Hamilton's Awesome Farmer's Market

The weekly grocery shop - to many people the thought of grocery shopping can be both daunting and painful.  Crowded aisles, barely ripe produce, vacuum packed meat from a factory farm, long lines at the checkout, and if you have a question...good luck!

I spent some time at the Hamilton Farmer's Market where shopping is much more human experience.



The Hamilton Farmers' Market was founded in 1837 (over 175 years old!) in a lot at the corner of York and James Streets and has been in continuous operation since then. The market was originally an outdoor market where farmers would set up their wagons, and later their trucks packed with local produce.

The current location which is nearby, and attached to Jackson Square and the library is a 55,000 square foot facility housing meat, fish, and produce vendors as well as other vendors that sell flowers, coffee, olive oil, dried goods, baked goods and lots more.

The location is highly accessible by transit (only a block from James North and Just North of Main), there is inexpensive parking right across the road and your first hour of parking in that lot is free with a stamp from a market vendor.

Great Food - Real People

For me, going to a farmers' market brings back memories of my childhood.  I grew up surrounded by farmers, they were our neighbours, my best friend as a child was the son of a dairy farmer and I even set up a road side stand a few times to sell produce from our own garden. 

In the summertime when we wanted fresh vegetables we either picked them from our own garden or bought them from a neighbouring farm.  There was one farm that sold the best asparagus, and another that had the sweetest corn and it was always worth driving down the long laneway to the old century home where the woman that lived there sold the most flavourful strawberries.   Sometimes these transactions were anonymous; leaving money in a tin can for a dozen cobs of corn at a roadside stand set up each morning by a farmer.  

More often than not however these visits were as much about the conversations my parents would have about the weather, goings-on in the community, the freshness of the produce, and how best to prepare it.

Get Connected with Your Food (and maybe make some new friends)

Growing up in the country, surrounded by farmers I was raised feeling really connected to the people that grew our food.  Shopping at Hamilton's Farmer's market makes me feel that connection again.  Many of the stall owners are family run with more than one generation serving customers, and some of these families have been there for several generations.

The vendors at the Farmers' Market are people that care about the food they produce, and unlike a big chain grocery store, they can give you helpful advice on how to prepare your food and what to serve with it.  I stopped by the market on Friday and met a few few of them.

Sam's Cheese and Meats

You're not going to meet better people than at Sam's Cheese and Meats.  Founded by Sam Buscarino in 1959 and now run by his two daughters and their children, Sam's has been a fixture at the market for 57 years.  They've seen a lot of changes at the market over the years to be sure, but one thing that they can agree on is how much they enjoy the connections they make with their customers.  "We have customers that have been coming here to our stall for years, and we look forward to seeing them...we're always here..it's not like at a grocery store where you could go for weeks and not see the same employee"

Sam's has an awesome selection of cheeses and cured meats including some rather tasty prize winning bacon.

Dilly's

Dilly's is another family business that has been around the market for over FIVE generations.  In fact their family has been a part of the market since it opened in 1835.  At Dilly's you can find a mind boggling variety of dried goods, nuts and speciality cooking items including several types of cinnamon, syrups and health dietary supplements.  I tried the Garlic chips which are roasted dried garlic buds and they were delicious  (They also sell dry roasted Okra product that uses the same process).  Dilly's prepares or packages most of their products or they buy farmer direct.  

Just down the aisle from their dried foods stall Dilly's also has also sells fresh organic fruit and produce.   In the fall you will find all kinds of fresh local produce including beautiful heirloom tomatoes and potatoes.  Right now you will find all kinds of local root vegetables as well as herb plants and lots more.

Pokeh

The Hamilton Farmers' Market also is home to a number of food stalls that serve meals and some of them are pretty unique.  One of the most recent additions to the market is the only place that I know of that makes poke...I'll be honest, I had never heard of poke before today. But Salar Madadi, who opened Pokeh in November told me that Poke is a Hawaiian food (wikipedia calls it a fish salad)  that is a combination of fish and vegetables and rice - He enjoyed it when he travelled to California, but couldn't find a place that served it in Canada and so he took the opportunity to open a stall in the market...that's right the only place to try poke in Canada may very well be at Hamilton Farmers' Market!

Salar Madadi (centre) and staff of Pokeh

More deliciousness

In the same area as Pokeh you can find small batch ice cream, fresh made tacos, and some of the best Ramen noodle bowls in the city.  Upstairs and just to the right of the entrance to the Market be sure not to miss Sensational Samosas who's Persian Soup is a local award winner.  Sensational Samosas serves a wide variety of middle eastern, south American, Asian and south Asian inspired foods and is always busy.

Finally...If you want to start your visit to the market right.  Walk through the front door and look to your left and ask for a pain au chocolat from De La Terre - delicious.  

From fruit to flowers tacos to tea, and coffee to cauliflower, the Hamilton farmers' market is really an opportunity to turn the weekly chore of grocery shopping into an enjoyable and social outing that you can look forward to and learn from.

Market Hours

The Market is open year-round, four days a week:
Tuesday from 8 am to 6 pm
Thursday from 8 am to 6 pm
Friday from 8 am to 6 pm
Saturday from 7 am to 5 pm

The Market is closed on Mondays, Wednesdays, Sundays and all statutory holidays

The Market is also wheelchair accessible.

What Is Hamilton?  The Awesome Farmer's Market