What makes Salem the great place it is to live and work in is that there is always something going on that is different than what just finished. Point in fact, we just closed out the craziness of Haunted Happenings. Before the dust settles we shift to the serenity of fine dining and the casualness of shopping at a winter market.
Beginning Sunday Nov. 3 through Thursday Nov. 7th and repeating the following week Nov 10-14, the 7th annual Salem Fall Restaurant Week offers an invitation to residents, and anyone within driving distance along the North Shore.
Participating Salem restaurants (over 20 at this point) will offer either a prix-fixe two-course dinner menu for $18 or a prix-fixe three-course dinner menu for $28. Some restaurants will offer both course options. Prices are per person and exclude beverages, tax, and gratuity. This event is sponsored by the Salem Chamber of Commerce. Check their website or their blog for an updated list of participating restaurants, menus and offerings.
But what if you are the master chef— your family the only regular customers? Then we have a supply of fresh products for your table, beginning Nov. 7th when the Salem Winter Market opens its doors in Old Town Hall.
It will include produce from local farms, pasture-fed meat, spices, pickles, soup, baked goods, artisan soap, jewelry, wreaths, and more. All items are grown or produced in New England.
“The Winter Market is a fantastic opportunity to support local farms and artisans through the holiday season,” states Kylie Sullivan, manager of Salem Main Streets and organizer of the market. “We’re very excited to showcase so many summer farmers’ market favorites as well as some new vendors in this historic space.”
Current vendors at the 2013 Winter Market include:
Farm Vendors (produce): Clark Farm, Grant Family Farm, Long Hill Orchard & Farm, Wally’s Vegetables
Non-Farm Vendors (not produce): Big Sky Bakery (bread), Fishwives Specialty Foods/Mandy’s Seafood Chowder (chowder), Piper Ranch (meat), Salem Spice (spices, also selling Maitland Mountain Farm’s pickles), Valicenti Organico (pasta/sauces), Wolf Meadow Farm (cheese)
Artisan Vendors: Salem Soapworks, Shine Jewelry/Heritage Industries
This list is still subject to growth.
The Market will run six weeks on Thursdays from 3 – 6 p.m., Nov.7 through Dec. 19. There will be no Market the week of Thanksgiving. Old Town Hall is adjacent to Derby Square where the Summer Farmers’ Market is held.
The market is made possible through the generous support of Mayor Kimberley Driscoll and the City of Salem, the Salem Chamber of Commerce, and Mass in Motion Salem, as well as numerous volunteers. The market participates in the SNAP program and will accept the EBT card at the market.
For more information or to volunteer, contact Kylie Sullivan, Salem Main Streets Manager, at 978-744-0004 or kylie@salemmainstreets.org, or visit http://salemmainstreets.org/salem-winter-market/ . You can also follow Salem Main Streets on Facebook and Twitter to keep current on Winter Market news.
Knowledge is power, and what you learn from speaking directly with the vendor/instructors at the upcoming “semester” of the Salem Farmer’s Market will make you a better student of food, better cook, and all around better at marketing (…the study of going to the market…). “Classes” are held Thursdays from 3-7pm, June 11- Oct 22 at Derby Sq on Front St. — rain or shine.
Seriously, where else can you talk to a person about which tomatoes go best with a hamburger vs a salad (there is a difference). Or talk about lobsters. Yes, did you not know that lobstahs are in our yard? The Salem Farmer’s Market is not your grandma’s farmer’s market. Local produce, things from the ground, the sea, and more await you. Plus there are musical performances (not by the vendors, although you never know) by talented singers & bands.
