Critic's Review
I heard about the so-called "Yellow Green" Farmer's Market and I've been there a couple of time in the past month; first just to check it out, and then again to have brunch at ChillBar.
Getting there isn't completely obvious, as there is no exit on 95 at Taft Street. You have to get off 95 at Sheridan East and take the first right to get over to Taft. Then there's a 90% chance you'll have to wait for a train to go by (I got 2 out of 2) and then you'll see it on the right.
If you go mid-day, don't even bother driving up to the lot. If you get there at 3pm or so, or very early, you may get a spot in the lot.
The Market is in a big warehouse, so it's an option even when it's raining. I might avoid it if it's really windy, or 100 degrees.
Park your car, and walk up to the warehouse, all free of charge.
They have some big, cool murals.
Despite the photos on their web site, the place is a big warehouse, and it's like walking around a big warehouse. Rows of little spaces, it's a lot like a trade show.
As expected, there's a lot of vegetable stands. Some of them clean up and wax their produce, and others look like they just pulled it out of the ground.
Whether you're opposed to wax or not, stuff will keep a lot longer if they're waxed, and they certainly look nicer. Some of the stuff looked awful; I'm not buying shriveled greens because they are supposedly organic. One thing I overhear more than once was doubt that the vegetables were really organic. Trust is an issue an what is viewed as unregulated markets, but you do have to get a license to serve food and you can't advertise "Organic" without the proper certifications.
One thing that struck me was that it wasn't any less expensive than a supermarket, and in many cases the produce didn't look that great. I was surprised by the number of items that had no prices; This isn't the Fresh Market crowd who pays whatever price is charged.
You can buy stuff other than produce; there are a lot of guys selling pickles and olives and other pickled stuff. One place had oddball spices in small quantities where can be useful if you do any cooking.
There's also lots of cheap clothes and stuff you can hang on your walls.
And a lot of junk too. Lots of junk.
In Mid-Summer, it's pretty hot walking around a warehouse, and there's no central A/C here. They do have "cooling stations" that keep the place manageable.
Other than produce, the main thing at this market is food. A lot of small food counters; you can get a cup of iced coffee for $3.50; guys selling fish and more than 1 Ceviche bar. The fish didn't look so hot; nothing I wanted to carry around with me on a 96 degree day.
There's a little cuban cafe selling inexpensive food. It doesn't look real comfortable though.
There a 2 "restaurants" in the back, a Mexican place and the ChillBar. Both way too expensive for a Green Market. A Cafe at a Green Market shouldn't cost more than a fancy restaurant on Las Olas.
They even have a DJ, although it doesn't seem to be a big draw.
I didn't really see anything I wanted to eat until I saw the "Gumbo" sign.
There are signs all over rather than a menu, so figuring out what to order was a conundrum. I settled on the Jambalaya, which they inexplicably serve by default with turkey sausage. He asked if I wanted andouille, which seemed like a silly question. They he asked how spicy I wanted it. You have to question the authenticity of the food when they serve blank stuff with turkey sausage unless you ask for something else.
He asked if I wanted it to go, and I said yes but I wanted to try a little now. Apparently they sell it cold for take home and they don't have anything ready to eat. I had to wait quite a while for it. They gave it to me on a place, so taking some of it home wasn't going to be an option.
My first taste and I know all that I had to know. Pedestrian stuff. It wasn't very good andouille, and it wasn't spicy at all. I basically ate the sausage and whatever rice got caught on the fork, but there was no point to the calories here. This isn't New Orleans cooking.
Outside the warehouse, there's a wine store, which I didn't check out.
You can even guy solar panels; I'm not sure how these guys fit in with the rest of the place. It would be nice if they had an Auto Service center here so you could get your tires rotated while you walked around.
If you have an idea and want to start up your own business, there is space available.
All in all, an interesting place to check out once in a blue moon. My impression is that it's just a lot of people trying to make some money; no big ideas or huge savings.