Historic Eastern Market, Washington DC

As someone who works in the food industry, I am always asked to recommend unique places to eat and shop. When it comes to food purchases for home cooking, I’ve found that more people are venturing out to local farmers markets and other international stores sourcing unique ingredients to try at home. This is a welcoming trend that will surely change lives for the better.

This weekend, I asked a few of my friends to take a trip with me out to the famous Eastern Market in Washington, DC. This market is far more than a market…it is a destination where you can linger for several hours and soak up the culture and vibe that makes Washington DC what it is. It’s located in the southeast quadrant and is a community hub for the Capitol Hill neighborhood. It is the oldest, continually operated fresh food public market for over 136 years.

In April 2007, the market sustained $20 million dollars in damages after an electrical fire ravaged through this much beloved historic building. The heaviest damage was in the South Hall of the market, the portion occupied by vendors’ stalls, where the roof suffered a partial collapse. The outdoor weekend market was disrupted but never closed. Many of the food vendors re-opened for business within weeks of the fire, selling their products outside of the building. Later that year, the city completed a temporary market annex, known as the “East Hall,” on the opposite side of 7th Street, which housed the vendors until the reopening of the main market building on June 26, 2009.

I was really looking forward to going to this market, and my excitement was contagious. Two of us were coming from the Annapolis area, and you’d think that it would be a bit of a hike but it wasn’t at all. My friend Maya and I drove to the New Carollton metro stop conveniently located right off 495, parked in their roomy garage and hopped on the metro. About 10 stops later, we got off at the Eastern Market stop, crossed the street and VOILA…we were there.

Upon arriving, you are overwhelmed at the mere size of this market. It’s so much bigger than anything else I have been to so far. There are so many fruit and vegetable vendors outside in addition to artists and crafters of all kinds.

Some of the things you will find are the more traditional homemade jams, fruits and vegetables of all kinds, homemade cheese, homemade yogurt, and some hard to find items like HUGE popcorn kernels to make at home and fiddlehead ferns sold for $27/pound…these are really hard to find outside of New England.

Other items also include chunks of naturally scented homemade soaps…one that caught my eye was made with a uniquely shaped loofah sponge inside and almost looked like a sand dollar you’d pick up at the beach.

I also spoke to some of the vendors who told me that many antique dealers are there each Sunday…so if you are an antique collector, make sure to visit on Sunday.

Food samples are available at the various stands so you can taste some of these amazing items before committing your hard earned cash. That brings me to my next point…make sure to take cash with you. Some vendors do take credit cards, but cash makes for a quicker transaction and also gives you a little buying power to negotiate pricing.

As I mentioned, there are many artists and crafters selling everything from paintings, jewelry, handmade serving utensils, unique soaps and one very amazing artist who made animal figures out of aluminum cans…you can see Manatho at work below.

There is also a great flea market across the street, and the one vendor that caught my eye here was a very talented and creative man who used old tin ceilings from historic buildings to make mirrors and fantastically unique wall décor. On the back of each one of a kind piece, he documented where that tin ceiling actually came from…this well documented provenance made you feel as though you were purchasing a piece of art. Some of his work appears below…

Some other finds include antique door knobs and more metal artwork…

Once you enter the main hall with all of the food vendors, you will see many people doing their regular shopping for the week. Stocking up on meat of all kinds, uniquely flavored sausage like this one…turkey sausage with raspberry and maple…can you say YUM!

Prepared foods are very limited, and in the main hall you only have a few places to choose from. You will find the famous blueberry pancakes at the Market Lunch counter, but make sure to go early because they do not sell them throughout the day. Here you will also find some delicious and economically priced sandwiches like grilled chicken, great burgers, fried haddock, shredded BBQ, crabcake and softshell crab sandwiches as well. Other stalls scattered throughout the main hall sell fresh roast chicken wraps, some great looking grilled sausages and paella. There are several outside vendors selling amazing and HUGE soft pretzels, fried donuts, homemade lemonade, crepes of all kinds and po boy sandwiches…

If you are in the area, you must visit. Check out their website for directions and scheduled events.  Local Top Chefs Carla Hall, Nikki Cascone and Ariane Duarte were on hand over the Memorial Day weekend to do some cooking demos, so make sure to check their calendar of events before you go.

Historic Eastern Market Phone: (202) 698-5253