By: Donna Boetger , Guest Blogger for Foodies Like Us

The smell of tamales was in the air, with a hint of grilled meats, freshly baked breads, sweet basil and thyme. No, we weren’t strolling into a fancy restaurant or into an upscale grocery store but something much better. It was Saturday at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market and my husband and I were on a treasure hunt checking out the tents set up at 721 N. Central for the makings of a perfect romantic Saturday night dinner for two. There were many crafts tents with jewelry, artwork, handcrafted items etc but on this Saturday morning we were focused on the food, being the dyed-in-the-wool foodies that we are.  I was also thinking of libations and contemplated maybe this setting has a mimosa booth. What better way to stop and linger here or there than with a little OJ and champagne? Unfortunately couldn’t find the mimosas, possibly something to do with those pesky old liquor laws, but I did get a sampling of delicious Sonoran Root beer from the Sonoran Brewery served at the Refreshment Palace along with soda and juices and close by were many coffee and tea choices available at Coffee and Tea Express of Glendale. The Coffee and Tea Express booth also had the most adorable young man manning the booth, not that I was noticing or anything being a decrepit old granny traveling with her husband and all. Where was I? Oh, yes the search for libations and other goodies. 

A source of non-alcoholic libations!

Back at the homestead I had placed a rack of lamb on the kitchen counter to thaw from the freezer. We were looking for the perfect ingredients to turn that great cut of meat into a complete gourmet feast. (I know the “G” word is way overused and usually not correctly but I think it works here.) I knew from past experience that I would find the freshest ingredients here because the Downtown Market is the perfect showcase for local small-scale farming. I was thinking heirloom tomatoes for a Caprese salad and possibly a ratatouille, along with potatoes cooked in duck fat and walnut oil, a good loaf of bread and some French pastry. Already the gastric juices were flowing and we were armed with our string bag (We pretend we are in France and shopping at Les Halles.), a camera and enough cash to cover everything. Many booths take credit cards but the set up for credit cards is a bit convoluted and involves going to a main booth to get a slip to take back to the booths you want to make a purchase. Too much running around for me so I suggest just use the green stuff. That is if you can get your hands on any in this economy. Don’t get me started.

 The busiest produce stand was One Windmill Farms out of Queen Creek. I snapped some photos of the gorgeous produce but wasn’t inclined to stand in the long line winding its way around several tents to reach the cashier so we didn’t buy from that purveyor this time. Many times I will stand in line for their green tomatoes. Windmill Farms is one of the few places you can get green tomatoes unless you grow your own. Fried green tomatoes Paula Deen style are incredible so I will be back when the line is shorter.

Check out all the produce! Gorgeous tomatoes!

One of our first stops was at Maya’s Farms located at 32 and Southern. Maya has the most beautiful flowers, herbs and vegetables. There were enormous bunches of fragrant basil, gigantic sunflowers, perfect heads of garlic, squash and so much more. It was almost like being in Provence. Well, not quite but if you use your imagination and forget that it is 110 degrees out there and convince yourself that the mist coming off the spray fans is really wafting from the French Riviera than you are almost on the Côte d’Azur.  By the way, thank you mother for reading me all those fairy tales when I was a little girl.

Beautiful fresh flowers--they take you to another place, another time!

From our trip to Provence aka Maya’s Farms  we headed towards Mexico and sampled delicious Tortillas by Rosario. We tried the whole wheat tortillas and they were delicioso. Nearby was a tamale booth called the Tamale Store and they seemed to be doing a brisk business except I was still in my back in my  French state of mind and just could not get into ole mode. Maybe if there had been free shots of tequila? No dice. So on to another booth. Our noses and eyes led us to Dos Arbolitos (two little trees) who call themselves “the herb guys.” They had a wide variety of fragrant herbs to plant outside or in a kitchen garden and if you want to know anything about the care and feeding of your herbs these are the go-to guys. We have bought many herbs from them over the years and they never lead us wrong.

Another vendor that won’t lead you wrong is Seacat Gardens out of Litchfield Park. They won’t lead you wrong but they may pull your leg and do a little song and dance for you. These guys are friendly and funny. They were out of heirloom tomatoes today but had some lovely eggplant for the ratatouille and beautiful sweet peppers. An interesting tidbit they let us in on is that they can be found on Twitter.  Remember when Old Mac Donald had a farm and all he did was say E-I-E-I-O? Now Twitter and Facebook is all the rage down on the farm. Who’d a thunk it?

Ask this guy to dance! (For you, not with you!)

After the Seacat Comedy Tour we set our sights on meat. Although the lamb was thawing at home we always like to see what else is available at the market. If grass-fed natural beef is your thing then there is Double Check Ranch out of Amado, AZ.  Their beef is raised on the open range and finished on green  pasture grass. They use no grain, hormones or antibiotics at any time.  They are raising beef the way it used to be done and it’s well worth checking out. The Meat Shop  on Buckeye Road in Phoenix  was our next stop and the chalkboard display called out Buckboard Bacon, Rashers, Pork Liver, Eye of Round and even Lardon.  I have a soft spot for pork products and have a son-in-law who will even eat bacon on his corn flakes. Couldn’t pass that up. One pound of Buckboard Bacon coming up.

Serious Pork Products!

At this point my sweet tooth was calling and we still needed to find the perfect dessert. We walked by the Wei of Chocolate and it did look tantalizing but I was thinking more of pastry. We did come upon some scrumptious looking cheesecake slices at Chyra’s Cheesecake booth including raspberry, white chocolate and turtle cheesecake. Very tempting. Also, the Desert Delights stand with gourmet peanut brittle, old English toffee and decadent fudge was singing its siren song to me but I still couldn’t get French pastry out of my head. Then we found Gateaux ZoZo and I knew I’d found the answer to that critical end of the meal decision. Gateaux ZoZo is all about French pastry and the good folks can even be found on Facebook at GateauxZoZo. I spotted a package of two palmiers. You could crassly call them elephant ears if you are so inclined. I like to crook my finger when I sip my café au lait and crook my other finger while lifting the flaky pastry cookie to my mouth as I say, “Merci garçon. The palmiers are especially flaky today.” But you could say, “Thanks waiter, these elephant ears are sure making a mess on my overalls.” Whatever. Just think snob factor here and you’ll get the picture. They are lovely and tasty little devils and I knew they’d be great with a scoop of gelato on the side. They did not disappoint.

Ahhh...cheesecake!

There were more food booths that we did not visit at the market. Partly because the thermometer was rising to the point  that we wanted to make a hasty retreat to the AC in the car, this was not a complete report on every single food purveyor at the market.  We missed Queen Creek Olive Oil, McClendon’s Honey, Belinda’s Pickles and The Elfish Company and probably others but we will return and try to spread some greenery their way as well the next time.  Our Saturday night romantic dinner did turn out beautifully  as a result of our shopping trip to the Downtown Market, from the sunflowers centerpiece, to the Caprese-style heirloom tomato salad with fresh mozzarella and basil leaves, to the ratatouille and the russet potatoes sautéed in duck fat and walnut oil and garnished with fresh garlic and chives, to the palmiers for dessert. The rack of lamb was served medium rare with a Dijon crust. A bottle of wine and each other and we were in our idea of heaven.

The finished product! Romantic dinner for 2! Courtesy of the Phoenix Downtown Market!

 Note: Downtown Phoenix Public Market is open Wednesdays from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to noon at 721 N. Central, SE Corner of Central Avenue and McKinley St. Free parking is available.