Call me disappointed.
One of the things I’ve been looking forward to is being able to shop at the Lancaster County Farmer’s Market down the road from us. They’re only open three days a week and – I was always working those three days. Years ago, with a different work schedule, I could get down there on Wednesdays – but that really was years ago.
Today, I decided it was time to see what they had to offer!
They open at 8, I got there about 9, and there were more people eating at the cafe and drinking coffee than shopping. I was able to see the offerings really easily – and the incredible prices. Now… I always remember them as being a bit pricier than the local Acme, but nothing extreme. They are now extreme. $30.00/lb for a strip steak? Be serious. $8.99/lb for bacon? Ouch. And there’s no pedigree with that, either. There was nothing there that couldn’t be found elsewhere for a whole lot less.
Their website states:
In the early thirties, a group of farmers from the Ephrata, PA area discussed the possibilities of opening a farmers market on the Mainline of Philadelphia. They perceived that this area was willing to pay for the value added in quality Lancaster dressed poultry. These “fully drawn” birds were cleaned much as they are today, but far superior to the standard of that time.
They definitely knew their market.
Okay… they’re expensive. I did find a few things to get, however. Rittenhouse Farms Poultry is where I have bought a few 33 pound turkeys for Thanksgiving in the past. Never an issue with the quality or the service. I bought 2 lbs of hot wings – not hot, at all, mind you – for $2.99/lb. and then bought 2 full bone-in breasts and a 4lb broiler – for $45.00. 7 old-fashioned skin-on hot dogs and a pound of breakfast sausage links was $18.00 at S. Clyde Weaver’s. A loaf of bread, 6 hot dog buns, and two bagels was $14.00. A pint of figs and a pint of blackberries – $14.00. Yeah… I paid $6.99 for a pint of blackberries.
I spent a hundred dollars.
My Gentile’s trips run about $35.00 – for bags and bags of produce. My Reading Terminal trips can easily hit $100.00 but I have so much cheese, sausage, meat, poultry, and fish that I struggle getting back to the train. I wasn’t struggling with this.
So… I don’t see me running down there often. While I can be ridiculously extravagant in my food shopping, there has to be a perceived value to something. I didn’t feel that, today. Perhaps the reality of now living on a fixed income is starting to set in. Or, more likely, my unexplainable cheap streak decided to shine through, this morning, and kept me from spending more.
Whatever the reason, it’s not going to be a regular part of the weekly shopping, although I’m sure I’ll be down there, again, at some point.
And the wings?!? They were okay. We brushed them with lots of our homemade hot sauce when we reheated them for dinner.
And there’s more for lunch, tomorrow…