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Union Square Farmers Market
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Sat. 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
18 reviews for Union Square Farmers Market
This is my favorite farmer's market . . . it's becoming a ritual for my hubby and I to walk here on Saturday mornings to get fresh salad makings. You can get a variety of lettuces for only $2 each! I'm looking forward to later in the summer when there will be more of a variety of veggies. Fresh tomatoes are my favorite thing in the summertime, and I don't have a garden of my own.
The girl who works at the Taza Chocolate booth was very very nice and informative. We bought $20 worth of chocolate, but it is simply the best chocolate!
I like that there is lots of colored chalk on hand for the little kids to draw all over the sidewalk. There's just such a nice vibe about this market, and I loved the live music that was played on the opening day!
Shopping List:
-Fresh arugula
-Homemade organic pesto
-Top round cut of steak from grass-fed Massachusetts-raised cow
-Fresh snap peas
-Sage
-Organic fresh sourdough artisan bread
-Wild mushrooms
I've crossed off all of the above at the Union Square Farmers Market, my favorite place for local meat and produce come market season.
It's on the smaller side but on a sunny Saturday morning the ambiance here is great and the food is always amazing. Everything you'll find comes from a Massachusetts farm. Closes around 1PM on Saturday so get your butt over here early!
Being from a farm town, I done diggity dig farmers markets. But I was so sad and disappointed by this little market near my home. First off, Little is being nice, it's rather tiny. I do dig the live music that plays there, thus 2 stars.
I hate, repeat HATE, the Whole Foods mentality that one needs to sell their children in order to afford to buy an apple just to be organic and natural, what? do we all drive Volvo's and talk about humanitarian causes as if we've ever really been there and know more about it then what we saw on the Discovery channel? This is the mentality and atmosphere I felt while browsing the goods at this market.
Do yourself a favor, visit the Haymarket FM, much cheaper and more of a down to earth attitiude. I would love to start this year off by eating my words on this one, because this little market is just a hop skippity jump from my house, but I don't see it happening, two years in a row the prices, attitude and general feeling of this farmers market is sour at best.
Yes, this market is small, maybe you won't find what your looking for. This isn't exactly the place to go grocery shopping but what I did find made me incredibly happy:
Caraway seed rye bread
Hearty rye bread
Apple and rhubarb pies
A meat vendor that takes orders and has relatively comparable grocery store meat prices (plus they have soup bones, knackwurst, hocks, liver, kidney, hearts... everything!)
Seedlings of all varietals and sizes
A chocolate vendor w/ samples
Fresh rhubarb, spinach, and lettuce
This being an 8 min. bus ride away, I don't see a reason why I wouldn't stop by every weekend or every other. I'm really looking forward to ordering meat for pick-up.
If you're interested in ordering meat for a sat. pick-up, their website is: http://stillmansfarm.com. (Not meant to be an advertisement, I'm just genuinely excited about their meat selection.)
This is my idea of heaven. This market has everything I could want, and the best selection. There's very little competition for produce items, almost every farm has a different selection. Union Square Farmers Market Managers and staff put together one of the best farmers markets in greater Boston, this one has ArtsUnion, live music, community integration, and a real emphasis on "Made in Somerville"
Love it!
Nothing like supporting your local farmers, and this is a great way of doing it. Yes, earlier in the season the selection is a bit limited (being as they're 'local farmers', the weather isn't conducive to all veggies earlier in the season), the selection improves each week.
In addition to the great tasting vegetables, there are super baked goods, meats, breads, Somerville made chocolates, flowers, knife sharpening, herbs. etc.
Could use a few more produce vendors, but the ones there were all high quality, and the market was getting better by the end of the 2005 season (its first). The music and occasional craft tables are nice, adding to the feel that this was more than produce, a reason to come bump into your neighbors in the square. Activities for kids, breads and pies, and specialty Asian vegetables are all notably featured. Plus, show many local businesses that you bought from the market and they'll give you a discount!
What I like most of all is that it's on Saturday, unlike most farmers' markets that happen at odd times during the week. All in all, a fun new reason to come down to Union Square.
Gives me a reason to get up early on Saturdays.
This year, there's a fresh bread vendor selling a variety of really good whole-grain breads. And I don't know, it seems like the produce is very good this year. There wasn't much available in June when the market started -- vendors told me the growing season was delayed -- but I've been buying peaches and fresh tomatoes all through July & August and, matched with that fresh bread, it's a really good breakfast.
