Cleveland Foodiemoon: West Side Market

When people asked us where we were going for our honeymoon we would tell them Cleveland and we mostly got looks that were a combination of confusion and pity in return. Pittsburghers are not known for loving Cleveland, in fact because of ye old football rivalry, we are supposed to despise Cleveland. Sorry fellow 'burghers we loved it!

One of our favorite places in Cleveland was the West Side Market. Mr. P and I love to buy local produce when we can. Living in the city we were part of a community supported agriculture program where 15lbs of produce was delivered to us once a week. Now that we live on a farm we take advantage of the few fruits and veggies we have around and get most of our produce from the Amish market down the road. The Westside Market was huge and delicious and amazing. We even ran into some friends there!

Mrs. Pommegranite and...
Mrs. Avocado!

In an outdoor corridor there were probably a couple dozen vendors selling produce. Much of which waas local, some of which came with a Dole sticker (like my Pineapple relations). There was so much to take in and take home!
Have you ever heard of a pear apple? Neither had we, it's a hybrid pear and apple. Creative name, no? Guess what it tastes like? Like a fruit with an apple momma and a pear daddy, seriously wackadoodle.

Inside the market were a couple dozen more vendors selling meats, cheeses and all sorts of other goodies.
Mr. Pineapple doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, but he had to grab one of these Ohio favorites, a buckeye.

The market is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Many of the restaurants in Cleveland buy and cook only locally grown food. Which is wonderful and I hope it is a trend that catches on! Even if you don't buy anything the market is just a cool place to browse, a feast for the eyes I suppose.
Do you and yours enjoy going to local markets?