the same experience with Bien Cuit bread from Grand Central Station.
The White Plains Farmers Market held every Wednesday, has been moved to a municipal parking area at Court Street & Quarropas St. There is some construction work going on at their former site two blocks downā¦
Fwiw, i think Bien Cuit prides themselves on that very thick crust,initially I liked it,but have decided it is too much of a good thing. Personally,bread alone has never impressed either, I guess the best choice here is probably Kneaded bread, selective choices at Whole foods - now only 1/2 paycheck thanks to amazon- the seeded rye @$5.00 is still a very good bread, and I think citarella has some good choices too- btw. their pizza slices are also darn good (unfortunately), also Iāve also sampled their store made mozzarella - (too pricey for me) but so good
The operators of the Eastchester Farmers Market have announced they have closed for the seasonā¦
Not exactly a farmers market, but we visited Wilkens Fruit and Fir orchard in Yorktown Heights last weekend for u-pick peaches. They have a small farm store with other produce, and I think they have a presence at local farmers markets as well. Cute place. They grow apples and a few other things, and there is a small winery with tasting room on the grounds.
Anyway, the peaches had good flavor off the tree, but were definitely not ripe and ready to eat. I let them sit on the counter all week and they were finally soft on Thursday. We enjoyed a few, but I bought too many and now theyāre heading downhill. So, itās ice cream time! I made a base with half cream and half peach purĆ©e, and Iāll add some additional chunks (macerated in bourbon) when I churn it.
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