Columbia Farmers Market, Missouri

Following the disappointment and misery of the St. Louis market, the bright and sun-shiny Columbia Farmer’s Market was a welcome sight. Like most farmer’s markets I’ve encountered, Columbia’s had its fair share of hippies, but this being God's Country, it also hosted a decent amount of organic religiosity—just enough to make a pair of coastal heathens a little uncomfortable, but not enough to keep us from trying the sizzling beef samples.

We entered the market with the intention of scrounging up a tasty lunch that did not involve ground beef or greasy potatoes, so abundant in this part of the country, and succeeded brilliantly. At the Uprise Bakery stall we found a sunflower rye bread good enough to make me consider staying in Columbia forever. Nutty and dense, it’s the best bread I’ve eaten since I left San Francisco. Next we hit the one and only stall selling cheese, or any other dairy, Goats Beard Farm, where we decided on a simple round of fresh goat cheese.

Next door to Goats Beard we found the Deep Mud Farm stall, where new-to-the-game farmer Jeremy was selling his mixed spring greens and arugula. We bagged enough to make a salad and, with his recommendation on where to find some good olive oil in town, set off for the southern Ozarks with our delicious market finds.