Ol Nick said:
The thing abut Brixton market is that the bananas are all Dole and Del Monte without a hint of fair trade, the food miles are laughably high and you can't get strawberries there in June or for that matter any seasonal fruit or veg. Plus you can't get decent (as opposed to cheap) cheese, bread or meat.
That's more than a little untrue ime. There's often some great stuff in the market, but it tends to go very quickly (by midday) and often is badly labelled and unheralded. There was plenty of purple sprouting broccoli in August, English asparagus at low prices in May and recently there were some excellent, big English pears around, sold on a much mocked £1 a scoop deal. You sometimes need to go past the cosmetics - I recently bought a bag of the most fantastic, but ugly mandarins for a pittance, honestly some of the best I've had for years.
That's not to say that there isn't room for improvement. I always say this, but I really miss T&C from Popes Road, who used to sell beautiful fresh berries, eggs and greens, or the other elderly couple (potatoes and english garden veg) nearby. But there are some encouraging - there's at least one new veg seller who looks a cut above the norm.
A big part of the problem is the issue Mrs M identifies; the best stock isn't always available at New Covent Garden, nor are the general public as willing to sacrifice appearance for taste so easily, hence traders often play safety first. And the middle ground is evaporating - it almost certainly benefits farmers/suppliers to aim for the bargain or premium sectors. It's one of the reason why I have some sympathy for Newbie's view that a split between farmers' markets and 'normal' ones isn't beneficial.
I think some of the criticism of the market is unfair too. How many traditional, non poncified markets offer genuinely good cheese, bread or milk? And besides, great cheese and bread is available from a good few delis within a minutes walk. The Portuguese and Colombian butchers are excellent once you get to know them.
Look on the bright side as well. How many places could boast the sheer variety that Brixton market does - last home I went home with breadfruit, green coconut, plantain, garlic pork (from the Portuguese butcher), chorizo, great satsumas, broccoli, baby courgettes (a massive bag for a pound) and huge field mushrooms - all for keen prices. We can be too down on the place.
BTW - you can get fairtrade bananas from Esmes on occasion, or little Caribbean bananas from some of the smaller traders in Granville.
) to accomodate that. People flock to East Street on Sundays, Sats and Suns our two busiest days by far (I've lived next door to it for 15 years).