The prices are higher than say, Haymarket or Market Basket. But you are supporting local farmers, so that's a warm fuzzy feeling for you. Plus the produce is good quality.
Hit the farmer's market first thing and then go around the corner to the Korean grocery, or Capone's Deli or the meat market a little further up the way, or have coffee at Sherman's, or try the Brazilian cafe right next to Capone's.
I stopped by this past Sunday and they've started up a great little farmers market already. A few farm stands, plus two bakeries (one bread, one pies) and a number of local artists (jewelry, crafts, etc.) And, unfortunately for me, a folk-singing duo. Yeouch. But I did pick up some beautiful fresh fava beans and aromatic purple basil.
Stop in at Union Bakery for a cup of strong, thin Brazilian coffee and browse the market.
Don't get me wrong. I admit it, I like farmers markets as much as the next heirloom tomato eatin' , hemp tote bag carryin', NPR listenin' bobo champagne socialist. But I'm astounded that I just paid 6 bucks for three locally grown peaches. I must say, they were absolutely delicious but I paid a premium. I used to think the only way to get price gouged was at Wholefoods. But now I know better.
I can't wait for the market to start again this year (June 9th!). While its not the biggest market around, some weekends when the weather was cloudy or rained, it was as small as 3 vendors, the convenience factor of it being on a saturday helps tremendously. The Central Sq market stops at 6pm on a weekday, cmon.
Toscaninis had a small bread & baked goods selection, in addition to the veggie & fresh herb selections from several local farms. Some weekends have live music, children's performers and craft fairs.
If you're coming from outside Union, you can hit up Shermans for coffee first, and then stop by any of the fab ethnic supermarkets on the way home (reliable for korean, capone for pasta, and several indian & brazilian stores).
Is it June yet so I can walk half a block and get a ton of fresh veggies for cheap? I love having this so close to the house, and intend on using it a lot for groceries as soon as it's back. Also awesome, stands with J.P. honey, Taza chocolate, and good breads!
I prefer to support the local farmer, and this farmer's market is open on Saturdays, unlike the one in Davis Square, which brings out the whole community. Unfortunately, there are only a handful of vendors, and it took me less than five minutes to browse the market. Since i live nowhere near this place, it's hard for me to justify shopping here often, but i did like the ambience of the neighborhood. And if you have time, the Neighborhood Restaurant is in the same area and worth stopping in for a meal.
love, love, love this farmer's market! it's so hippie and cute, with lots of families and a ton of options. you can buy pretty much all the produce you need here, AND --- it's open on saturdays!
p.s. you can use food stamps (ebt) here!! how awesome is that?
I love farmers markets and have friends who are farmers so I believe in supporting the local growers. That said, this place was disappointing.
The fruit and vegetables were only okay but over priced. This is probably not the farmers fault. I assume running the whole thing ends up costing quite a bit and driving up prices.
The bread was terrible. We got a sour dough round that turned out to be about the diameter of a pancake and as hard as week old bread from any bakery I've ever gone to. I ended up cutting myself trying to slice it using a very good bread knife.
I'll just go to Wholefoods or drive to a market further out from the city from now on.
A bit small but still a great market. I live right up the street so it is super convenient and a great way to spend a Saturday morning browsing the goods and talking with neighbors. I especially love the Toscanini's stand, I can grab one of their awesome ham & cheese croissants and munch on it while browsing. Get there early because the produce goes fast. There are usually crafts for kids to do so it's family friendly and they sometimes have live performers playing. Check it out!
A bit small and limited for my taste... but I love farmer's markets and I like the fact that this one is open on Saturday.
Don't bother with this farmers' market. It is a BIG TIME rip-off.
The bread sold is so hard that it will break your teeth. The only thing I can think to do with it is to give it to kids to play street hockey with. Even the birds can't eat that stuff.
The vegetables are either (a) of very poor quality and sad looking or (b) extremely expensive. The meats for sale are at least 1/2 times more expensive at the farmers' market than they are at even the most expensive place to buy meats.
There are vendors selling crappy, flea market crafts.
And then there is attitude.... Boy is that place filled with ATTITUDE... You know, the Politically Correct sort of attitude.... Pure narcissism!
