Winter Park, FL Farmers Market

National Geographic recently posted a list of 10 world "food markets." I've only been to two (New York City's Union Square and London's Borough Market) -- time to make some vacation plans! Seriously though, many vacation destinations have great markets, if you only stop to look.

A few months ago, I was in the Orlando area (yes, to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter) but the true highlight of the trip was an afternoon spent in Winter Park, FL.

A small town north of Orlando, Winter Park has several great tourist sites, including the Morse Museum of American Art, a scenic boat tour and of course, the Saturday farmers market.

Set in an old train depot, literally across active Amtrak train tracks, the market was packed with people and produce.

But not all the produce was local. Oh sure, there were boxes of local citrus - but alongside were kiwi from Italy, beets from Michigan and artichokes from California. From what I've read, this situation - a mix of local and non-local items - is the case with markets across Florida.  

So I browsed and ended up getting:
-Two kiwis, imported from Italy
-Three heirloom tomatoes, grown locally
-A box of strawberries, also local
-A bag of the most amazing kettle corn (and I generally hate kettle corn)

The kettle corn was made fresh in front of me (I guess that makes it local?!) and was just the right combination of sweet and salt.

 

My biggest regret is that I couldn't justify buying an orchid and taking it home with me. There were at least three vendors across the market selling beautiful orchids at all price points. Maybe next time.

The Winter Park Farmers market is open on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is worth a visit if you're in the area.