A trip to the JFX Farmer's Market

Anything before 11 a.m. on a Sunday is horrifically, unacceptably early for me. It is nearly impossible for me to wake up any earlier, especially when I’m going to bed after 3 a.m. on Saturday. It’s been quite the problem for me all summer, because I can never make it to any of the Baltimore area farmer’s markets before they close. Thanks to a recent assignment from my food editor at Baltimore magazine, I was finally able to make it yesterday.

The project was for me to write a short article about a pickle vendor at the Baltimore Farmer’s Market, every Sunday morning from 7 a.m. to noon underneath the JFX. The vendor is called “In a Pickle,” and sells all sorts of innovative variations on the classic pickle. My pre-determined 9 a.m. arrival time for me and my boyfriend Paul (he’s obsessed with pickles) was far too ambitious. We arrived closer to 11, but we still had plenty of time to browse (and there was still plenty of food to be sold!).

We wandered around the crowded, but lively market, in search of the pickle tent. We browsed vendors selling peaches, fresh berries (I bought some blackberries) and other fruits. I bought a chocolate chip cookie from a baker, too. There were also vendors selling fresh live crabs and prepared foods such as crepes, falafel, omelets, Asian food (a bit odd) and a Baltimore favorite, pit beef sandwiches. We were unimpressed with the pit beef, particularly because the vendors stuffed the beef between two slices of what appeared to be soggy Wonderbread.

After a bit, we finally found the pickle vendor, and were quite impressed. After waiting in the long line, we bought a pint of kosher dill pickles, one for Paul and one for my roommate (another pickle fan). Paul also bought a “pickle on a stick,” which is exactly what it says it is. I asked the man helping us where the pickles came from, and he responded, “Our pickles are grass-fed from Arizona.” At first I believed him.

I must confess that I’m not a huge pickle fan myself, but after trying a bite of Paul’s pickle on a stick, I have to say that it wasn’t half bad. The crisp crunchiness has a surprisingly clean flavor and wasn’t nearly as overpoweringly sour as I expected it to be.