As I was uploading a photo (for another thread) of a local bread shop (and I use the term loosely) I stopped at yesterday, it occurred to me that there are a few food shops around here that I love to support because they’re small and unique and also because to me, they represent a time when life was slower, simpler and easier. I thought it might be interesting to hear from other Onions (is that what we’re called here?) who have places they enjoy and appreciate in their locales.
The first place in my neighborhood that comes to mind is the Bakers at Red Lion. Two women bake French bread a few days a week in the basement of their home. They put the warm bread and rolls out on trays, put up a price list, and hang a French flag outside the entrance, indicating there’s bread for sale. Customers let themselves in, help themselves to whatever they’d like, and leave their payment in a coffee can. When the bread is gone for the day, the flag is taken down and the door is locked.
Another nearby place I appreciate is the small shop at Bailys Dairy at Pocopson Meadow Farm.
It’s actually close enough to where I live that I can hear the cows mooing when I’m outside my house. Milk, buttermilk, cream and butter are from their own cows; eggs are from a nearby farm. Sometimes there’s produce, sometimes there are baked goods, or honey or cheese, all from nearby providers. The shop is rarely staffed; there’s a notebook on the counter where you write down what you’re buying and the price. Leave your payment in the metal box on the counter.
Another place I love (and I’ll stop here) is quite different from these two, but still very special. Talula’s Table is a place that has received wide acclaim and been written about in numerous newspapers and national magazines.
It’s a gourmet grocery/cafe by day and a restaurant by night, where reservations at their single farm table and chef’s table must be made a year in advance. Yet, despite the publicity and kudos bestowed upon this place and its owner, Aimee Olexy, it’s a friendly, neighborhood cafe where one can meet up with friends for a really great cup of coffee or cappucino in the morning, a salad or a store-made bowl of soup for lunch, or bring in your own bottle of wine and get a nicely-paired cheese platter with accompaniments.
So, what are some of the special places in your area that you appreciate and enjoy supporting?
