Haymarket Goodies

bad cell phone pic

Every Friday and Sunday, the Haymarket T stops returns to the roots of its name by hosting Haymarket! Haymarket isn't like most farmer's markets where you get to buy oodles of different types of veggies, maybe some seedlings, or homemade jam.  Instead, its leftovers on a super sale.  Its basically what is leftover from the previous week's shipments and couldn't be sold to grocery stores.  This is isn't the finest produce in the world, nor is it organic or all that environmentally friendly.  What it does allow me to do is indulge in food like raspberries and avocados that I can't normally afford.  I like to go on Friday afternoons after I get out of work at Charlestown High (located not far from that area).  This is when the food is a bit more fresh, and less picked over, than on Saturday mornings (or worse Saturday afternoons).

So after sifting through piles of produce, avoiding mold and decay this is what I made out with:

The whopping total for this loot?
$12.75 (without haggling, I just don't have it in me all that often...)

To satisfy my must-always-get-a-bargain-gene I decided to compare to the supermarket price:
                                         Supermarket                                         Haymarket (from what I remember...)
Avocados:                           $2.50 each ($5 total)                               $1.50 each ($3 total)
Raspberries                         $2.00 a pack ($6 total)                            $1.00 a pack ($3 total)
Blackberries                        $2.00 a pack ($4 total)                            $0.50 a pack ($1 total)
Corn on the Cob                 $0.50 each ($2 total)                               $0.25 each ($1 total)
Cilantro                               $1.50                                                      $0.75
Limes*                                $1                                                           $1 for 8
Cherries*                            $3 per pound                                           $3 per pound

TOTAL                               $22.50                                                     $12.75
* I don't know the going rate for cherries and limes at the grocery store because I've never bought them there before, so just to be fair I'm pricing them the same as Haymarket-- which probably isn't realistic.


WOWZA! I saved almost $10 buckaroos-- maybe I shouldn't feel so bad about that calamari after all.  Even if I didn't save all that much, Haymarket is fun.  There's yelling, different languages, a bucket of fish heads on the ground, and people slurping fresh oysters.  Its just lively and puts a smile on my face :)

and yes, there will be a tasty recipe for guacamole coming soon (the avocados are just ripening now...)