The Rochester
Public Market can be noisy, crowded, and fishy, but that is part of the vibrancy
and spirit that make it a unique experience. Where else in Rochester is it
almost too crowded to move for hours at a time? To avoid the Saturday crowds,
join a number of chefs that shop on Thursdays (it’s also open Tuesday and
Thursday mornings), when parking is much easier. A bonus: Market prices are
often a fraction of grocery-store prices.
The Market is celebrating its 100th anniversary this
year, with a centennial party on June 4 and 5, 2005. There is a real sense of
history here. Shoppers still travel the same cobblestone streets that in the
early days would be covered with 2000 teams of horses from farms in Irondequoit
and other suburbs. Now the farms are mostly in adjoining counties, and farmers
leave at 3:30 in the morning to arrive in time for Saturday morning shoppers.
One farmer that comes from Williamson is Louie
Chelini, who drives each week with his son, granddaughter, and other family
members. I met Louie quite a few years ago when I learned that his corn was an
ingredient in one of my favorite dishes, a corn chowder with lobster at
Brasserie Restaurant. I’ve been buying a dozen or two ears from Louie every
chance I get. I’ll start asking him about the corn’s progress months before
harvest arrives.
In this anniversary year, there will be a sit-down
restaurant returning to the Market. For decades there was Jimmy’s, which served
as a gathering place for politicians, activists, and other hungry people. Now
Java Joe’s coffee shop is expanding its slot along Commission House Row. Java’s
Cafรฉ will be the first non-wholesale business open seven days a week for
breakfast and lunch, featuring the produce of the Market.
These buildings on the edge of the Market near Union
Street house some of my favorite haunts, like Rich Ports Bakery, Vince
Giordano’s Cheese and Olive shop, JonJohn’s Kitchen, Fare Game, and a new tea
vendor.
This article appears in Mar 23-29, 2005.
