When the Green City Market opens for the season Wednesday, health- and earth-conscious shoppers will descend on Lincoln Park to fill their reusable shopping bags with spring’s first bounty. Home-cooked meals featuring locally farmed, sustainable and organic seasonal products are sure to follow. But all of that shopping sure can make you hungry, and raw ramps aren’t much of a quick fix. Luckily, the market also has that covered. If hunger strikes while you’re shopping, check out these spots to score a super-fresh meal.
Smoothies
If you’re looking for a liquid breakfast, head directly to Seedling Orchard for an unfiltered apple juice-based smoothie ($5 for a 12-ounce smoothie). The South Haven, Mich., orchard will have its classic sweet-and-tart blend on hand along with mix-ins such as apple butter (coming soon: rhubarb, strawberries and fresh herbs). These smoothies are about as filling as any dairy version — and there are no mystery preservatives on the label.
Quiche
Chicago’s Floriole Bakery features quiche by the slice ($4.50-$5), including a local Swiss chard option and a Liberty Farms bacon-and-spring-onion combo. They’re fully cooked and ready to eat, or you can give ’em a quick zap at home. Later in the summer, look for mini-pizzas topped with roasted seasonal veggies and meats from market vendors ($5).
Savory tarts and pies
Though Dobra Bielinski and Stasia Hawyrszczuk, the mother-daughter duo behind Delightful Pastries, have been prepping their Euro-inspired goodies made with Midwestern ingredients in their Jefferson Park bakery since 1998, this year marks their Green City debut. Lunch-friendly eats include savory tarts and pies sliced into picnic-friendly slices. Look for options such as a tart of Nichols leeks and locally produced ricotta cheese($5), and a spinach-and-lamb pie with gruyere-laced Mornay sauce ($6).
Crepes
Support a good cause and get your crepe fix at the Green City Market’s crepe booth, where staffers are mostly culinary students and proceeds help support the market. Crepes are made with market ingredients; you can get your stone-ground, whole-wheat organic crepe plain, with butter and sugar or with herbs and cheese. Once things start sprouting, look for strawberries, blueberries and other yummy fillings ($2-$6).
Burgers
You can’t miss the enticing smell of natural hardwood charcoal smoke wafting from the Eat Green Foods/Sunday Dinner booth. Staffers grill your ground beef patty (from Heartland Meats) or veggie burger (made with produce from Green Acres Farm and Nichols Farms) to order ($8-$10). You won’t get any boring toppings here — expect house-made ketchup, seasonal extras like purple-garlic aioli, and cheeses from Wisconsin’s Brunkow Cheese Cooperative and Prairie Fruits Farm in Central Illinois.
Wraps, quesadillas and more
Craving veggies? Tiny Greens Organic Farm from Urbana serves up tasty treats such as a crunchy vegan wrap loaded with ingredients including sprouted green peas, lentils, cowpeas, chickpeas and asparagus, and topped with sunflower sauce and layered-on fresh greens ($7.50-$9). Also look for made-to-order quesadillas on sprouted wheat tortillas with micro-cilantro greens, fresh veggies, salsa verde and jalapeno Brun-uusto cheese from Brunkow Cheese Cooperative ($9-$9.50).
Cheese and bread
Make your own cheese plate with a little help from Capriole, a Greenville, Ind., maker of farmstead goat cheese. For a creamy cheese with a subtle kick, we like the bourbon-soaked, chestnut leaf-wrapped O’Banon ($9). Let the slightly sweet and buttery (with a musty edge) Piper’s Pyramide ($13), and the smooth, mild chevre with herbes de Provence ($8.50) round out your selection. Then head over to award-winning Evanston baker Jory Downer’s Bennison’s Bakeries for a just-baked baguette ($3) or an olive sourdough loaf ($6).
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metromix@ tribune.com
