"The Best Kept Secret in Beantown"

As much as I love shopping at Whole Foods, it's a pretty expensive habit. I don't even want to tell you how many times I go in there a week. Somehow, even when I don't particularly need anything, I find myself stopping in "for just a few things" on my way home at night. Or, I'll go in to grab a yogurt or a Larabar when I don't have anything on hand for breakfast before work. I try to forget that I'm paying excessively inflated prices for products that come from humanely raised animals or items that don't use artificial sweeteners, but my bank account certainly doesn't. Simply put, I keep going back because the place has a great atmosphere--I just feel healthier as I browse the aisles full of organic items. A year ago, I never would have tried soy ice cream. These days, I find it hard not to buy a pint every time I'm in the store. Seriously, you should try it--it's delicious! Best of all is sample day, which occurs every Saturday afternoon at 4pm. When you're in there often enough, as I am, you figure out this sort of thing. I like to take my time as I do my shopping, and here and there I'll enjoy a few bites of things I can't afford, like scallops and almond butter for $13 a jar (Not together! What an unappetizing combination that would be. Last weekend I enjoyed my scallop in a soy glaze and my almond butter with an organic Fuji apple slice).

This brings me to my point. Everyone knows about Whole Foods--you don't need me to tell you about it. What I can tell you about, however, is the best kept secret in Beantown. It is not, contrary to the opinion of The Honest Bro, this blog (though if that isn't a coveted title, I don't know what is). What IS the best kept secret, in my opinion, is Haymarket. OK, maybe it's not the best kept secret, but I've been looking for a way to work Haymarket into my blog for a while now. Every Friday and Saturday, vendors at this open air market cram their little booths with all sorts of (non-organic) produce into an environment that is suspiciously reminiscent of a third world country. Actually, I haven't ever been to a third world country, so maybe I'm being unfairly judgemental. Sure, the whole place is crowded and dirty. Sure, someone is likely to step on your feet and chastise you for being in their way in Spanish. Sure, some of the vendors will yell at you if you try to select your own produce. What's not to love about this place?

I've found that as long as you navigate Haymarket properly, it is totally worth the dismal shopping experience. First of all, it is key to go either very early or very late to avoid the heaviest crowds. I'd say the general vicinity should be off limits around noon on a Saturday. If you go early, you get the first pick of fruits and vegetables. If you go late, you get better deals, since they just want to sell everything before it goes bad. Either way, you can get enough food to feed a small army. There are also some vendors that sell meats, fish, cheese, breads, and spices, but I haven't tried those, so I will focus on the produce portion of the market. Also, the raw fish doesn't look that appealing to be honest, and I'd be worried about getting food poisoning since it is sitting out all day.


One of the main guidelines I have for shopping at Haymarket is that you should always buy from vendors that let you choose your produce. If not, they will typically display the ripest fruit in front, and then have a box in the back full of bruised or otherwise undesirable produce that they will use for their customers. If you try to take from the display, prepare to be cursed at by the vendor. I wasn't kidding when I said it wasn't a friendly place to shop. Second, it is wise to walk past all the booths once before buying anything, since chances are, the vendor two spots down is selling 4 apples for a dollar, while the place you are considering now is only selling 2 for the same price. Even though it is so cheap, I always feel kind of stupid when I could have paid half price if I had just walked ten more steps. Those extra quarters always come in handy at the laundromat, especially because the machine that converts dollar bills at the place I go to has been out of order recently, and the convenience store across the street refuses to make change. But I digress. Speaking of money though, it is a good idea to check your change at Haymarket, since the vendors aren't always so great at basic math. I have a few vendors that I go back to every week, where I know I'm getting a good deal. This one guy will give me six sweet potatoes for a dollar. That's huge! In general, I can get everything I need for the week for only $6 or so. That will buy me 8 apples, 6 bananas, 6 sweet potatoes, a couple heads of lettuce, 3 or 4 tomatoes, and a quart of strawberries. At Whole Foods, you can expect to pay at least $30 for all of that--probably more. Haymarket is even open in the winter. They put up tarps over the stands and add space heaters to make the cold a little more bearable. Fewer people go, so the crowds aren't as bad. Honestly, it's amazing! If you haven't been there yet, you're really missing out. I would advise that you make a trip this weekend. While I will always enjoy shopping at Whole Foods, I wouldn't miss my weekly trip to Haymarket.