I started my Saturday morning off by attending the Lafayette Farmers and Artisans Market. It is located at Moncus Park and starts at 8 a.m. every Saturday, rain or shine. It is a tradition of mine to attend the market every other weekend.
Parking at Moncus Park costs $2 per hour. By 9 a.m., the parking line was from the gate to the entrance to Moncus. Parking in their lot was full, so they directed me to park in the grass. They offer an annual parking pass that starts at $15 per month or $180 in total. The parking pass is worth it to me since I love running and bringing my dogs to their dog park.
It was a cloudy, breezy, hot and foggy day. As I got out of my car, I saw kids playing, people walking their dogs, others pushing their babies in strollers and some people were running.
There is a bit of a walk from your parking spot to the farmer’s market. After crossing the bridg,e there was a musician playing on his ukelele. The market had fifty eight vendors this week. Each vendor sells different items from art, bread, coffee, woodworking, dessert, candles, soaps, ice cream, french fries and burgers.
The first stand I went to was Irma’s Kitchen. She offers pupusas in flavors that include zucchini and cheese, refried beans and cheese, chicken and cheese, chicharron and cheese and homemade watermelon juice. A pupusa is a corn flour dough filled with protein and cheese. The stand is run by her family. Her son takes the payments for the food, and she and her daughter cook the pupusas.
I ordered the chicken and cheese pupusas and they were $4 each. The pupusas are optionally topped with curtido and an orange colored salsa. The service was fast and my order was ready in minutes. The pupusa was crispy, hot and flavorful. The curtido on top of the pupusa ties the dish together and soaks into the pupusa.
The orange sauce has a kick to it and reminds me of a salsa. The curtido consisted of cabbage, carrots and onions and had a vinegar taste.
The next stand I went to was Magnolia Pantry and it consists of two businesses called Acadian Slice and Magnolia Moon Herbals. Acadian Slice specializes in a variety of pies and Magnolia Moon Herbal specializes in organic herbal based drinks. The two businesses became one because they won the Small Business Challenge which entails winning up to $100,000 for the curation of their new business and a lease to the Sans Souci Building.
Magnolia Moon Herbals offers their drinks by the gallon foraround $20. Some of the flavors included are honey vanilla matcha latte, lavender lemonade, hibiscus blueberry mint iced tea, dragon fruit guava and recovery tea. I was in a lavender lemonade craze for a couple of weeks and would order a gallon from them each week until I got tired of it.
I ordered the Frozen Lavender Lemonade and Bou-Dat which were $6 each. The Frozen Lavender Lemonade was garnished with a slice of orange and a pink flower. The Bou-Dat consisted of boudin and pepper jack with a tabasco honey dip. The lavender lemonade is dispensed from a machine that looks like a slushie machine. It had a balance of sweet and sour and the lavender flavor was prominent but not overpowering.
The Bou-Dat was flaky and crispy on the outside. Once I took a bite, I was met with the boudin which was flavorful and moist. I proceeded to dip the Bou-Dat into the tabasco honey dip and it added the perfect touch of flavor. I didn’t think that the dip was spicy at all and was mild.
The last stand I went to was Emilia’s Tamales. They offer pork, beef, and chicken tamales, chicken, pork, and steak tacos and steak and chicken quesadillas. This stand didn’t have prices for tacos and quesadillas for the market goers to see. However, it did have the price for the tamales which was $3 each.
I ended up getting a steak quesadilla for $10. The quesadilla was cut up into four pieces and came with a medium salsa verde and pico de gallo. There was a lot of cheese in the quesadilla and the cheese pull was strong. I thought that the steak could’ve used a little more seasoning. However, the toppings and the medium salsa verde made up for it.
As a college student, the farmer’s market is a little bit of a splurge. I think it is worth it though and a breath of fresh air. After I go to the market, I like to walk around the park, ride my bike, go on the trails, swing in my hammock and sit in a chair and look at the pond. Whenever I feel adventurous, I like to go fishing in their stocked pond.The market is a fun way to try different foods that each vendor makes.