If I lived in DC I’d go to Union Market once a week and stock up on stuff and eat, a lot. During our 4 day stay in the capital city, we were lucky enough to have our hip, cool cousin show us around a bit. On our last day we ventured over to the Union Market. I was told it was a must see before we left the city. Kind of like an indoor Brooklyn Flea without the vintage wares, Union Market was uber cool and full of delicious bits to see and enjoy.
Here’s a little look at what was inside…
The Righteous Cheese people. Isn’t this the coolest sign ever?! They had a wonderful assortment of artisanal cheeses. Check out their site to see why they’re Righteous. They offer gift baskets and cheese trays and they also have a cheese blog and newsletter. Hail to the cheese people!!!
Bountiful fresh produce and flowers, and the most unbelievable breads. I was kicking myself that I didn’t buy a few loaves of these rustic beauties to bring home. Low carb, no carb, blah blah blah – this is not the place. Just look at that bread! Nom nom nom!
It was a split decision on where to have lunch. Alan and I opted for bagels & lox from Buffalo Bergen and our daughter picked a muffaletta from Red Apron. Buffalo & Bergen had a New York City old-fashioned soda shop feel. I had to try their rhubarb soda and Alan had a real vanilla cream soda. I assume this is how they made them in the “old days,” with heavy cream… back when folks weren’t calorie conscious and enjoyed the finer things in life with reckless abandon. It was delicious!
The Red Apron is a hot spot in DC these days. Looking for killer charcuterie? They have it! Check out the muffaletta. Perfectly crispy bread, gooey with cheese, chopped olives and Red Apron’s own meats. I stole a bite and it was great.
There was a small stand with a wonderful assortment of spices. I regret leaving without some new spices more than the miss on picking up some bread. They had lots of unusual blends. The Za’atar caught my eye, I love this Middle Eastern mix. I generally make it myself (here’s link to my recipe), but theirs looked awesome! I liked how most of the spices were in these little plastic bags. I fill my spice jars at home and the little bags make for easy storing of extras. If you’re looking for a great way organize your spices, here’s my trick.
Desserts! We picked up a couple of cupcakes to go from Curbside Cupcakes… delicious! Look at the pretty sweets from Curbside below. Unfortunately, as often happens with foods I want to photograph, the cupcakes were eaten before I could snap a picture. There was also a fancy chocolate vendor and of course, gelato from Dolcezza Gelato. I picked dark chocolate and pistachio, yum.
One of the things that I love about these city style markets are the giftables. Each vendor sells something unique and personal that is perfect to give as a special gift. I always love all the packaging, too. In addition, they had a knife vendor selling all kinds of cutlery and they also did professional knife sharpening. Very cool.
I see another trip to Washington in my future and next time I will be prepared with a cooler and my reusable shopping bags in hand. Minus the humidity, Washington is such a great city. The Union Market is like a hipster style market in the middle of our nation’s capital. When we were leaving, they were setting up for a beer festival outside. Really? I need to live here. Awesome!
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