Uptown 23rd Farmer's Market, Oklahoma City OK

I’ve talked before about my love for farmer’s markets. I love the idea of buying from local farmers and producers, rather than big chains and corporations. There was one in Baltimore I went to quite often when I lived there. It was a hike from my house in College Park, but to me it was worth the monthly trip. Last month I was in Flower Mound, TX visiting friends, and did a review of my Saturday morning at the Dallas Farmer’s Market. 

Back in mid-May I had seen something pop up on Facebok about the Uptown 23rd Farmer’s Market, located in OKC. It’s open the last Sunday of the month from May-October. My plan had been to go at the end of May, but OSU hosted the baseball regionals so I stayed in Stillwater for that instead.

I had gone to church that Sunday morning at St. Joseph Old Cathedral, located just steps from the Oklahoma City National Memorial. If you’ve never been to the memorial, you really need to go. It’s such a moving and beautiful tribute to the 168 lives that were lost in 1996. The church is a piece of history in and of itself, as it didn’t suffer any damage, despite being right across the street from the building. There’s also a beautiful statue in remembrance of the victims.

After church, I headed towards uptown. The market is about a 15-minute drive from downtown OKC, and really an extremely direct route, straight up Walker Ave.

When I went to the Dallas market, I didn’t take a recycled bag with me. Big mistake. And they actually include that as one of their tips. I wasn’t making that error a second time, so I brought along a bag, and it was extremely helpful.

The Market is on Walker Ave, between 23rd and 24th.  They close down both Walker and 24th for the market, and it’s open from 11am – 4pm. I arrived just shortly after 11. I try to always get to farmer’s markets early so I can get the best choice of produce and goods. There was already a pretty good crowd there. Unlike the Dallas market, that is under a permanent structure, this market is out in the open. Which of course is great, except when its 10 million degrees as it was that day. I’m so happy I was wearing a flowy sundress, because IT WAS HOT. One of the best things I saw was the first tent, a local gym, handing out free bottled water. I really wanted about 5 of them, but that would have been rude. So I happily took my one.

My first stop after the water was homemade salsa from Monkey Salsa. And they were offering samples. I’m never going to turn down samples! Next up, BBQ sauce from Sweet Spirit Foods. Of course after tasting, I had to get some of both. I also bought fresh pasta from Tall Girl Specialty Pasta. I went back and forth several times, trying to decide between fresh and dry. Usually that would be a no-brainer, but I also knew I would only be in town for another week before heading to San Francisco and didn’t want to waste it. I made sure to eat most of it before I left, and it was excellent. I got the garlic pasta, and the flavor was definitely stronger than it would have been in the dry, but the first time I made it was with pesto, so the garlic was already going to be super strong.

What I really like about this market is that once you buy something that is refrigerated, they can hold it for you until you’re done shopping. I took full advantage of that for the fresh pasta, and also for the plant that I bought. The challenge is just remembering to go back on your way back to the car!

They had 4 food trucks at the market, and I originally was going to eat lunch there. But it was so hot, and the lines were so long, I decided to wait. However, there was no chance I was passing up Jared’s Propops. There’s a serving of probiotics in every popsicle. At that point, I couldn't care less about the probiotics…I just wanted to cool down. He has a lot of flavors, and you can choose between icy and creamy. I went with the cherry limeade icy pop

So good. And whole cherries in there! They provided a fresh burst of flavor, and an interesting contrast in texture from the rest of the popsicle. It was really good.

They also had a petting zoo for the kids! What a great idea. And a dunk tank. I was pretty jealous of the guy who was sitting in there, and came kind of close to volunteering my services.

Although this market didn’t have nearly the same amount of fresh produce as the Dallas market, I still really liked it. I’m excited to go back next month and see what they offer.